Hanggai (band)
Encyclopedia
Hanggai Band is a Chinese folk music
group from Beijing
who specialize in a blend of Mongolian folk music and more modern styles such as punk rock
.
while the remaining are ethnic Han
who specialize in Mongolian instruments. All of the members hail from Inner Mongolia
and Beijing.
The term “Hanggai” itself is a Mongolian
word referring to an idealized natural landscape of sprawling grasslands, mountains, rivers, trees, and blue skies. The band was created when leader Ilchi, captivated by the sound of throat singing and wanting to rediscover his ethnic heritage, travelled to Inner Mongolia to learn the art. It was there that he met fellow band members Hugejiltu and Bagen. In an interview with NPR Ilchi stated that, "Most of our people have moved away from the old way of life…After moving to the cities, many of us have gradually been subjected to a very strong cultural invasion by an oppressive culture. So this traditional music has completely lost its space."
, Radiohead
, Rage Against the Machine
, Secret Machines, Electralane and Neil Diamond
…” have played a large role in shaping the band’s music. Indeed, although the core of their sound is based around the morin khuur and the tobushuur, two traditional instruments, the band also incorporates some much less traditional fare.
In their first album, Introducing Hanggai, the band also made heavy use of electric guitars, computer programming, bass, and banjoes in order create a more seamless and modern sound.
All the songs are adaptations of Mongolian folk songs and are sung in Mongolian incorporating throat singing, a Mongolian technique in which the artist emits two different pitches at the same time.
In an article on Spinner, when asked about the complications of having Hanggai Band’s music being categorized as “Chinese”, front man Ilchi responded that, “Hanggai's music is very traditional Mongolian music. Some of our songs are influenced by Chinese music, because those songs were composed after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, and we were all born long after that! We are influenced by what we grew up listening to, and we're still searching for our musical roots”
Producer Robin Haller added that there has “always been a very close and complicated relationship between China's ethnic majority Han people…and the people who live in China's border areas -- Tibetans, Muslim Uyghurs…and, of course, Mongols. Several Chinese dynasties were founded by invading nomads from the north…So Mongol songs and grassland culture in general is certainly considered "Chinese" by Chinese listeners—but "Chinese" in the broadest sense of the term. Maybe a better analogy…would be how Celtic songs are listened to in the U.K.; most English listeners would consider them British, but they're exotic, beautiful and slightly dangerous in a way English folk music isn't!”
By playing Mongolian folk songs while also incorporating modes of popular music, Hanggai is creating a medium through which it is effectively able to express the voice of a generation yearning to reconnect with its ethnic roots in the face of a dominating mainstream culture. Ilchi states that while although, “The roots of Hanggai's music come from traditional Mongolian…Hanggai's music doesn't really speak of Genghis Khan's time, but it does reflect the life and ethics of the Mongolian people.”
.
The band performed at the Sydney Festival
in January 2011.
Hanggai performed at the Bonnaroo Music & Art Festival in Mancherster, Tennessee June 9–12, 2011.
Front man Ilchi first learned throat singing
after Odsurung, a master throat singer from Mongolia, was invited by the Inner Mongolia Song and Dance Ensemble to conduct workshops on the art in Inner Mongolia. Before the formation of the band, Ilchi was featured in the Chinese punk documentary Beijing Bubbles.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
group from Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
who specialize in a blend of Mongolian folk music and more modern styles such as punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
.
Background
NPR radio states that in a country where genres such as Mando-Pop and Canto-Pop dominate mainstream airwaves, Hanggai Band is making new crossroads into the Chinese music industry with their unique and modern take on Mongolian folk music. Some of the members are ethnic MongoliansMongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
while the remaining are ethnic Han
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
who specialize in Mongolian instruments. All of the members hail from Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
and Beijing.
The term “Hanggai” itself is a Mongolian
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
word referring to an idealized natural landscape of sprawling grasslands, mountains, rivers, trees, and blue skies. The band was created when leader Ilchi, captivated by the sound of throat singing and wanting to rediscover his ethnic heritage, travelled to Inner Mongolia to learn the art. It was there that he met fellow band members Hugejiltu and Bagen. In an interview with NPR Ilchi stated that, "Most of our people have moved away from the old way of life…After moving to the cities, many of us have gradually been subjected to a very strong cultural invasion by an oppressive culture. So this traditional music has completely lost its space."
