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In January 2019, NPR reported on a Mongolian heavy metal band whose epic music videos were racking up millions of views on YouTube. Eight months later The Hu released their first album, which blends the screaming guitars of heavy metal and traditional Mongolian guttural singing. We caught up with two band members on a video call to Mongolia, where they have been waiting out the pandemic.

The Hu's first two videos, in which band members sing in a guttural way known as throat singing while throwing heads back and forth reminiscent of the headbanging of '80s heavy metal bands, picked up 7 million views soon after their release in late 2018. The all-male quartet's combination of leather jackets and skull rings alongside intricately carved Mongolian horsehead fiddles inspired enthusiastic comments from both Western and Eastern audiences. The videos now have over 93 million views combined.

Meanwhile, the band has taken things even further - to another universe. In February The Hu released the single "Sugaan Essena" for "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order," a video game produced by Disney, Lucasfilm, EA and Respawn Entertainment. The song was created for use in the game and can be heard when players first meet the main character, Cal Kestis.

"That we became part of this [Star Wars] universe is just unbelievable," says lead singer TS. Galbadrakh, who goes by "Gala" and spoke through an interpreter.

The band also includes B. Enkhsaikhan ("Enkush"), G. Nyamjantsan ("Jaya"), and N. Temuulen ("Temka"). Band manager Tuga Namgur, who is Gala's older brother and the band's interpreter, says additional Star Wars collaborations are coming.

About This Series

While The Hu may not have envisioned performing for distant galaxies, they have always wanted to create music for listeners outside of Mongolia. They chose "hu" as a name because it is the root word for human being in Mongolian and that is who they wanted their audience to be - all human beings. Their goal is to incorporate as much of Mongolia's musical culture as they can into a rock style, the band's producer and songwriter B. Dashdondog, who goes by "Dashka," explained in an earlier interview.

The result is Mongolian folk rock, a genre that combines traditional Mongolian instruments, like a horsehead fiddle ( morin khuur), Jew's harp ( tumur khuur) and Mongolian guitar ( tovshuur), with the pounding bass and drums of rock. The two-stringed horsehead fiddle is not only shaped to resemble a horse with the carving of a horse head and strings and bow made of horsehair, it also can be used to imitate the sound of a herd of horses.

Then there is throat singing, a technique associated with pastoral herders in Central Asia. The singer produces a low constant sort of drone at the same time as a series of higher tones.

The band named their first album, The Gereg, for a diplomatic passport used during the time of Genghis Khan. The legendary Mongol leader is also mentioned in a line about how he was fated to bring nations together in their first song "Yuve Yuve Yu" (What's going on?). It was the video for that song - with its dramatic scenes of Mongolian nature - and a second song, "Wolf Totem" - which starred a Mongolian motorcycle gang - that originally attracted viewers. While the imagery and instruments might seem foreign to those outside of Mongolia, the throbbing rock beat is not.

This unique cultural combination of Eastern and Western began appearing during Mongolia's transition from a satellite of the Soviet Union to a democracy late last century. In recent years it has proved popular with an international audience. Folk metal band Tengger Cavalry played at Carnegie Hall and the music of Altan Urag was featured in the 2007 film Mongol and in the Netflix show Marco Polo. The Hu are now topping billboard charts. In April 2019 "Wolf Totem" reached number one on Billboard's Hard Rock chart according to Billboard.com.

Nick Laviers, the audio director at Respawn who invited the band to perform for the Star Wars video, was among those who heard it.

"The music had otherworldly-sounding vocals and unfamiliar ethnic instruments that could be alien, all on top of a classic-rock backbone," Laviers wrote in an email.

The combination was perfect for Star Wars. In "Sugaan Essena" the band sings in a unique "Star Wars Hu language" they invented. The Hu, wrote Laviers, "put together a track that really hit the mark on everything we were looking for." Since its debut in February the song's music video has collected more than 7.7 million YouTube views.

Gala believes the band's appeal comes from their message: "The importance of being together and protecting nature and respecting each other is something we need in this world. That is why this message is received widely, because everybody wants it."

Nevertheless, even Gala is sometimes surprised by how much the band is loved. On Facebook fans post pictures of tattoos they have gotten; at least one showcases Gala's face.

"It's unbelievable," says Gala. "When you see your own face on somebody."

