French-Mongolian singer and yatga player Céline Dessberg weaves Mongolian steppe melodies, black-and-white Nouvelle Vague romance and jazz lyricism into a sound The Guardian calls “hauntingly beautiful”.
Dessberg’s music is shaped in equal parts by her background: the pastoral, Buddhist heritage of Mongolia and the pulse of urban France. Her influences run from twilight jazz (Chet Baker) to off-kilter pop (David Byrne) and traditional Mongolian folk music. At the centre of it all is her voice and her yatga – a traditional Mongolian form of zither with roots stretching back a thousand years.
In December 2024 she released the critically acclaimed EP Hödöö, collaborating with producer Max Shrager (The Shacks, 54 Ultra) and Sal Samano and Alex Garcia of Thee Sacred Souls. In 2025 she broadened the palette with the singles Selenge and Chintamani – playful and otherworldly, with waltz rhythms and a vocals steeped in nostalgia.
