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FEATURE MUSIC

MUSIC CAN TOUCH THE HEART OF EVERYBODY, AND SHARE A CONNECTION NOMATTER THE LANGUAGE

Mongolian musician Sambuugiin Pürevjav of three-piece Altai Khairkhan, performing on a traditional Morin khuur – also called the 'horsehead fiddle' (2005)

In your lyrics, there is a theme of unity and coming together to achieve goals and greatness. How do you think music helps us achieve this? Music can touch the heart of everybody, and share a connection no matter the language or a border. When everybody appreciates the same melodies, the feelings you get are almost all the same, and that helps to unite and come together. In Teach Me we hear the phrase: “The toughness of body conquers one/The toughness of mind conquers many.” Is this a Mongolian proverb, or something that you wrote yourselves? It is a Mongolian proverb that we have included in our song, because it

Nature is the strongest force existing? Not everybody realises the grave danger of being careless to our environment. Ignorance is the biggest issue human beings have, and that is still true when we are discussing about nature. Who creates the incredible designs on your Morin khuur andTovshuur? Is the hair at the end of the bows from horse tails? We have our exclusive designer who creates the design of our instruments with his amazing skills, and enriches them with our ideas. Originally, strings of the horse fiddles were only made with horse hairs, and to reminiscence the tradition and display the culture, we have horse tails at the end of the bows.

Top: Jaya on horseback during the filming of the Black Thunder clip . Left: Jaya's custom-made jaw harp, with Jaya in the background at Bangda's Tattoo in Ulaanbaatar (North Central Mongolia). Image credits: @ nyamjantsangalsanjamts (IG)

seemed like the best advice to be taken in the modern world to keep the peace. The toughness of the mind creates a better world.

What elements of your music did you aim to develop in the years between The Gereg and Rumble of Thunder ? The combination of horse fiddle and solo guitar was the biggest element we tried to perfect. Rumble of Thunder has many songs that are pure rock, and it was achieved successfully only after we combined the two instruments seamlessly.

Not everybody realises the grave danger of being careless to our environment

What do your old music teachers think of the way you play these traditional instruments? Almost all of us have similar backgrounds in music, and because of that we created our unique signature styles while we are performing. Our old music teachers do give us lectures on the different ways of playing, but at the end of the day, producer Dashka approves the styles and chooses which one should stick. What do you think it is about your music which makes non-Mongolian-speaking people love it, even when they can’t understand the lyrics? The melody of our songs are heroic and inspirational, so even if they can’t understand the lyrics, our way of singing and playing our instruments makes them feel energised and empowered. Clockwise: The HU performing at JB HQ in Melbourne last month. Credit: @thehuofficial (IG) Enkush dressed in warrior garb for the Black Thunder clip. Credit: @enkhsaikhan_hunnu (IG) The HU plus their touring band take in the Sydney sights the morning after their show last month. Credit @thehuofficial (IG)

The importance of respecting nature is

central to your songs. Why do you think some people believe that caring about the environment is weak, when really, Mother

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