Winter-Light is very happy to welcome Nam-Khar to our label, with their new studio album 'Secret Essence/Sangwa Dupa'.

Nam-Khar is a Ritual/Drone collective that utilises various ethnic instruments and synthesised material within its works. What Nam-Khar offers up here are nine very different pieces of ritualistic music, each with the common thread of bringing you to a place of both focus and isolation. The subtle use of traditional instrumentation creates small vacuous pockets for the listener to move into, which are then juxta-positioned with slightly harsher, more industrial sounds. These are then all neatly sewn together with ice cold drones, warm bass sounds and synth sweeps.

With its short stabs and metallic sounds, the music can sometimes feel cold, unsettling and edgy. Tracks such as Shidak (re-shaped) could easily soundtrack the nightmare segment from a film, where the drones pull you stumbling through dark corridors, treading uncertain footsteps with a feeling of anxiety, never knowing what shapes are hiding out in the shadows, or what lies just around the corner. But the other side to the music from Nam-Khar lies in the warm, rich textured sounds and the drones that slowly build in density. Each aspect complimenting each other to bring a rich varied sound to the whole album and drawing all the tracks together.

"Secret Essence/“Sangwa Dupa is a sonic journey to the archaic energies/powers in Tibetan culture, which in the end, are not to be seen as being separated from one’s own mind.

© Nam-Khar 2018

© Winter-Light 2018

All music by Nam-Khar.

Mastered by Martijn Comes.

Cover artwork and design by Midnight Sun Studio.