i forgot to mention another great voice is Irinia Mikhailova (if you decide to check out Natacha Atlas check out Irinia Mikhailova as well)
http://www.irinamikhailova.com/ a little info from the site: Irina is a cross-pollinating vocalist, composer, and multi instrumentalist whose musical style reflects the rich traditions of Russia, the Middle East and Asia. Born into a family of professional musicians in the central Asian republic of Kazakhstan, Irina currently resides in San Francisco, California. Rich with the multi-ethnic sounds that surrounded her childhood, and the power and depth of her own soul, she lends her warm and other-worldly vocals to an eclectic range of music from classical to traditional, as well as electronic and other crossover genres.
lol someone needs to cut my fingers off from typing and replying to this thread (i'm already trying to hold back a little bit with recommendations)