Like his bandmates, Gala, who is 30, trained on traditional Mongolian instruments at the Mongolian State Conservatory. Also like his bandmates he favors black t-shirts, tattoos and long hair. Yet The Hu's fanbase is not limited to a particular type of person, says Jaya, who in addition to throat singing plays the jaw (or Jew's) harp, tsuur (a Mongolian flute without a mouthpiece) and flute. Through an interpreter Jaya describes a scene at a sold-out concert at Le Trianon theater in Paris in February of this year when the audience began chanting with the band.

"So many different types of people, who don't even understand the language," he says. "But together at this moment enjoying the music and being together as a family of human beings."

Performing on stage that night the band felt as if they had achieved something greater than themselves.

"We always wanted to unite people, we felt like we were just doing it," says Jaya, who at 37 is the band's oldest member.

There has been some controversy. Early on there were negative comments about how a symbol on the band's instruments and rings resembled a swastika. In a Facebook message the band explained that the swastika shape has been a sacred symbol in their culture for thousands of years, but out of respect for their fans they would stop displaying it.

The pandemic has raised other complaints. Some in Mongolia say that the Mongolian government favors the band, flying them home from an international tour while Mongolians abroad remained stranded after Mongolia closed its borders. Jaya says they did not receive special treatment and waited 45 days in Australia before being flown back to Mongolia.

Further complaints came when the band's COVID-19 fundraiser for the government's emergency office was scheduled one day before parliamentary elections, a legal non-campaign day for all parties. Gala says the band had no political intention. They ended up changing the date, he says, and raising 55 million tugrik ($19,292) for first responders when the concert aired on national television.

With their world tour cut short by the pandemic, The Hu have been focusing on a second album, which they plan to release next year. They have also been filming more episodes of their YouTube cooking show "Hu's in the Kitchen." Tuga the tour manager came up with the idea for the show while the band was playing in Detroit. Their 14th episode, which came out in late July, has more than 66,000 views. While earlier episodes feature a variety of foods, later episodes focus on Mongolian fare.

"As an ambassador of Mongolian culture, we wanted to share every aspect of Mongolian culture and lifestyle, and not only play Mongolian music," says Gala.

In the most recent episode, they make huushuur, Mongolian fried meat pies - and joke around.

"It's not easy to make dough for eight men," says Jaya, repeating a sentiment another member expressed in an earlier episode. (On tour the band includes four additional members.)

On the video as he fries the pies Jaya explains that huushuur is associated with summer in Mongolia along with Naadam, a summer festival that includes wrestling, archery and horse racing. Now that The Hu are back in Ulaanbaatar, they plan to cook more exotic Mongolian dishes. Jaya won't reveal what is on the menu next, but there are plenty of unusual meals to choose from, including marmot barbecue.

Katya Cengel has written for the New York Times Magazine and the Wall Street Journal, among other publications, and is the author of three nonfiction books. Her most recent book, From Chernobyl with Love: Reporting from the Ruins of the Soviet Union was awarded an Independent Publisher Book Award and a Foreword INDIES.

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Whatever Happened To ... The Heavy Metal Mongolian Band Called The Hu?

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In January 2019, NPR reported on a Mongolian heavy metal band whose epic music videos were racking up millions of views on YouTube. Eight months later The Hu released their first album, which blends the screaming guitars of heavy metal and traditional Mongolian guttural singing.

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NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM

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Mongolian heavy rockers The Hu have found themselves stranded in Australia while on tour, after the coronavirus pandemic led to their home country closing its borders. In an attempt to make the most of the situation, the band have hunkered down in a studio in Sydney to record new music for their follow-up to debut album 'The Gereg', one of 2019's more unlikely success stories.

There's not much chance that even the most advanced algorithm would have predicted that blending metal riffs, traditional Mongolian instruments and lyrics sung exclusively in their native language, delivered using the ancient art of 'khoomei' throat singing, would be the route to take for massive crossover success. Yet the numbers speak for themselves: The Hu's videos for 'Yuve Yuve Yu' and 'Wolf Totem' have now been watched 41 million and 28 million times respectively on YouTube alone.

The band also recently contributed an original song, 'Sugaan Essena', to the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, with lyrics in a fictional language authentic to the Star Wars universe. The Hu hinted that they're also using their new-found time to work on further Star Wars collaborations, saying to NME: "We're a band of brothers united by music and our warrior spirit. In challenging times like these, we do our best to lift each other up each day. We're also making the most of this time while in Australia by writing and recording new music. We're working on material for our next album. We are also working on some secret stuff for a future Lucas Films project."

