Huun-Huur-Tu
Encyclopedia
Huun-Huur-Tu is a music group from Tuva
, a Russia
n Federation republic situated on the Mongolia
n border.
The most distinctive characteristic of Huun Huur Tu's music is throat singing, in which the singers sing both the note (drone) and the drone's overtone(s), thus producing two or three notes simultaneously. The overtone may sound like a flute, whistle or bird, but is actually solely a product of the human voice.
The group primarily uses native Tuvan instruments such as the igil
, khomus (Tuvan jaw harp), doshpuluur
, and dünggür (shaman drum). However, in recent years, the group has begun to selectively incorporate western instruments, such as the guitar. While the thrust of Huun Huur Tu's music is fundamentally indigenous Tuvan folk music, they also experiment with incorporating not only Western instruments, but electronic music as well.
, brothers Alexander and Sayan Bapa, and Albert Kuvezin
. Not long afterwards, the group changed its name to Huun-Huur-Tu, meaning "sunbeams" (literally "sun propeller"). The focus of their music was traditional Tuvan folk songs, frequently featuring imagery of the Tuvan steppe
or of horses.
The ensemble released its first album, 60 Horses In My Herd, the following year. The album was recorded at studios in London
and Mill Valley, California
. By the time recording began for the follow-up, Kuvezin had left the group to form the more rock-oriented Yat-Kha
. Kuvezin was replaced by Anatoli Kuular, who had previously worked with Khovalyg and Kongar-ool Ondar as part of the Tuva Ensemble. The new line-up recorded The Orphan's Lament in New York City
and Moscow
, and released it in 1994.
In 1995, Alexander Bapa, who had produced
the first two albums, departed the group to pursue production as a full-time career. He was replaced by Alexei Saryglar, formerly a member of the Russia
n state ensemble Siberian Souvenir. A third album, If I'd Been Born An Eagle, recorded in the Netherlands
, followed in 1997. This time, in addition to the traditional folk music, the group performed some rather more contemporary Tuvan songs, from the latter half of the 20th century.
In early 1999, the group released its fourth album, Where Young Grass Grows. For the first time on a Huun-Huur-Tu album, non-Tuvan instruments (except for the guitar
) were featured, including harp
, tabla
, Scottish smallpipe (performed by Martyn Bennett
) and synthesiser
. The album also features two excerpts of recordings made of Kaigal-ool and Anatoli singing whilst riding horseback on the Tuvan grasslands.
Huun-Huur-Tu participated in the 2000 BBC
Music Live event, performing the opening and closing songs for a live, early morning broadcast from Snape Maltings
. The following year, the group released their first live album.
In 2003, Kuular quit the group and was replaced by Andrey Mongush, an experienced teacher of xöömei and Tuvan instruments. Mongush's tenure with the group was short and in 2005 he was replaced by Radick Tyulyush, formerly of Yat-Kha
fame.
, Johnny Watson, the Kodo drummers
, The Moscow Art Trio, the Kronos Quartet
, Hazmat Modine
, The Chieftains
and Bulgarian woman's singing group, Angelite. Their most recent recording "Eternal" is a collaborative effort with underground electronic musician, Carmen Rizzo
. In January 2010, group Hazmat Modine
also announced plans to record with Huun Huur Tu again.
With Kronos Quartet
With The Bulgarian Voices - Angelite:
With Malerija
With Hazmat Modine
With Sainkho Namtchylak
With Ross Daly
With Carmen Rizzo
Tuva
The Tyva Republic , or Tuva , is a federal subject of Russia . It lies in the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders with the Altai Republic, the Republic of Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia and with Mongolia to the...
, a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Federation republic situated on the Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
n border.
The most distinctive characteristic of Huun Huur Tu's music is throat singing, in which the singers sing both the note (drone) and the drone's overtone(s), thus producing two or three notes simultaneously. The overtone may sound like a flute, whistle or bird, but is actually solely a product of the human voice.
The group primarily uses native Tuvan instruments such as the igil
Igil
An igil is a two-stringed Tuvan musical instrument, played by bowing the strings. The neck and lute-shaped sound box are usually made of a solid piece of pine or larch. The top of the sound box may be covered with skin or a thin wooden plate...
