The band showcases traditional Mongolian instruments as well as throat singing to the delight of their legions of fans, most of whom do not even understand Mongolian.
The HU flew to Australia as part of their five-month Black Thunder tour which takes in North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, with scheduled festival appearances at Coachella, Lollapalooza, and the Download Festival.
The Mongolian group performed at sold-out concerts in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Sydney, promoting its new album “Rumble of Thunder”.
Credit: The HU Facebook page
They say they have a special connection to Australia, with some of the album’s material coming together during the lockdown in Australia back in 2020 when they were stuck in New South Wales for more than two months. Therefore, The HU expressed their thanks to Sydneysiders during the concert.
The Sydney concert was preceded by chants of “Hu! Hu! Hu!” from the audience then the band roared “Australians are you ready?” from the stage.
The concert hall was crowded with a diverse range of ages and nationalities.
“Our music travels heart to heart, mind to mind. Our message is about the importance of respecting and loving our ancestors, and parents, and protecting mother nature,” said Enkhuush, Lead Morin Khuur and Throat Singer, to SBS Mongolian.
Enkhuush and Odko just after interviewing SBS Mongolian.
The Hu donated their T-shirts with the members' signatures to Lantuun Dohio Australia. /NPO dedicated to protecting children/ Credit: Lantuun Dohio Australia Facebook page
In the same way, they say this album was a symbolic “passport” to the world for the band to be able to share their music as well as Mongolian history and culture.
The first two music videos, “Yuve Yuve Yu” and “Wolf Totem”, immediately went viral garnering the band over 100 million views.
"Yuve Yuve Yu" (What's going on?), is about Chinggis (Genghis) Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest empire in human history.
The song also mentions how he was fated to bring nations together with the music video featuring dramatic scenes of Mongolian landscapes.
In fact, The HU made a special 5,000 km off-road trip to western Mongolia to shoot the music video in the mountains and sand dunes there.
“We always try to show our fans how beautiful Mongolia is,” The HU band members told SBS Mongolian.
Since their album release, the band has been Number 1 on the Billboard World Albums Chart, Number 1 on the Top New Artist Albums, and Top 5 Globally on the Hard Rock Music Album Charts (US, Canada, UK, and more).
The band told SBS Mongolian their core values are on full display in the new album along with deeply meaningful and uplifting lyrics. The HU released the single “Sugaan Essena” for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, a video game produced by Disney, Lucasfilm, EA and Respawn Entertainment.
Hunnu Rock, a totally new style
The HU has dubbed its brand of rock “Hunnu” after the Hunnu Empire that existed from 200 BCE until the mid-400s CE.
It combines heavy metal rock and Mongolian throat singing and traditional instruments including the morin khuur, a two-string bowed instrument(horsehead fiddle); the tovshuur, a three-stringed guitar; and the tsuur, a type of wind instrument with the pounding bass and drums of rock.
Far from clashing, the band’s blend of styles from east and west produces a unique sound. For example, throat singing is a perfect fit with heavy metal rock.
This kind of singing emanates not only from the throat but also from the mind, according to the band’s throat singer, Enkhuush.
One of the main instruments of Hunnu Rock is the morin khuur, which has only two strings and is made of horse-tail hair.
Morin Khuur is designed to be played in a sitting position, but The HU player stands with the instrument hanging from straps. Credit: The HU Facebook Page
The HU Interview in SBS Mongolian
The Hu: Австрали биднийг, Бид Австралийг тэсэн ядан хүлээж тоглолоо