Earlier this year, NME sat down with The Hu's Jaya, Gala, Enkush and Temka backstage at London's Electric Ballroom to hear more about the band's journey to global recognition:

Is being in London a big contrast to back home in Ulaanbaatar?

Gala: "The culture and everything is different but, you know, this is the 21st Century. Everybody has a H&M, and there's a Burger King in every country."

How were you first introduced to metal?

Enkush: "I was introduced to metal music by my uncle, who was a Buddhist monk. Then my mother studied at a college in Russia and she would bring vinyl for me. I started listening to Nirvana first, and then Iron Maiden and Metallica and then eventually I got into newer bands like Lamb of God."

Your producer, Dashka, was instrumental in helping you develop your distinctive sound. Do you think there's a natural link between traditional Mongolian music and metal, or was it really Dashka's idea?

Gala: "Even before starting the band with Dashka we always had metal in us. We would try to play Metallica songs on our instruments. This 'hunnu rock' which we started with Dashka is not just metal. It's very dynamic. It can sound like metal, but it can also sound like classic rock and many things beyond that."

How important are traditional Mongolian instruments to your sound?

Jaya: "It's probably the most important essence of our sound. Mongolian music is the foundation of our music, we just gave it a Western twist. That's why we use the Mongolian morin khuur, also known as the horsehead fiddle, the tovshuur, a lute, and the tumur khuur, which is a Jew's harp. All those sounds together help us to create this unique sound."

Why did you decide to call yourselves 'The Hu'?

Gala: "This word 'Hu' is the root word for a human being, an intellectual being. In Mongolian, anything related to humans like: 'son', 'daughter', 'person' or 'people' starts with 'Hu'. Even in English, 'human' begins with 'hu'. The reason we chose this word for our name is because of its inclusive nature. We want to share our music with everybody, every human being, without any exclusion."

So nothing to do with The Who. Are they well known in Mongolia?

Gala: "Our name has nothing to do with The Who, but we do love them. They're a legendary rock band. Everybody knows the band, and we love and respect them."

Your most recent single was about 'The Great Chinggis Khaan'. How important is the history and heritage of Mongolia to the music that you make?

Jaya: "Our heritage and history is very important to us, as it should be to everybody. We wanted to tell our side of the story to the world because he is known as a warlord conqueror, but there's another side to him. He was a visionary who brought the first diplomatic passports to the world, the first postal service, international trading, and most importantly, the first religious freedom in the Mongolian Empire, which was in the 15th Century. That's a very progressive thing to have, and for that reason we wanted to focus on these kinds of messages. We respect our past generations because they're the reason we're here today. That's why we always sing about respecting our elders and parents."

You used the name of Khan's diplomatic passport for your album, right?

Jaya: "We named the album 'The Gereg' so that this album becomes our own diplomatic passport. We want to travel to every nation and every country without restriction, so that we can share our message and share our music."

What should the world know about life in Mongolia?

Jaya: "Mongolia is a very interesting place. For example, we're a country that still has many people living in the same nomadic way that they've lived for thousands of years. When you go to Mongolia and go outside of the cities you can see people living that nomadic way of life. They're herding their animals and moving around, living in a respectful coexistence with nature. That's a beautiful thing."

How did you feel when you realised that your videos were being viewed millions of times around the world?

Temka: "Firstly, like any artist we wanted to have a lot of success. However, the reality has exceeded our expectations. We're so happy about it."

What does the future look like for The Hu?

Jaya: "We've got a lot of things we want to do. We want to stay active as long as possible, release many albums and go all around the world to share our message and our culture as Mongolians. We want to become one of the legendary bands."
The Hu's 'The Gereg' is out now

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Mongolian metallers The Hu: 'We want to become one of the legendary bands' | NME

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Mongolian heavy rockers The Hu have found themselves stranded in Australia while on tour, after the coronavirus pandemic led to their home country closing its borders. In an attempt to make the most of the situation, the band have hunkered down in a studio in Sydney to record new music for their follow-up to debut album 'The Gereg', one of 2019's more unlikely success stories.

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In February, a few days before Valentine's Day, over 1000 people in the UK headed out to watch a heavy metal band that, just months before, had taken the internet by storm. In Camden's Electric Ballroom, middle-aged metalheads united with east London art-types to pay homage to the band of the moment: the Hu.

