Album: Sevara Nazarkhan, Tortadur (Severamusic.com)

What makes this so heart-warming is the fact that this young Uzbek singer has turned her back on global pop and returned to her musical roots.

Here she delivers a series of traditional/classical Uzbek love songs with backing from the dutar, tanbur, and gichak. Her vocal style is slow and grave, building its momentum with patience until each song reaches its climax before dying away again. This music has Sufi origins, so the seasonal sense of love is both human and divine.