Few artists are as dead-set on reminding us of our humanity in their music like The Hu. The Mongolian heavy metal band have performed successfully to countless overseas crowds, an undeniable indicator that the people can’t get enough. Such magnetism is found in their own “Hunnu rock”: a formula of traditional Mongolian folk elements and throat singing, blended with Western influences. Neither the heavy metal nor the Mongolian majesty is watered down in The Hu’s sound, yet it reaches the hearts of many. Even those with very particular tastes.
“It is an indication that we’re on the right path,” Jaya, throat singer and key multi-instrumentalist in the band told &ASIAN.
The story of The Hu’s formation and global reach is a beautifully simple one. Gala, Jaya, Enkush and Temka all studied music at the Mongolian State Conservatory in Ulaanbaatar, forming The Hu in 2016. Not knowing how big of a scale their audience would come to be, The Hu could only hope for success when they uploaded their first two songs on YouTube. With members adept in the musical arts from years of training and a true soul to their music, they could only wait with hopeful hearts that people would answer their call. Without knowing exactly what such Earth-spanning reach would bring, The Hu were absolutely right to have dreams of success for Hunnu rock.
Those who know of The Hu are well aware of how much the world loves them, but was this wide reach by the band’s design? Could they have ever possibly guessed that their music, challenging to the norms as it is, touches the hearts of so, so many? Jaya mused: “We feel very fortunate to be finding that space to create the music that people love. The human connection that we have is unmeasurable, […] and as trailblazers [of the Hunnu rock genre], we [want to] inspire everyone to use their cultural heritages and bring it up to the modern world.”
Jaya likes to see their specific sound as the perfect fulcrum point between Eastern and Western representation. He reaffirmed that their ultimate goal is to create music “that reaches the soul of people […] with the hope to educate people through their hearts.”
Their most popular song, “Yuve Yuve Yu”, is one of such calls to action. So candid it is in fact, that its message couldn’t possibly be interpreted incorrectly: “Yet, would not honour our oath and destiny / How strange, how strange / Why the valuable ethics of ancestors become worthless?”
“We’re not fantasizing about anything. We’re talking. We’re thinking. Our lyrics are saying the things that are real, and about Earth, about human relationships, the things that happened in the past, and how we should look into life. So we hope […] our humankind to be in a space where we can equally live all together as a species, and then share the earth peacefully. And you know that all of the lyrics and the songs can be heard, can be taken exactly how it is, how it’s sung.”
There is not one singular emblem of wisdom that The Hu could name as their most paramount. All of their music contains many messages, passed down through generations of families, shared in spaces called home. Of all the stories recounted: the things learnt, Jaya believes all are important, and none should be forgotten. While The Hu’s lyrics contain countless of these messages of wisdom received from their own families, there is one lyrical moment that Jaya dared to call one of his favourites.
At the climax of many nights of rousing music, The Hu often ends their setlists with the fantastic “This Is Mongol (Warrior Souls)”, calling all to chant along at the end “Ene Mongol bilee (Энэ Монгол Билээ)”. Jaya proposes the line as the most iconic of their music: “We are talking about the wise nature of our Mongolian ancestors and people as well, and we try to share that perspective with everyone. So I guess that that is the line that I would love to choose, saying, ‘Hey, this is Mongol.’”
One such instance of their overflowing wisdom is found in their latest album, HUN. It features their previously released “The Men” and “Warrior Chant”, two fantastic identifiers of The Hu’s sound and lyrical style. “The Men”, brimming with power and majesty, is a lesson in what makes a true man. “We just want men’s energy to be positive,” Jaya explained. “The way we see it is like if men are positive and have a positive energy in their home, then the home will be calm because a man’s spirit can carry a lot of negativity, and we do not want that.”
Jaya went on to elaborate on the song’s timely message: “In the modern world specifically, […] we’re seeing so much violence and so much negativity. So we wanted “The Men” to have this grand positive message and live for something, right? In the lyrics we say, “swift as water, grand as mountain”, so if a man has a goal to be peaceful and kind and positive, then it can have a very good positive impact. So that’s our way of delivering that message to the rest of the world and saying: ‘Hey, we have to pay attention to this.’ […] Of course, women and children are important, but at the same time, for the men specifically, because they’re reinforcing such negative energy, we wanted to be a voice where we say, ‘be kind, be peaceful, and [try] having a bigger purpose in life.’”
Surely one’s respect for The Hu doubles when you realise that it’s not just musical mastery you’re hearing: it’s decorated with profound, noble messages throughout its lyrics. Evidently, throat singing is not just a treat for the ears, but also the mind and soul.
Jaya has been on a fascinating journey to come to his proficiency in throat singing. He grew up in a music-oriented family in the Zavkhan Province of Mongolia, enjoying the bliss of the countryside and inheriting his family’s love of traditional music. Before joining the conservatoire with the other members in Ulaanbaatar, Jaya attended studies at a music conservatoire in 1997, where throat singing was a mere hobby of his at the time.
“As you can imagine, we kind of split our throat and bring out the different tonality of it. And sometimes I would get it wrong, right? […] I would kind of hurt my throat in the process,” Jaya told us, “But what really actually changed my life was this new music teacher who came back to the province after touring around in Scandinavian countries. He was a traditional musician, and he came back as a new music teacher to the conservatoire, and I was really happy about that because he started talking about the history of throat singing. He would explain how it was done, the techniques, and then along with it, he would give us CDs and vinyl that contained traditional music and songs. By listening to those and having our mentor teach me about what I should do, that really elevated my techniques.
“By the time it was the 2000s, I came to the capital city and the […] Mongolian State Conservatory. I already knew how to do throat singing,” Jaya continued, rightfully proud of such journeys that brought he and his bandmates here.
“So because of that, I would be used as a replacement if the main throat singer was out sick or something. [That] got me […] showcasing my throat singing as a college student to earn some money as a part time job, so that really made me progress in my throat singing journey, [which] needs constant practice. […] And then because I had this extensive experience in doing throat singing, by the time I auditioned for The Hu band, I was handpicked because I could do throat singing on a professional level.”
Jaya dipped his toes into many things, stayed true and consistent to himself when adapting his hobbies into talents, and the results are almost unbelievably extensive. At the time of our interview in fact, he had just finished one of his own handmade Topshuurs, a Mongolian string instrument. He often specialises in the wind instruments in the band, but his master’s degree in all the traditional instruments keeps him not too far from any one of them.
Like the gorgeous anthemic sounds in HUN – the soul-piercing call of throat singing and the culmination of all the instruments one’s ears could possibly yearn for – we could listen to The Hu speak as endlessly and delightfully as we would watch them perform. Their words are as true as they are profound, and Jaya had just a few more to give to those of us who feel like the opposite of warriors.
“Life always gets better,” Jaya confirmed to us, and the world. “Once you hear our music, we hope that it changes your energy to something that is powerful or something that’s peaceful: whatever you want to find. So life always gets better. So believe in that. Live another day to see the sun.”
As timeless as the setting sun, The Hu are creating something truly incredible in this world: reminding us all of our humanity at the same time. With vivid music that could turn the heart of any sworn opposer of metal, messages that truly mean something, and members with stories profound and interconnecting, it’s hard to imagine they could possibly do anything more to garner their listeners’ respect. We believe the meaning of their name is absolutely fitting: human.
The Hu are on Instagram. You can buy tickets to the Warrior Chant Tour here.