The band only sang in Mongolian, mixing metal with the ancient art of throat singing. The fact that they didn't sing or speak in English didn't seem to matter much: heavy metal has a way of connecting a crowd.

The Hu, known for their sudden smash hit "Yuve Yuve Yu", have been streamed 10 million times on Spotify and gained over 40 million YouTube views; that's 20 million more views than Stormzy and Ed Sheeran's latest joint hit, "Own It".

The Hu's second biggest song, "Wolf Totem", hit 28 million views before they had even released their first album, making them the first Mongolian band to top a billboard chart. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Hu pierced through the global mainstream with their genre-bending rock. How?

"When we put up the videos for 'Yuve Yuve Yu' and 'Wolf Totem', people organically found them and responded to them. We're very blessed the world noticed us and liked us," says the band's lead throat singer, Gala. "Everywhere we go our fans chant with us, they sing with us and they mosh with us. We were surprised in the beginning, then after playing so many great cities in the UK we understood why they love us. UK audiences are super responsive to good music."

The four members of the band, Gala, Enkush, Jaya and Temka, have known each other for more than a decade. As kids, they all studied folk music, becoming friends on the Mongolian folk scene. All four grew up listening to the likes of Metallica, Slipknot and Led Zeppelin. "We always loved rock music because Mongolian traditional music itself has so many rock elements in it," Gala tells me.

For Gala and the band, throat singing - a type of sound that creates the upper and lower harmony together - is the key to their international success. "It 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," says Gala.

"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. It's the truest form and method for us to deliver our message in the sincerest way."

The Hu's success is bucking a wider trend. At the 2018 Grammys, the awards ceremony didn't even bother to televise the announcement of its rock category winners. Since the mid-Noughties, rock has been dying a silent death. Why? "Rock needed something new and unique," says Gala. "The legendary bands like The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Iron Maiden and Metallica always brought something new to the table. We believe that the new rock bands with original unique sounds will bring back rock to the front seat."

But as well as fighting for the new, memories of Mongolia's past are not far from the band's central image. The Hu's lyrics frequently lean into Mongolian nationalism. In fact, their fourth single is titled "The Great Chinggis Khaan". In May 2019, before their first album The Gereg was released, the group was invited to meet Mongolia's president, who thanked them for promoting the country internationally. In November, the state awarded them the highest state decoration of Mongolia: the Chinggis Khaan Order.

"Although we sing about Mongolian culture and history, our message itself is very universal. We'd like to remind [our fans of] the importance of showing gratitude to your parents, loving your homeland, protecting nature, loving and respecting women, respecting your history and ancestors," says Gala. "Hu is the root word for a human being in the Mongolian language. We chose this name because of the inclusive nature of the word. We want people all around the world to be united and stand against injustices."

In September 2019, the band finally released their first album and two blockbuster music videos, directed by their producer Dashka. The videos for "Yuve Yuve Yu" and "Wolf Totem" could be straight out of a Mongolian tourism campaign, the dramatic valleys of the landscape taking center stage.

"We traveled over 5,000 kilometers on off roads to western Mongolia to film 'Yuve Yuve Yu' . There were times when we got so hot in the desert and the next day we froze on a mountain top. We're pleased with the reactions of people all around the world."

The group are currently stranded in Australia, unable to return home from their global gig dates due to coronavirus travel restrictions. But the band is ready for the next chapter. "We want to keep doing what we're doing," says Gala. "We want to leave a global mark of our music around the world."

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The unexpected rise of the Hu: the Mongolian heavy metal band resurrecting rock

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In February, a few days before Valentine's Day, over 1000 people in the UK headed out to watch a heavy metal band that, just months before, had taken the internet by storm. In Camden's Electric Ballroom, middle-aged metalheads united with east London art-types to pay homage to the band of the moment: the Hu.

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INTERVIEW // Heavy metal meets Mongolian throat singing: The HU

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Metal bands are known for channelling their inner Viking but what kind of music do you listen to if you want to channel your inner Hun? Enter The HU, a Mongolian metal band, formed in 2016 who rocketed to fame when their songs Wolf Totem and Yuve Yuve Yu went viral, gaining 30 million views ...

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An ancient warrior on horseback appears at the skyline, shadowed, and raises his staff as a call to battle. A gang of leather-clad motorcyclists convenes behind him, following his charge through the grassy hillsides.

