Likened to a “warped Asian version of Radiohead” (Lucid Culture), versatile veterans of world music, Huun Huur Tu, will present their debut performance in Beijing Sept. 19 at Yugong Yishan.
Tuva’s Huun Huur Tu are an amazing band, the ethereal beauty of their music, individual talent of each of the four members, and the way in which they are reinventing traditional music, making it relevant in the 21st Century global society, guarantees an amazing performance. Playing instruments native to Tuva, such as the igil (a two-stringed mini cello), doshpuluur (a boxy two-string grasslands banjo-esque instrument), and goat-skin shaman drum, and relying heavily on throat singing (traditional to Tuva), Huun Huur Tu has collaborated with greats like Frank Zappa, the Chieftans, the Kronos Quartet, Sainkho, electronica DJ and producer Carmen Rizzo, and just last year, with Moscow-based chamber orchestra Opus Posth. They have performed the gamut of musical collaborations including traditional, electronica, experimental and classical. Their music has been used in stage, television and film productions. Huun Huur Tu’s collaboration with the Kronos Quartet was nominated for a Grammy in 1998 and the band was nominated for BBC Radio 3’s Award for World Music/Asia Pacific 2008.
Formed in 1992, just after the great Soviet disintegration began, Huun Huur Tu was perhaps the first band from Tuva to travel to and perform outside the country, as well as collaborate with such well-established musicians from other parts of the world. Starting with their first album in 1993, 60 Horses In My Herd, Huun Huur Tu have released 17 albums to date, including their own productions and collaborations. Their most recent collaboration was with Carmen Rizzo on the album, Eternal. Huun Huur Tu has played extensively around the world, including Europe, North America, and Asia.
The four members of Huun Huur Tu come from vastly different backgrounds – shepherd, jazz bass player, medical student, Russian state musician. Their combined talent and love of traditional Tuvan music have made the band’s music transcendent.
The quality and emotional impact of their music has affected musicians and music fans the world over, and China is no exception. Song Yuzhe, of China’s famed world music band Dawanggang, says the song 60 Horses In My Herd had a deep impact on him. The grace of its composition, the delicacy of its instrumentation and the simple beauty of its lyrics have driven him to listen to it thousands of times. Hanggai’s Ilchi counts Huun Huur Tu among the greats of world music and says they have had a strong impact on his perception of the possibilities for the evolution of traditional music.
Huun Huur Tu – powerful, intelligent music.
- Start:
- Tickets: Rmb 100 / 70 (presale)