, khomus (Tuvan jaw harp), doshpuluur
Doshpuluur
The doshpuluur is a long-necked Tuvan lute made from wood, usually pine or larch. The doshpuluur is played by plucking and strumming....
, and dünggür (shaman drum). However, in recent years, the group has begun to selectively incorporate western instruments, such as the guitar. While the thrust of Huun Huur Tu's music is fundamentally indigenous Tuvan folk music, they also experiment with incorporating not only Western instruments, but electronic music as well.
History
The xöömei quartet Kungurtuk was founded in 1992 by Kaigal-ool KhovalygKaigal-ool Khovalyg
Kaigal-ool Khovalyg is a Tuvan throat singer and co-founder of the Tuvan music group Huun-Huur-Tu.A self-taught overtone singer, Khovalyg worked as a shepherd until the age of 21. His musical career began when he was invited to join the Tuvan State Ensemble. He settled in Kyzyl and started teaching...
, brothers Alexander and Sayan Bapa, and Albert Kuvezin
Albert Kuvezin
Albert Kuvezin is a Tuvan guitarist and throat singer.Kuvezin was one of the founding members of the Tuvan folk ensemble Huun-Huur-Tu, and is the leader of the Tuvan folk/rock/electro/post punk band Yat-Kha...
. Not long afterwards, the group changed its name to Huun-Huur-Tu, meaning "sunbeams" (literally "sun propeller"). The focus of their music was traditional Tuvan folk songs, frequently featuring imagery of the Tuvan steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
or of horses.
The ensemble released its first album, 60 Horses In My Herd, the following year. The album was recorded at studios in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge. The population was 13,903 at the 2010 census.Mill Valley is located on the western and northern shores of Richardson Bay...
. By the time recording began for the follow-up, Kuvezin had left the group to form the more rock-oriented Yat-Kha
Yat-Kha
Yat-Kha is a band from Tuva, led by vocalist/guitarist Albert Kuvezin. Their music is a mixture of Tuvan traditional music and rock, featuring Kuvezin's distinctive kargyraa throat singing style, the kanzat kargyraa.-Biography:...
. Kuvezin was replaced by Anatoli Kuular, who had previously worked with Khovalyg and Kongar-ool Ondar as part of the Tuva Ensemble. The new line-up recorded The Orphan's Lament in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, and released it in 1994.
In 1995, Alexander Bapa, who had produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
the first two albums, departed the group to pursue production as a full-time career. He was replaced by Alexei Saryglar, formerly a member of the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n state ensemble Siberian Souvenir. A third album, If I'd Been Born An Eagle, recorded in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, followed in 1997. This time, in addition to the traditional folk music, the group performed some rather more contemporary Tuvan songs, from the latter half of the 20th century.
In early 1999, the group released its fourth album, Where Young Grass Grows. For the first time on a Huun-Huur-Tu album, non-Tuvan instruments (except for the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) were featured, including harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
, Scottish smallpipe (performed by Martyn Bennett
Martyn Bennett
Martyn Bennett was a Scottish musician who was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada...
) and synthesiser
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
. The album also features two excerpts of recordings made of Kaigal-ool and Anatoli singing whilst riding horseback on the Tuvan grasslands.
Huun-Huur-Tu participated in the 2000 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Music Live event, performing the opening and closing songs for a live, early morning broadcast from Snape Maltings
Snape Maltings
Snape Maltings is part of Snape, Suffolk, U.K., best known for its concert hall, which is one of the main sites of the annual Aldeburgh Festival....
. The following year, the group released their first live album.
In 2003, Kuular quit the group and was replaced by Andrey Mongush, an experienced teacher of xöömei and Tuvan instruments. Mongush's tenure with the group was short and in 2005 he was replaced by Radick Tyulyush, formerly of Yat-Kha
Yat-Kha
Yat-Kha is a band from Tuva, led by vocalist/guitarist Albert Kuvezin. Their music is a mixture of Tuvan traditional music and rock, featuring Kuvezin's distinctive kargyraa throat singing style, the kanzat kargyraa.-Biography:...
fame.