So goes the cinematically beautiful opening sequence of the viral music video "Wolf Totem," by the Mongolian rock band , which serves as a strong poetic introduction to the core identity of the band, their music, and the reasons for their rise to YouTube fame.

While the visuals are clear to follow, singing along is a challenge - unless you're a trained Mongolian throat singer.

The four members of The Hu are, each having been classically trained to play traditional Mongolian instruments at Mongolia's state conservatory. In 2016, they formed the band and began innovatively fusing traditional Mongolian music with headbanging rock riffs.

Like modern rock warriors, they raised their instruments and success followed the call.

The pursuit of YouTube virality may be just as difficult as learning to throat sing, but The Hu achieved it last fall after posting just two music videos (the other is for their single . The buzz took them from Mongolia and quickly put them on the global map, as well as "Yuve Yuve Yu") on a brand new channel. Now, they have over 26 million views on those videos and 400 thousand subscribers the Billboard charts.

In the golden age of video content, that's no small feat. Anything that stands a chance of surfacing above the white noise needs to be highly unique and fresh, while still being authentic. A tough balancing act, to be sure.

Fortunately for The Hu, their music tows that line to begin with.

Throat Singing And Headbanging

From its inception, The Hu endeavored to capture the tradition, authenticity, and originality of their culture's instruments and music while bringing it to relevance in modern music.

"When we do this, we try to spiritually express this beautiful thing about Mongolian music. We think we will talk to everyone's soul through our music," Temka, the band's guitarist, said in an interview with NPR earlier this year.

Among the traditional instruments they use are the horsehead fiddle, Mongolian guitar, and the Jew's harp. By far the most unique - and viral - element of their music, though, is the incorporation of traditional Mongolian throat singing into their vocals.

Laid over heavy, warlike drums and thick bass, The Hu brings the ancient art of throat singing into the modern era with a punch.

"We want people to be interested in Mongolian history," lead singer and horsehead fiddle player Gala said in a GQ interview, "and through our music [to] help people understand what we're about, how beautiful our country is."

The Romanticism Of Throat Singing

Throat singing originates from the Tuvan mountainous region that lays on the border of Mongolia. According to The Guardian's David McNamee, throat singing was "[...] supposedly modeled on the harmonic resonances herders would find naturally occurring around valleys or waterfalls, with some vocal styles configured to mimic the sounds of animals, wind or water."

The musical form represents a strong connection to the land and, as such, captures the nomadic tradition of Mongolian people.

"Testing the limits of vocal ingenuity, throat-singers can create sounds unlike anything in ordinary speech and song-carrying two musical lines simultaneously, say, or harmonizing with a waterfall," write Theodore C. Levin and Michael E. Edgerton in a piece on Tuvan throat singing published in Scientific American.

Levin became the first American allowed to study music in Tuva in 1987, which ultimately became a concentration on the art, culture, and history of throat singing. Though The Hu is a new phenomenon attracting millions of views in Western countries, throat singing has long been popular in Mongolia.

"Professional ensembles have achieved celebrity status, and the favorite singers are symbols of national cultural identity."

Emerging From The Mountains To YouTube

How was The Hu able to take traditional music and popularize it on YouTube?

Their overnight success speaks to current broader trends within content engagement and consumption.

Most importantly, it reinforces that successful content is authentic. Global media agency UM recently reported that "[a]uthenticity and identity will play a significant role in the near future, with most online consumers looking for original takes and innovative approaches to brand identity."

The Hu was able to carry the authenticity and strong identity of traditional music and adapt it to more modern audiences. While Western listeners didn't grow up on throat singing, the art captures an element of nostalgia and romanticism by way of the simple lifestyle that it recalls.

YouTube has been a major vehicle for people to create and post remixes and mash-ups. The nearly infinite library of video from all areas of pop culture has inspired funny, moving, and creative adaptations that reinvigorate the original feel of beloved content.

In this light, YouTube was the perfect platform for The Hu to release their music on. Viewers engaged visually with the world The Hu creates while being moved by the more modern, hard-hitting, accessible rock power chords.

Conquering - And Rocking - The World

If traditional Mongolian music guides the heart of the band, it's their rock influences that pump it to life. The Hu has drawn inspiration from the likes of Rammstein, Metallica, Marilyn Manson, Tool, and System Of A Down.

