Sainkho Namtchylak

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Diamanda Galas

Shelley Hirsch (strong with this one the force is, Master Yoddel says)

Billie Holiday

Nina Hagen

Björk

Blixa Bargeld

Gry

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What do these people have in common? Besides the obvious fact that they're all women (yes, Blixa too). Oh, and they're all singers (yes, Blixa too). Well, apart from Billie Holiday, they're all pretty experimental and all of them - Billie included - have unique, memorable voices. Yes, they can be annoying sometimes, that's why I said memorable.

You know who else has a voice that makes my glasses break? Sainkho Namtchylak. Yep.

Says here Diamanda Galas has only a 3½ octave-range to brag about, whereas this woman has, like, 7. Seven! Chihuahuas are furibundly digging back to China, fetus jars just crack and burst, man!

She's into overtone chanting, which basically means that one of her is never enough. She talks to you with several different voices one on top of the other, simultaneously. Let's see, does she have kids?..............Hm, can't find anything, I'll take it as a good sign.

Anyway, she's Mongolian, she's 50something, she wasn't supposed to learn all these singing techniques when she was young, because back in her village only men were allowed to know them, in '97 she's been attacked by some mad Tuvinians and slipped into a coma for weeks, then came out of it, felt scared for a while, but then recovered and continued singing. You go, girl! Frida Kahlo would be proud.

Here's two songs. One that I like and one which demonstrates many of the above (except maybe the coma thing). OMG, which is which is which is which?

Sainkho Namtchylak - Who Stole The Sky



Sainkho Namtchylak - Lonely Soul

FREE DISSOCIATION

A girl at work was telling me about these bands she's gonna see at some festival or something. I didn't know any of them, so I checked them out and then realized why I didn't know them: hipsters. But anyway, she did mention a name which I first mistook for Bastard Dirty, then she corrected me - Bastard Dury - and this eventually turned into Baxter Dury when I googled it. I listened to his recent album Happy Soup (2011) and was not impressed. I was just about to toss it in the bin when I thought I'd give the guy another go. So I listened to his earlier records, Len Parrot's Memorial Lift (2002) and Floor Show (2005) and things got way better, especially with the first one. But obviously this guy fell in love with an elevator after 2005 and started writing songs for it. It's so minimalistic you don't even hear it. Oh well, to each his own.

Here's one from his first album, when songs had melodies:

Baxter Dury - Beneath The Underdog
 

 After that I dug even deeper and what do you know? This guy had a father! Am I good or am I good? His name's Ian Dury. As in Ian Dury & The Blockheads. Ha! I knew the name sounded familiar. Not that I have really payed attention to that band either, but now that I have, I come here to say that you should too. It's that kind of New Wave / Punk thing that was going on in the 70s and 80s, a thingy I usually avoid politely because hair-spray makes me sneeze like I am siamese, but in this case it's really not bad. That cockney accent talking about sex coming out of a charismatic guy who once had polio...it really doesn't get any better.

Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Spasticus Autisticus (Live)

And then I grabbed the shovel once more and found out why Nina Hagen sounded so good at one point: "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" is actually Ian's song.

Don't you think that Nina Hagen and Diamanda Galas should eventually meet and, I don't know, scare the shit out of each other just by saying 'Hello'? I mean, honestly... Oh, fuck me, I just checked: they're both 56. Shit, I think they're twins.

So, check out the bass line on this baby. Originally played by Norman Watt-Roy of the Blockheads, it sounds just as funky and tight and juicy here:

Nina Hagen - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (Blockheads Cover)