The Guardian
24.12.23
The 10 best global albums of 2023
Ulaanbaatar-born singer Enji’s third record cements her distinct vision of Mongolian jazz. Combining the ceremonial long song – where syllables are drawn out to create elongated, melismatic lines of melody – with acoustic jazz instrumentation and short, sharp scat voicings, Ulaan plunges engaging depths despite the soft vibrato of Enji’s voice. She’s accompanied only by clarinet and bass on tracks such as Temeen Deerees Naran Oirhon and Vogl, and a downtempo jazz quartet on the Latin-influenced Taivshral, all working to create a spacious new environment for a centuries-old vocal tradition.
HHV Mag
01.12.23
Die 50 besten Alben des Jahres 2023
Ist es Folk, ist es Jazz, ist es einfach das intimste Jazzalbum des Jahres 2023? Für »Ulaan« hat die mongolische Sängerin Enji ihr Trio mit dem Gitarristen Paul Brändle und dem Bassisten Munguntovch Tsolmonbayar um die beiden Brasilianerinnen Joana Queiroz (Klarinette) und Mariá Portugal (Schlagzeug) erweitert. Enji kann alles mit ihrer Stimme, kann magische Beschwörung sein, der Flügelschlag einer Libelle, der Nebel, der sich in den Winkeln des Altaigebirges verzieht. Dieses Ensemble hilft ihr dabei und entführt uns in völlig unbekannte Winkel.
The New York Times
06.12.23
Best Jazz Albums of 2023
Don't beat yourself up too hard for missing this one when it came out in July, but don't let it pass you by: the third release from a young Mongolian-born, Munich-based singer with a voice pitched just above a whisper. Enji mixes cool jazz registers with echoes of her home country's "long song" (Urtiin Duu) tradition. Cafe-style jazz singers like this rarely sound so unpretentious, original and free.
WDR3 Jazz
01.11.23
Jazz & mongolische Folklore: Sängerin Enji und das Album “Ulaan“
Aufgewachsen ist Enji Erkhem in einer Jurte in Ulaanbaatar, der Hauptstadt der Mongolei. Die traditionelle Musik ihrer Heimat ist in ihrer heutigen Musik deutlich zu spüren - in den Gesangstechniken und durch den Einsatz der mongolischen Sprache. "Ulaan" heißt das aktuelle Album der Wahlmünchenerin. Eine hoch originelle Fusion der Tradition ihrer Heimat, Jazz und Bossa Nova in Kammerbesetzung.
Washinton Post
06.12.23
The best album of 2023: Enji, ’Ulaan’
Extraordinary story, extraordinary music. Raised in a yurt in Mongolia, Enkhjargal Erkhembayar was a music teacher until a German jazz outreach program invited her to Munich, where she embarked on a singing career under the name Enji — first making an album with drummer Billy Hart, then another disc of her own songs and now this one, “Ulaan.” Her new ballads feature a drummer and a clarinetist from Brazil, allowing Enji to sing her native melodies with a bossa nova tenderness that’s practically paralyzing — the vocalist and her collaborators gently pushing toward the highest levels of empathy and cooperation that our humanity allows.
Goethe Institute Popcast
31.08.23
An extraordinary work full of beauty and sublimity
Mongolian jazz singer Enji recorded her third album Ulaan in Unterföhring's Mastermix Studio for the unique Munich-based Squama label. As with the previous album Ursgal, the predominantly quiet compositions combine traditional Mongolian music, language and storytelling with contemporary folk and jazz. On this release, she expands her trio to include two Brazilian musicians on clarinet and drums, who enrich the stylistic spectrum in surprising and fascinating ways. An extraordinary work full of beauty and sublimity.
In ULAAN (УЛААН) the music film, directors Lara Fritz and Hanne Kaunicnik weave together dreamy glimpses of Enji’s quest to grow while remembering who she is. The singer appears as a ghost-like figure, momentarily dwelling in the part-imagined, part-recollected landscapes of her former lives...
In an eponymously titled film directed by Anne Gryczka, the Munich-based singer recounts tales of her family and her upbringing in Mongolia, and the universality and medicinal effects of music. Her monologue is interspersed with performances of tracks from her second album Ursgal, where she creates a unique blend of Jazz and Folk with the traditions of Mongolian song. Her lyrics tell personal stories about unbearable distances, the oddness of being on earth and the simple truths in life.
