Mongolian rock outfit The Hu are headed our way next month for their debut Australian tour, performing a pair of headline dates along with appearances at Melbourne’s Download Festival for a day of pure rock and metal fury.
For the uninitiated, The Hu pulls inspiration from the ancient Mongolian empire of the Hunnu. Their music is built around heavy rock staples like distorted guitars, bombastic drums, and aggressive rhythms, and is combined with traditional Mongolian instrumentation such as Morin Khuur (horsehead fiddle), Tovshuur (Mongolian guitar) and Tumur Khuur (jaw harp) alongside throat singing, all making for an extremely epic take on the genre.
We chat to the band ahead of the festival.
Your approach to musical style is reminiscent of many Scandinavian metal bands that blend ancient, traditional imagery with modern heavy metal, was the formation of The Hu inspired by bands like these? Were there other Mongolian bands or metal bands that were highly influential to your sound?
We have all sorts of inspiration and influence including Mongolian traditional music, Pink Floyd, Metallica, Slipknot, Rammstein, Tool, Lamb of God, etc. There’s a band Mongolia called Altan Urag.
Is the use of traditional instruments like the Morin khuur, tovshuur and the tumur khuur fairly commonplace in modern Mongolia or could The Hu be considered a movement to bring them back to popularity?
They’ve always been popular in Mongolia. I think we’re making them visible to the World.
The use of throat singing is such a unique appeal for a metal band in an international scope and produces such an amazing sound, is it hard to do? Is there a significant meaning behind throat singing in Mongolian culture?
Throat singing has been a Mongol technique for generations. Our grandfathers, fathers, mentors always did it. We genuinely respected that it came from our ancestors and wanted to respect and honour them while attempting to master the technique. We practiced this style for years since we were kids to be able to control it, apply it and now we’re infusing it into our songs because it feels natural to us. It’s who we are, it’s what we know, it’s where we come from. It comes from an honest human place that we’re proud of and comfortable with.
Your new album is titled ‘gereg’ – a Mongolian diplomatic passport used during the time of Genghis Khan – is there a particular political message your music is trying to convey?
The Gereg is the first diplomatic passport introduced to the world by our ancestors. In the 13th century, a person who had the Gereg could travel to many countries without any harm and restrictions. We named our album The Gereg so that we can travel to every country in the world freely and share our music with everyone.
The influence of traditional, folkloric Mongolia is unmissable in your music, does The Hu fill in a gap for traditional music that was previously empty in Mongolia? Are there many bands about that celebrate Mongolian culture the way The Hu does?
Traditional music always has been one of the biggest branches in Mongolian music scene. There are so many traditional bands in Mongolia. We call our style The Hunnu Rock which is a blend of Mongolian traditional music and contemporary Rock music. Eastern meets western and the past meets present. The genre is very dynamic it can be metal, but it can also be classic rock. We are the only band who’s playing the hunnu rock in the world at the moment. We hope that we will not be the last one to play the hunnu rock.
Your band exploded internationally with the release of music videos yuve yuve yu and wolf totem which is no doubt not only due to the captivating mix of authentic Mongolian culture and heavy metal but also the amazing visual quality with the use of beautiful landscapes, horse imagery, the detailed traditional instruments and the presence of such a large support of Mongolian faces. I wanted to state this as more of a compliment than anything else, but id also like to ask whether it was difficult getting the support to produce such amazing quality videos? Is there a decent amount of support for out-there projects like these in the Mongolian cultural industry?
We have a lot of support of our families and friends including our government. We worked so hard to make these music videos. For example, we traveled over 5 thousand kilometers in 14 days to western Mongolia off roads to make the Yuve Yuve Yu music video. There were times we were freezing on top of a high mountain or sweating in hot desert. We wanted to show the world the beautiful nature of Mongolia. We’re very honoured and humbled by the reactions of the people all around the world
How did you feel playing in Australia and in a large metal music festival like Download? Was it just like home or was it a completely new and different experience? Are you excited for Download 2020?
We are super excited because everywhere we go, we feel so much connection, love, and support. Our fans chant with us, they sing with us and they mosh with us. Our stage is our home, and, in our home, we know how to rock it hard!
Now that you have released your first album Gereg – big congratulations – what is next for The Hu? Is the another album on the way?
We want to keep doing what we’re doing now, and in the future. We want to leave a global mark of our music around the world.
What lasting message or experience are you hoping to leave your listeners with?
Thank you for all of your love and support! We will see you soon!
You’ll be able to witness their blend of hard rock and traditional Mongolian throat singing at Download Festival on March 20 in Melbourne. Download tickets at www.downloadfestival.com.au/tickets
Written by Jess Sercombe