Something about the vibrations of throat singing lends itself perfectly to the intensity of heavy rock and metal. It makes listeners feel like they too are roaming the hills of Mongolia as a part of Ghengis Kahn's army, though maybe this time on a motorcycle.

The fusion has paid off for The Hu, who is now signed on the same record label as Motley Crue.

In the wake of their viral success, they are releasing their first full album in September and embarking on a substantial world tour , with many dates in Europe and North America.

Check out more news on Grit Daily.

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Mongolian Rock Band, The Hu, Throat Sings Its Way To YouTube Fame | Grit Daily News

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An ancient warrior on horseback appears at the skyline, shadowed, and raises his staff as a call to battle. A gang of leather-clad motorcyclists convenes behind him, following his charge through the grassy hillsides.

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Maybe you're jaded, maybe you think it's time for heavy metal to finally hang up its spikes, maybe you think there's nowhere else for the world's most theatrically angry music to go but maybe bluegrass.... Or maybe Mongolia, where folk metal band The Hu have been inventing what they call "Hunnu Rock," a style combining Western headbanging with instruments like the horsehead fiddle ( morin khuur) and Mongolian guitar ( tovshuur). "It also involves singing in a guttural way," Katya Cengel points out at NPR-no, not like this, but in the manner of traditional Mongolian throat singers.

Now YouTube sensations with millions of views of its two videos for "Yuve Yuve Yu" and "Wolf Totem," the band plans to release its first album this spring, after seven years of hard work. The Hu are not flash-in-the-pan internet fame seekers but serious musicians who didn't quite expect this degree of attention, or so they say. "When we do this," said guitarist Temka, "we try to spiritually express this beautiful thing about Mongolian music. We think we will talk to everyone's soul through our music. But we didn't expect this fast, people just popping up everywhere."

University of Wisconsin's Kip Hutchins, a doctoral student in cultural anthropology, has taken an interest in the band and thinks their appeal, writes Cengel, has to do with how "the story of Mongolia has been written in the West. Nomadism and horse culture has been romanticized, and the emphasis on freedom and heroes tends to appeal to the stereotypical male heavy metal fan." The band's themes focus on past national triumphs, the legendary rule of Genghis Khan, and the glorification of the nomadic warrior's life.

Or so it would seem to Westerners parsing their lyrics in English. It may also be hard to read "Hey you traitor! Kneel down!" in a song about "taking our Great Mongol ancestors names in vain" and not think about metal's role in a few violent ultra-nationalist scenes. Some suggest the songs are ironic or translate differently to Mongolian listeners. Or that the band might be a sophisticated satire, like Laibach, using nationalist themes, costumes, and dramatic settings on the steppes to critique nationalist narratives.

One observer who knows the culture suggests it's more complicated. The Hu are not mocking traditional Mongolian culture and history, far from it. "The graphic visuals used in the video certainly evoke pride in our nomadic culture," writes Batshandas Altansukh, "but the lyric is quite the contrary. It's very political and highly critical of today's Mongolian society" and what the band sees as their country's propensity for "emptily boasting about the past" rather than actually learning about and respecting it (with motorcycle gangs riding across the plains).

The lyrics we read in translation are apparently "too westernized or simplified" to really get their point across and slogans like "taking our great Mongol ancestors names in vain," Cengel points out, "are almost exactly what was sung in the late 1980s during the transition to democracy"-a means of fiercely asserting an independent cultural identity against the hegemonic Soviet Union. Mongolian folk rock and jazz bands picked up the sentiment and Mongolian hip hop acts promote respect for the country's traditions with new dance moves.

But whether or not The Hu's politics get wrongly interpreted, or ignored, by their millions of new fans, it's clear that people get it at the universal level of metal's communal frequencies: long hair, leather, guitars, growling, and epic medieval badassery.
Related Content: The Origins of the Death Growl in Metal Music Finnish Musicians Play Bluegrass Versions of AC/DC, Iron Maiden & Ronnie James Dio With Medieval Instruments, Band Performs Classic Songs by The Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica & Deep Purple is a writer and musician based in Durham, NC. Follow him at @jdmagness

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The Hu, a New Breakthrough Band from Mongolia, Plays Heavy Metal with Traditional Folk Instruments and Throat Singing

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Maybe you're jaded, maybe you think it's time for heavy metal to finally hang up its spikes, maybe you think there's nowhere else for the world's most theatrically angry music to go but maybe bluegrass....