Musical influences and style
The members of Hanggai Band come from diverse backgrounds with singer Ilchi having once been the front man of punk band T9. These eclectic experiences have come together to give Hanggai Band a particularly unique sound blending Mongolian folk music with more popular forms such as punk. In an interview with Spinner, Ilchi stated that amongst the group’s many influences, Western artists such as, “Pink FloydPink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
, Secret Machines, Electralane and Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
…” have played a large role in shaping the band’s music. Indeed, although the core of their sound is based around the morin khuur and the tobushuur, two traditional instruments, the band also incorporates some much less traditional fare.
In their first album, Introducing Hanggai, the band also made heavy use of electric guitars, computer programming, bass, and banjoes in order create a more seamless and modern sound.
All the songs are adaptations of Mongolian folk songs and are sung in Mongolian incorporating throat singing, a Mongolian technique in which the artist emits two different pitches at the same time.
Cultural politics
Part of Hanggai Band’s goals as a musical group is to help strengthen Mongolian culture in China in the face of a more dominant mainstream culture. NPR’S Louisa Lim states, “Ilchi's musical explorations also expose the contradictions involved in rediscovering cultural identity in modern China: He's an ethnic Mongolian who had to relearn the language to sing in it, and he's singing about a fast-disappearing way of life he's never really lived himself.” Although many of their songs, such as Wuji, hark back to a simpler pastoral past with lyrics such as, “The beloved grasslands where I was born…I will sing my praise to you for ever…My beloved Mongolian homeland…I will sing to you playing my banjo…” a large portion of the album itself is interjected with the sounds of Beijing street traffic speaking further to the complications of finding one’s ethnic identity in the face of a more dominant mainstream culture.In an article on Spinner, when asked about the complications of having Hanggai Band’s music being categorized as “Chinese”, front man Ilchi responded that, “Hanggai's music is very traditional Mongolian music. Some of our songs are influenced by Chinese music, because those songs were composed after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, and we were all born long after that! We are influenced by what we grew up listening to, and we're still searching for our musical roots”
Producer Robin Haller added that there has “always been a very close and complicated relationship between China's ethnic majority Han people…and the people who live in China's border areas -- Tibetans, Muslim Uyghurs…and, of course, Mongols. Several Chinese dynasties were founded by invading nomads from the north…So Mongol songs and grassland culture in general is certainly considered "Chinese" by Chinese listeners—but "Chinese" in the broadest sense of the term. Maybe a better analogy…would be how Celtic songs are listened to in the U.K.; most English listeners would consider them British, but they're exotic, beautiful and slightly dangerous in a way English folk music isn't!”
By playing Mongolian folk songs while also incorporating modes of popular music, Hanggai is creating a medium through which it is effectively able to express the voice of a generation yearning to reconnect with its ethnic roots in the face of a dominating mainstream culture. Ilchi states that while although, “The roots of Hanggai's music come from traditional Mongolian…Hanggai's music doesn't really speak of Genghis Khan's time, but it does reflect the life and ethics of the Mongolian people.”
Discography
- Introducing Hanggai (World Music Network, 28 July 2008)
- He Who Travels Far (World Connection, 18 October 2010)
Tours
Although it is known first and foremost as a predominantly heavy metal oriented music festival, the band performed at the 2010 Wacken Open AirWacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...
.
The band performed at the Sydney Festival
Sydney Festival
Sydney Festival is Australia's largest and most attended annual cultural event running every January since it was first held in 1977. Its program features around 80 events including contemporary and classical music, dance, circus, drama, visual arts and artist talks...
in January 2011.
Hanggai performed at the Bonnaroo Music & Art Festival in Mancherster, Tennessee June 9–12, 2011.
Miscellaneous
The song 酒歌 (Jiu Ge/ Drinking Song) was recorded in bits and pieces at an actual party that the band attended. The song was eventually created by splicing together bits and pieces of audio from that night. The song 酒歌 (Jiu Ge/ Drinking Song) has also been recorded with Dutch band Jovink http://nds-nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jovink_en_de_Voederbietels for use as the theme song for their 2009 Zwarte Cross :nl:Zwarte Cross festivalFront man Ilchi first learned throat singing
Overtone singing
Overtone singing, also known as overtone chanting, or harmonic singing, is a type of singing in which the singer manipulates the resonances created as air travels from the lungs, past the vocal folds, and out the lips to produce a melody.The partials of a sound wave made by the human voice can be...
after Odsurung, a master throat singer from Mongolia, was invited by the Inner Mongolia Song and Dance Ensemble to conduct workshops on the art in Inner Mongolia. Before the formation of the band, Ilchi was featured in the Chinese punk documentary Beijing Bubbles.