Hailing from South Central Siberia, Badma Khanda is part of a small collective of Buryat musicians who held onto the music of their ethnic group during and since the rule of the area by the Soviets (many Buryats fled into Inner Mongolia and maintained their traditions). Here, the sound is extremely evocative of the steppes, with long, lingering vocals and sparse morin khuur playing throughout. Flute sections come out as a bit more Chinese from time to time, but quickly revert to a more Mongolian sound. Accompanying Khanda on the album is male vocalist Battuvshin Baldantseren, primarily an instrumentalist here but occasionally dusting off an incredible ability with khoomii, mostly in the deep registers. In some of the instrumental sections, the listener gets a special treat courtesy of morin khuur player Dmitry Ayurov and his galloping sound. Fans of Mongolian throat singing will only pick up a bit of excitement here, as much of the sound is elsewhere in the Mongolian repertoire. Fans of the epic sound of the steppes, of the theatrical music of Northern China, though are likely to enjoy this one quite a bit. ~ Adam Greenberg