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Salamat Sadykova (Kyrgyz: Саламат Садыкова) (28 September 1956, Batken region, Kyzyl Jol village) is a folk singer of Kyrgyzstan.

Salamat Sadykova has been the premier female voice of Kyrgyz traditional music for the past two decades. Initially, she had to overcome prejudice against women performing in the conservative southern part of what was then the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic. She went on to become the lead female voice of the Kyrgyz national folk music and dance ensemble “Kambarkan”. Both with the “Kambarkan” and as a solo artist, Ms. Salamat has performed extensively throughout Central Asia, Turkey, Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, China, Russia, Korea, USA, Netherlands, Spain and Japan. Her first CD along with “Kambarkan” ensemble was released in Japan during their tours all around Japan, her personal CD was produced and released in USA with support of her current producer in USA Mark Humphrey.

In October 2007, she was one of 36 artists from four continents who performed at the first World Masters Festival of Arts and Culture in Seoul. The festival was touted as `the cultural Olympics of the traditional artists of the world.’ In 2006, she performed before several heads of state, including those of China and Russia, at the annual conference of the Shanghai Cooperation Treaty Organization. Ms. Sadykova has performed at music festivals across Central Asia, including the prestigious Sharq Taronalari (Eastern Melodies) Festival in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. In 2008 she was an Official Showcase Artist at the world music exposition WOMEX in Sevilla, Spain.

She has been given numerous awards in Kyrgyzstan and neighboring Central Asian countries, among them the title People’s Artist of Kyrgyztan and `Honored Artist of the Republic of Kazakhstan’, Winner of the State prize of Toktogul, Owner of the title of World’s Master of Music, Korea.

Ms. Sadykova sings lyrical songs of the Kyrgyz people and accompanies herself on the Kyrgyz lute, called komuz. Some of her songs are traditional, or were popularized decades ago by the first great Kyrgyz female artist to record extensively, Myskal Omurkanova (1915–1976). Other songs are recent compositions written expressly for her by leading Kyrgyz and Kazakh composers. She also performs some original compositions. In content and emotion, Ms. Sadykova’s songs might be compared to the ghazal song tradition or to Portugese fado.
Love and longing are frequent topics, but so, too, is the richly varied Kyrgyz countryside, with its mountains, Alpine lakes, and rustic villages. Kyrgyzstan’s unofficial national anthem, `Kyrgyz jeri (Kyrgyz Land),’ was written expressly for her.

In the online publication Stylus, Michael Heumann offered this appraisal: "To the list of the great female vocalists of the recording era — Billie Holliday, Sandy Denny, Aretha Franklin, Edith Piaf, and so on—add one more name: Salamat Sadikova. Never heard of her? You're not alone. Name recognition doesn't come easy for anyone in Kyrgyzstan, the most remote and isolated of former Soviet Central Asian republics. But ...Sadikova is that rare artist who can transform the simplest music into something truly magical." Michael Heumann,

Stylus Grammy-winning roots music producer Lawrence Cohn, best known for the 1990 Robert Johnson boxed set, said: "Salamat doesn’t sound exactly like anyone I’ve heard, but she reminds me of some great ladies. I once had the opportunity to hear the premier fadista, Amalia Rodrigues, perform in Paris, and I also produced a reissue series of the complete recordings of Bessie Smith. They were very different singers, naturally, but for power, soulfulness, and sensuality, this woman from Kyrgyzstan is a kindred spirit to them."

The following appeared on the WOMEX website following Ms. Sadykova’s Nov. 1 `08 Showcase performance:
"The diva of Kyrgyz folk music Salamat Sadikova performed a startling daytime solo set in the Al-Andalus auditorium. Looking resplendent in neon pink, playing the Kyrgyz komuz lute. Sadikova’s voice was delicately sublime. Holding impossibly long sustained notes, her singing stilled the air."
-- Jody Gillett and Benjamin Minimum

The Director of WOMEX, Gerald Seligman, offered a personal commentary: "Three years back, after hearing Salamat's CD in the jury session, it quickly became the CD from a proposing artist I listened to most that entire year, and it continues to be a favorite. But as well as I have come to know it, and as close as the live and recorded performance styles may be, I was still unprepared for what it would be like to attend a performance. The distance between audience and artist vanished. She simply brought us all in to the intimacy, the virtuosity, the warmth of her art. She was remarkable, and her performance was everything—no, more—than I had hoped for."
--Gerald Seligman, WOMEX General Director, on Salamat Sadikova’s Official Showcase performance at WOMEX 2008

In 2008 - 2009, Salamat had great concert tours in Moscow, Ukraine, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, South Korea and Taiwan.

WOMEX 2008 - Seville, Spain
Festival Roza Mira - Moscow
World’s Master of Music – South Korea in 2007 and 2009
Hengchun International Folk Song & Music Festival – Taiwan
International Festival of Music & Dance “Svirzh” – Ukraine
Tour concerts in Japan, Germany, Turkey, Netherlands, Belgium
2 solo concerts in Oman – Muscat and Salalah, in the frame of the cultural events of the Ministry of Tourism of Oman. February 2010

Currently, Salamat is working with young musicians in order to support their talent and promote Kyrgyz music, young musicians and singers.

• Copied and pasted articles and sections from August 2010
• Unreferenced BLPs from August 2010