Namgar
Priced by New York Times a Mongolian Björk Namgar Lhasaranova possesses a voice, which is immense.The vocalist and instrumentalist fronts the group Namgar doesn’t sound quite like anything else. Looking like characters from the ancient legends of Asia on stage, the leader of the band Namgar delivers music that is both exotic and easily accessible. She masters the mysteries of nomad steppes, voices of spirits of mountains and forests and her vocal range can go from playful and childlike to gigantic and soaring within the space of a few minutes.
The Namgar band consists of 3 family members: mother, father and the son. They use traditional Mongolian instruments, including the yatag (a 13-stringed zither), the chanza (a three-stringed lute) along with electric bass and drums to craft its unique sound, of ancient music seasoned with modern elements of rock and electronic. It has been taken to festival stages around the world from Norway to Malaysia to the United States .
The melodic music Namgar creates was passed down to her from her grandparents and father, who sang to Namgar as a child. The inventive arrangements are new, but the stories told in the songs are as old, with tales and myths of ancient Mongol fighters, champions, horses and famous battles.
Namgar’s latest album Nayan Navaa was released by ARC Music and was at the top of several music charts. Namgar was also nominated as a best band in the Asian / Pacific category by Songlines magazine.
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Auf ihrem aktuellen Album “Nayan Navaa” gibt es Musik, die vontraditionellen Schamanengesängen mit Kehlkopfstimme bis zu modernemRock und Jazz eine ganze Menge zu bieten hat. Im Zentrum der Aufmerksamkeit steht die Sängerin Namgar Lhasaranova, die gerne auch als “Björk der Mongolei” betitelt wird.
Sendung hr2-kultur, Hessischer Rundfunk | ARD.de | Musik grenzenlos”, 2021
One of the many highlights throughout the album is when Namgar’s amazing powerful voice soars in a Mongolian long song style on ‘Urda Uula’ (South Mountain).Another is the touching duet with her father on ‘Zakhyaa Duun’ (Father’s Song). This is a great release that balances the old and new with well crafted arrangements and high production values, giving Sainkho Namtchylak and The Hu a run for their money.
Michael Ormiston, Songlines, Top of the World, 2021
When Namgar Lhasaranova sings the song of her people, her voice carries. It is easy to imagine it stretching across the vast plains, from where stems theBuryat-Mongolian tradition embodied in her songs. But the music she plays with her team — and will now be presenting to an international audience — also transcends her roots. “We have an international family with different roots. I am a woman from a distant remote place, a village, the daughter of shepherds,and I grew up on folk songs. My husband Eugenii is a city guy who grew up on the music of the Beatles and rock bands. We had a different upbringing and paths of life that were far from each other, but at some point we ended up in the same team,” said Namgar.
The Hindu, 2021
Her power, energy and amazing vocal range go beyond words and language, taking her audience on a journey to Siberia and the world of the Buryats, people whose roots reach back to Ghengis Khan and the Mongolian Empire.
Martha Wikett – Salmon Arm Observer
Possibly among the most obscure bands to appear in festival history, Namgar was well-received in the capital city, as it was nights previous in Vancouver, where it sold the last of its CDs.
David Bohatyretz – www.theepochtimes.com