Hanggai

Hanggai is an Inner Mongolian folk music group from Beijing, China, active since 2004. The group works within Mongolian folk music and Mongolian throat singing, and its music also draws on punk rock, western drumming and other Chinese and western-influenced techniques.

Background and style

The name Hanggai is Mongolian and refers to an idealised grassland landscape of mountains, trees, rivers and blue skies. The group brings together young musicians from Beijing and the Inner Mongolia Mongol Autonomous Region. Its approach is to present Mongolian folk songs in forms that are more accessible to listeners in China and abroad, although this can come at the expense of some lyrical clarity.

Hanggai’s leader, Ilchi, comes from a punk background before turning to traditional overtone singing. After hearing the technique, he travels to his father’s homeland in Inner Mongolia, where he learns more about the style and the songs that had faded during China’s turbulent past. There he meets Hugejiltu and Bagen, both music students, who join the group.

Members and instruments

The group includes Batubagen, 胡格吉乐图, Hurizha, Ilchi, Niu Xin, Yilalata and Hugejiltu. Hugejiltu plays lead fiddle, while Bagen sings bass using overtone singing, producing a note an octave below the one being sung. The music centres on two traditional instruments: the morin khuur, a horse-hair fiddle, and the tobshuur, a strummed two-stringed lute.

Recordings and reception

Hanggai’s recordings adapt traditional grassland songs and are sung in Mongolian, with many pieces using hoomei throat singing. The arrangements range from plainly traditional to more complex forms. Songs mentioned include “Five Heroes”, which combines electric guitar with folk elements, “Wuji”, which is driven by throat singing and horsehair fiddle, “Lullaby” (Borulai), which uses vocal harmonies, and “Drinking Song”, which is recorded during a drunken evening and assembled in the studio.

The group releases an album titled Introducing Hanggai through World Music Network, and its second full album, He Who Travels Far, appears in 2010. Another album, Hanggai, is released in China and is also available as a digital download. Reviews describe the group as combining traditional Mongolian music with new elements while keeping a strong connection to the grasslands.

Media and online activity

Hanggai maintains an online presence through a Myspace page, a YouTube channel and an official Facebook fan page. Its YouTube channel also runs a throat singing contest.