Album: Mamer, Eagle, (Real World)

Our first whiff of "Chinagrass" came when a Mongolian band called Hanggai, with the morin khuur horse-hair fiddle as their primary instrument, introduced us to this new Chinese sound world.

Now they are back, as part of a group whose leader, Mamer, has been christened the Lou Reed of the grasslands. A cult figure on Beijing's music scene, he's blended Western rock and electronica with the music he grew up with: throat-singing, the Jew's harp and flute, plus gently trotting vocal lines by men who grew up in the saddle. Irresistible.