Hanggai is made up of young musicians from Beijing and from the Inner Mongolia Mongol Autonomous Region in modern day People's Republic of China. Satisfying the demand for the romanticized and mysticized Mongolian music in China, Hanggai presents Mongolian folk songs in conjunction with western and Chinese influenced drumming and other techniques (albeit with some sacrifice to lyrical clarity), hence makes the traditional Mongolian art more comprehensible to foreigners in China and the west.
"...The word ‘hanggai’ is Mongolian, describing an idealised grassland landscape of mountains, trees, rivers and blue skies.
Hanggai’s leader, Ilchi, was fronting a punk band until he experienced a conversion after hearing traditional overtone singing. He travelled to his father’s homeland of Inner Mongolia and started to learn the technique – rediscovering the music and the repertoire of songs that had faded but not disappeared during China’s turbulent past. There he met Hugejiltu and Bagen, both music students, who joined the group. Hugejiltu plays lead fiddle and Bagen sings deep bass using a technique of overtone singing, producing a note one octave below the note he is singing.
The songs on the album are adaptations of traditional songs from the grasslands, sung in Mongolian, many using hoomei, a throat-singing technique that has been handed down over hundreds of years. At the heart of the music are two traditional instruments – the morin khuur – the horse-hair fiddle and the tobshuur – a strummed two-stringed lute.
Some of the arrangements sound very simply traditional and others are more complex. ‘Five Heroes’, a song of vigilantes stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, includes jangly electric guitar, conjuring up cowboy movies – creating a connection between east and west. ‘Wuji’ is predominantly throatsinging, with the strong repetitive sound of the horsehair fiddle pushing the song forward. ‘Lullaby’ (Borulai) is a gorgeous mix of vocal harmonies – the familiar feel of a gentle lullaby with a strong atmosphere of the grasslands.
The penultimate track, ‘Drinking Song’, recorded during a drunken evening and spliced together in the studio, hits the spot. ‘Let our song never end, let our fortunes never decline, a cup for ever in our hands, a song for ever in our throats.’"
Their "Introducing Hanggai" album on the World Music Network got an excellent (8.0/10.0)
review in Pitchfork.
Excerpts from other reviews;
“distills everything powerful about Mongolian folk music and makes something new from the ingredients…transcendently powerful music that anyone from anywhere can understand.” PITCHFORK
“so entrancing or just downright enthralling that I just can’t imagine why the tradition ever fell out of fashion… charming, raucous, brilliantly jubilant and a breath of fresh Mongolian grassland.” World Music Central
"Hanggai have made the leap from folk phenomenon to crossover pioneers without losing their soul. Built from -- and meant for -- Mongolia's wide open spaces, this music will make you homesick for a place you've never been." Rhapsody
"Their debut album is a delight...'Flowers' is country and eastern, while 'Haar Hu' could be the grassland's 'Scarborough Fair'. While Beijing busts a vulgar gut to Westernise, Hanggai update tradition with elegance." Observer
It seems that they also have an album that was released in China but which can be had as
a digital download from Amazon. The album is called `Hanggai' and the band itself is called `Hanggai Band'.
Their second album proper, He Who Travels Far was released in 2010.
On their YouTube channel they are running a THROAT SINGING CONTEST.
http://www.myspace.com/hanggaiband
http://www.youtube.com/hanggaiband
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-official-Hanggai-fanpage/284024583225
Flowers
Hanggai Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Flowers blossoming on the cliff
Are the earliest to fade;
The girl married in a far-off place
Languishes in her lover's arms.
Flowers blossoming in the desert
Are the earliest to fade;
And by her promise will abide.
Once there were oaths to love,
Once there were sweet dates,
Once there was a warm embrace,
But now you are married in a far-off place.
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The lyrics of Hanggai's song "Flowers" convey a sense of melancholy and nostalgia as it talks about flowers that fade away and a girl who is now married in a far-off place. The first two lines mention flowers blossoming on a cliff and in a desert, and how they are the first ones to fade, perhaps symbolizing the fleeting nature of life and love. The following two lines talk about a girl who is now married and how she still longs for her lover's arms despite being far away. The last few lines further emphasize the loss of love and the passing of time as it mentions the sweet promises and warm embraces that were once shared but are now gone.
The imagery used in the song is vivid and evocative, painting a picture of flowers in remote locations and a girl who is now distant from the one she loves. In a broader sense, the song can be seen as a reflection on the impermanence of life and the inevitability of change. It also touches upon the theme of unfulfilled love and the bittersweet memories that remain long after a relationship has ended.
Line by Line Meaning
Flowers blossoming on the cliff
Are the earliest to fade;
Just like the flowers that bloom on the cliff and disappear soon, the elements of love like romance, passion, and affection die quickly.
The girl married in a far-off place
Languishes in her lover's arms.
Although the girl is married, she is still yearning for her lover's warmth and love; she is missing her past intimately.
Flowers blossoming in the desert
Are the earliest to fade;
The flowers that bloom in the desert wither quickly, signifying the fact that there's a shortage of resources and time, just like the promises of love end fast.
The girl is married now
And by her promise will abide.
Although the girl is married, she still holds on to her vow of fidelity, keeping her promise despite being distant from her lover.
Once there were oaths to love,
Once there were sweet dates,
Once there was a warm embrace,
There was a time when the two were loyal to each other, spending sweet moments together and cherishing their love in each other's embrace.
But now you are married in a far-off place.
But the present has a different story; they are separated by distance and marriage, unable to relive their past love.
Contributed by Emily O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@barbarabutterfield2679
I was watching a show called Travelogue China and heard this song. It took some work, but I found it here! I love the way this sounds.
@user-bf2fd2uw8d
"Flowers blooming on the cliff, pity her withered first, the girl who marries away, grows old in the arms of her lover, once hard to separate, now marrying away from home"
@saiprien9565
This song is the most beautiful song in the whole universe
@tamirtatar4252
It’s very sad love song ! Sir
@saiprien9565
@@tamirtatar4252 I can sort of feel the sadness in the singers voice, but it's still beautiful in its way
@Milkamoki
I came here thanks to a podcast about mongol culture in a french radio "France Inter".
Wonderful song!
@clemencegoke7498
Same here !!
@grandmastermonk1
I bought the album Introducing Hanggai back in 2008 after DJ Lucky Oceans played it Radio National here in Australia. It's now August 2021....still listening. By far their best album imo, close to the traditions.
@CMCDragonkai
This is soooo good.
@chengminzhijing
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