Sainkho Namtchylak: Tuvan throat singer unveils her Naked Spirit, kicking off China Tour

World
Europe

04:54

Sainkho Namtchylak stunned fans in Beijing once again with her spellbinding, frequently improvisational throat-singing performance. With Friday's concert at the packed Poly Theatre, the 62-year-old Republic of Tuva singer launched a new round of China tour, titled "Naked Spirit". Sun Wei takes us there.

Expanding seven octaves, Sainkho's voice makes an immediate and even haunting emotional impact. Rooted in traditional Tuvan techniques, Sainkho has explored other styles ranging from abstract experimental music to avant-garde jazz. She told CGTN that the inspiration has come from her love and respect towards nature.

Throat-singing, also known as Khoomei, is rooted in Tuvan and Mongolian culture, and was officially a male-only undertaking before the 1990s. Even today, the scene is still dominated by male singers.

The traditional male-only system barred Sainkho from professional throat-singing training, but she secretly learned it as a youngster and later left for Moscow to further her studies. She later joined the Tuvan State folk ensemble Sayani and became the very first female musician to publicly perform Khoomei.

Singing in three languages - Tuvan, Russian and English, Sainkho has released over 70 solo and collaborative albums with the most celebrated Stepmother City released in 2002 and won fans all over the world. But she said she felt even lonelier as she marches further on the artistic way.

Performing 16 pieces with her band Sainkho Kosmos, Sainkho's Naked Spirit China tour includes four other stops. SW, CGTN.