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The Hu (pronounced as in The Who) are the most unlikely global success story in modern rock. Their unique brand of Mongolian throat singing accompanied by traditional instruments was largely unknown outside their country before a record producer put a rock beat behind it. Eighty million YouTube views and a sell-out European tour later, they have been described by Elton John as "just the greatest new thing I've heard in a long time".

We caught up with lead singer Gala ahead of their first concerts in Ireland on Saturday and Sunday.

How did you come together as a band?
We met at the Mongolian State Music and Dance Conservatory in Ulaanbaatar. In 2016, the four band members together with our producer and founder Dashka started working on the first few songs. Creating and arranging these songs helped us find the sound we were looking for.

What can you tell us about the instruments that you play?
The Hu sound is all about traditional Mongolian instruments and their unique sounds. We use Morin Khuur (horsehead fiddle), Tovshuur (three-stringed lute), Tsuur (Mongolian flute) and Tumur Khuur (Jew's harp). The Hu is traditional meets modern and past meets present. So, we made little visible changes to our instruments because of our style.

Do you play conventional rock instruments such as guitars and basses?
Yes, we have our touring members who play the drums and percussions, bass, and guitar.

Enkhasaikhan Batjargal, aka Enkush, of The Hu. Photograph: Jackie Schutza

How do you classify your music?
We call our style The Hunnu Rock which is a blend of Mongolian traditional music and contemporary rock music.The title comes from the Mongolian root word for human being: "hu". The word Eastern meets Western and the past meets present. The genre is very dynamic, as it can be metal, but it can also be classic rock. The most unique thing about the style is the Mongolian throat singing, which is an amazing sound that humans make which creates the upper and lower harmony together.

You are signed to Better Noise Music which is mostly a heavy metal label. You are perceived to be a heavy metal band. Are you comfortable with that description?
Better Noise Music, formerly known as E7M, has a lot of active rock bands on its roster. Hunnu rock contains a lot of metal elements.

What are your Western music influences?
We have all sorts of inspiration and influence including Mongolian traditional music, Pink Floyd, Metallica, Slipknot, System of a Down, Rammstein, Tool, Lamb of God. The list goes on.

When you started out, did you think there would be a global audience for your style of music?
Yes, we expected some kind of success because we worked so hard to make these music videos. We travelled over 5,000 km on off-roads to western Mongolia to film Yuve Yuve Yu. There were days we got so hot in the desert or got so cold on a mountain top next day. We're very honoured and humbled by the reactions of the people all around the world.

The Hu: We call our style The Hunnu Rock. Photograph: Tim Troncke

Are you surprised at your international success?
It's kind of hard to believe sometimes. We truly are honoured by the love and support of our fans around the world! Everywhere we go our fans chant with us, they sing with us and they mosh with us.

Can you tell us about your collaborations with Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach and Danny Case from From Ashes to New?
Jacoby is a rock legend who we grew up listening to. Paparoach, From Ashes to New, and The Hu are on the same label with Better Noise Music. Our label offered to collaborate with them, and we're honoured to work with them.

The Mongol Empire/Genghis Khan features a lot in your music. The Mongol Empire sometimes gets bad press in the West, but you believe it was a force for good in the world. Can you explain why you think that is the case?
Our ancestors are known as the great khaans and warriors. Mongolia has a rich cultural history with many traditions including great progressive ideas and inventions. Our ancestors, in the Mongol empire, allowed religious freedom in the 13th century which was never heard of at that time. Also, the first postal service and the first diplomatic passport, aka the Gereg, were invented by the Mongols. Mongolian music and instruments are also essential parts of our culture and we are happy to share them with the world.

What do you know about Ireland?
There so many great things we love about Ireland such as its beautiful landscape, U2, Conor McGregor, Jameson, Guinness. We are so excited to perform in Ireland. Thank you to our Irish fans for all the love and support!
The Hu's album The Gereg is released on Better Noise Music. They will play the Limelight in Belfast on Saturday, February 15th, and The Academy, Dublin, on Sunday, February 16th. They will also perform at the Sunstroke 2020 Festival at Punchestown Racecourse on Sunday, June 14th

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Meet The Hu: the Mongolian metal band conquering the world

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The Hu (pronounced as in The Who) are the most unlikely global success story in modern rock. Their unique brand of Mongolian throat singing accompanied by traditional instruments was largely unknown outside their country before a record producer put a rock beat behind it.