Collaboration
Since the group's inception, Huun Huur Tu has collaborated with musicians from many genres, such as Frank ZappaFrank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, Johnny Watson, the Kodo drummers
Kodo (taiko group)
is a professional taiko drumming troupe. Based on Sado Island, Japan, they have had a role in popularizing taiko drumming, both in Japan and abroad...
, The Moscow Art Trio, the Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
, Hazmat Modine
Hazmat Modine
Hazmat Modine is a blues/folk/world fusion/jazz musical group from New York. "Hazmat" is a portmanteau of "hazardous material" and "Modine" is the name of a company that manufactures commercial heaters but may be used to refer to the heater itself...
, The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
and Bulgarian woman's singing group, Angelite. Their most recent recording "Eternal" is a collaborative effort with underground electronic musician, Carmen Rizzo
Carmen Rizzo
Carmen Rizzo is a producer and music engineer who has worked with Alanis Morissette, Oakenfold, Kate Havnevik, Huun-Huur-Tu, Temposhark, Jem, Niyaz and Esthero. In addition, he has recorded his own albums entitled The Lost Art of the Idle Moment , Ornament of an Imposter , and Looking Through...
. In January 2010, group Hazmat Modine
Hazmat Modine
Hazmat Modine is a blues/folk/world fusion/jazz musical group from New York. "Hazmat" is a portmanteau of "hazardous material" and "Modine" is the name of a company that manufactures commercial heaters but may be used to refer to the heater itself...
also announced plans to record with Huun Huur Tu again.
Recordings
- 60 Horses In My Herd (1993)
- The Orphan's Lament (1994)
- If I'd Been Born An Eagle (1997)
- Where Young Grass Grows (1999)
- Live 1 (2001)
- Live 2 (2001)
- Best * Live (2001)
- More Live (2003)
- Altai Sayan Tandy-Uula (2004)
With Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
- Early Music (Lachrymae Antiquae) (1997)
With The Bulgarian Voices - Angelite:
- Fly, Fly My Sadness (1996)
- Mountain Tale (1998)
With Malerija
- Spirits from Tuva (2003)
With Hazmat Modine
Hazmat Modine
Hazmat Modine is a blues/folk/world fusion/jazz musical group from New York. "Hazmat" is a portmanteau of "hazardous material" and "Modine" is the name of a company that manufactures commercial heaters but may be used to refer to the heater itself...
- Bahamut (2007)
With Sainkho Namtchylak
Sainkho Namtchylak
Sainkho Namtchylak is a singer originally from Tuva, a small autonomous republic in the Russian Federation just north of Mongolia. She is known for her Tuvan throat singing or Khöömei.-Style:...
- Mother-Earth! Father-Sky! (2008)
With Ross Daly
Ross Daly
Ross Daly is a world musician who specializes in music of the Cretan lyra. Although of Irish descent, he has been living on the island of Crete for over 35 years.-Biography:...
- The White Dragon (2008)
With Carmen Rizzo
Carmen Rizzo
Carmen Rizzo is a producer and music engineer who has worked with Alanis Morissette, Oakenfold, Kate Havnevik, Huun-Huur-Tu, Temposhark, Jem, Niyaz and Esthero. In addition, he has recorded his own albums entitled The Lost Art of the Idle Moment , Ornament of an Imposter , and Looking Through...
- Eternal (2009)
External links
- Huun-Huur-Tu official site
- Greek television advertisement featuring "Eki Attar" from The Orphan's Lament
- Directory of high-resolution photographs of the group
- Huun-Huur-Tu on On Point Radio, Aired January 13, 2006
- BBC Radio Awards for World Music, 2004
- Huun-Huur-Tu: Music Refracting Sunlight (Russia-IC.com article)
- Huun-Huur-Tu captivates audience with Tuvan music, October 2007
- Huun Huur Tu streaming videos
- Huun Huur Tu on Youtube
- Rare video footage of Andrey Mongush performing xoomei with Huun Huur Tu
- Interview with Sayan Bapa, "Huun-Huur-Tu Interview" Kodo Beat, Autumn, 1999.
- "Tuvan vocalists impress students" Honolulu Star-Bulletin, February 12, 2004
- "Throat singers capture sounds of central Asia" Mail Tribune, October 2006.
- "Videoclip - All one - Odugen Taiga (Mother Taiga)"