Khusugtun
Gig Seeker Pro

Khusugtun

| SELF

| SELF
Band World World

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Khusugtun: Central Asian Blues"

By Bilguun Munkhjargal


I had not heard of the band Khusugtun until three weeks ago when I stumbled upon their only music video to date. (A second Khusugtun video is not conceptual, but rather a live performance. The group won the Grand Prize at the International Throat Singers Festival, FYI.) Being both a fan of the traditional Mongolian throat-singing (khuumii as it is called in Mongolian) and of blues music, I was instantly taken with their bluesy number that was still distinctly Mongolian.
Khusugtun roughly translates to "cart-riders" in Mongolian. While the English translation may sound like a band from the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou, in Mongolian it is a traditional name for a band, to say the least, one that is close to the hearts of many nomadic Mongolians. Traditionally nomadic herders, Mongolians would move on average four or five times a year, from their summer camps to their autumn camps and so on as the seasons and pastures changed. And the horse or ox-drawn carts were an inseparable part of this lifestyle.

While Mongolians have become less and less nomadic due to urbanization with only 20 percent of Mongolia’s 2.5-million population now living the traditional nomadic lifestyle, the cultural identity of Mongolians as nomads remains strong, now more in a global/international sense as more and more Mongolians travel abroad for work and studies.

Khusugtun seem to represent the different ethnic groups in Mongolia through the musical instruments they utilize. The self-titled song starts with a bluesy riff on a dombura or dombor, a two-stringed Kazakh instrument, and an ensemble of traditional instruments takes over, with the two-stringed Mongolian horse-headed fiddle or “morin khuur” leading along with yatga, a traditional Mongolian plucked zither. The lyrics are a nostalgic ode to the past glories and the Mongol identity, to the nomad warriors and to the Eternal Blue Sky, worshipped by Mongols from ancient times. The singing style draws inspiration from the western Mongolian Altai Mountain praise songs, along with the beautiful throat-singing and the growly bass backing vocals.

Appropriately, the music video is mostly imageries depicting the nomadic warrior past of the Mongol empire: archers, warriors on horsebacks. Descendants of the second largest empire in history after the British Empire, Mongolians are extremely proud of their history, culture and Chinggis Khaan, or Genghis Khaan as he is often erroneously called in English literature. Treated as a barbarian warlord in western historical textbooks, Chinggis Khaan is worshipped like a god in Mongolia. Understandable in many ways, as during the Communist era, as the satellite state of the Stalinist Soviet Union, Mongolians were not allowed to write, read or talk much about Chinggis Khaan and his descendants, lest such things lead to a resurgence in national pride and a desire to be free of the Soviet Union. When Communism collapsed, Mongolians, victims of historical revisionism, had only the past glories of the 13th century, the period that saw the Mongol Empire peak in all its glory, to turn to for a sense of identity.

Along with the resurgence of national pride since the 1990s, there has been an increasing interest in traditional music amongst young musicians. Some of this was undoubtedly due to commercialization and the development of the tourism industry. There are many others, like Khusugtun, who are now taking the traditional Mongolian music a step further through experimentation and fusion with other genres of music. One of the more prominent examples is Altan Urag, a folk-rock group that is influenced as much by traditional music as they are by metal music and punk rock. Khusugtun, a relatively newcomer to the scene with only one album so far, may perhaps be the next folk band to introduce Mongolian music to foreign audiences around the world. Having returned to Mongolia after being away for more than 13 years, I have a new-found affection for Mongolian traditional music. And I was extremely delighted to discover these young bands, creating new music that is at once centuries old and a part of our cultural identity. - The Bluegrass Special (online)


"Grand Prix for Mongolia' Throat-singers"

Mongolia's khoomi (throat) singers participated successfully at the 'Breath of the World' international throat-singing festival held at Ulan-Ude, the Buryat Republic's capital city, from October 26 to 29,2009. The Mongolian National Song and Dance Ensem¬ble (MNSDE) 'Khusugtun' ethnic ballad group was awarded the Grand Prix for its outstanding throat- singing, leaving behind Tuva's singers also skilled in this particular form of folk art.

This comparatively young and small group with six singers, only formed in March this year, has already gained success at three major festivals: being awarded the Grand Prix at the First International Throat-Sing¬ing Festival held here in Mongolia during May; as well as winning the gold medal at Korea's Cheju Island festival during September, where the affection and appreciation of their audiences was drawn by their skillful throat-style performances and their music characterized by throat-leveling (A Capella) varieties. This 6-member group has cleverly combined traditional folk specialties with classic songs.

The international throat-singing festival at Ulan-Ude was aimed at developing and expanding singing and sharing experiences, with parties by people of Mongol origin from Buryatia, the Region, Khakas, Shhory, Kalmyk, Tuva and Yakutia. At the previous 3rd festival during 2005 the MN group gained the lead and won the Grand Prix MNSDE s Khosogton Group won the festival Grand Prix in the khoomii event, with MNSI Khar Suld Group also winning the 2nd prize. MN s khoomii singer, O. Chuluunbaatar, took 1st in the solo khoomii event.

November 2009 - Mongolia Today


Discography

Khusugtun LP

Photos

Bio

Comprising some of the world’s best throat singers, Khusugtun are a six piece from Mongolia who combine traditional instrumentation with a cappella khoomei (throat singing). They play folk music with a slight twist, and, like a host of young Mongolian musicians, are embracing the traditional sounds of their ancestors.

Winners of the 2009 International Throat Singing competition, Khusugtun are also skilled in a variety of instruments that reflect various ethnic groups within Mongolia, including morin khuur (horse head fiddle), yatga (traditional zither), guitar, dombor (traditional Kazakh instrument), limbe (traditional flute), djembe (drum), and ikh khuur (great horse head fiddle).

Khusugtun regularly perform in Mongolia as part of the National Folk Song and Dance Ensemble, and have performed internationally in Russia, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Belgium, France, Holland, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and China.

For more information on Khusugtun and videos, please visit: www.khusugtun.com