Interview with The Hu pre-Download Australia 2020.


Interview with The Hu pre-Download Australia 2020.


The HU is a band from Mongolia that blends hard rock and traditional Mongolian throat singing. 

Their first two videos Yuve Yuve Yu and Wolf Totem immediately went viral garnering the band over 30 million views. The explosive reaction to The HU resulted in enthusiastic coverage from media all over the world. 
Together they create rock music with traditional Mongolian instrumentation such as the Morin Khuur (horsehead fiddle), Tovshuur (Mongolian guitar), Tumur Khuur (jaw harp), guttural throat singing built around the pillars of heavy rock: distorted guitars, bombastic drums, and aggressive rhythms. 
What makes this band so damn original is their overall sound combines regional traditional music that loosely sounds like folk crossed with blues mixed with very strong metal and rock influences. It simply cannot be compared to any other band. Plus it rocks damn hard.
So when we had the chance to interview this band, we jumped at it. Passionate and very genuine people and they are exceptionally excited to play Download Australia 2020.
Add them on your must-see list for the day of the festival as well as two sideshows in Adelaide and Brisbane.
Check this interview out!!!

The Hu interview:

Things have been pretty busy for you since the release of your excellent debut album, The Gereg in September last year, talk us through the crazy pace and the amazingly positive reviews you have received in since then. I mean it’s incredible for the album to chart well all over the world and even endorsements from Elton John!, how’s that feel to you?.

 It’s a dream come true feeling. Being praised by him means everything to us. He’s a true rock legend and more importantly an amazing human being. When we had a facetime call with him, he was super gracious, and we can’t believe that he loves our music.

Your music is a very solid mix of traditional and modern music, and that intersection is unique as well as respecting your cultural background, tell us about how the band came about and how you found your sound?. Also what makes The HU sound like the HU? Your music seems to not have limitations or clearly defined boundaries that most modern music has.

In 2016, the four band members together with Dashka started working on the first few songs. Creating and arranging these songs helped us find the sound we were looking for. We call our style The Hunnu Rock which is a blend of Mongolian traditional music and contemporary Rock music. Eastern meets western and the past meets present. The genre is very dynamic it contains elements of traditional Mongolian music, metal, classic rock and frankly there’s no boundaries. The most unique thing about the style is the Mongolian throat singing, which is an amazing sound that humans make which creates the upper and lower harmony together.

 Talk to the readers about modern life for the band in Mongolia and what inspires you to make aggressive music. Also what makes Mongolia so special?.

The inspiration behind our music is from our Mongolian culture that is rich with thousands of years of history. Some of our songs contain old Mongolian rock inscriptions and war cries. Our message to the world via our music is reminding the importance of showing gratitude to your parents, loving your homeland, protecting the nature, loving and respecting women, respecting your country history and ancestors, and finally giving individuals an inner power and belief for their future.

What was each member's musical journey, what bands got you initially into music and more so into heavy music?. I understand all members are formally trained as musicians which is obviously a massive benefit given both the complexity of your music and the regional instruments you play on the album and live.

Each one of us has his own unique journey to rock and metal music. We all graduated conservatory and have years of performing experiences all around the world. It helps us every aspect of the our artistry.

Why do you think Heavy music is such a rewarding and sustaining genre worldwide? Should music be a powerful force that inspires as well as entertains?.

Music should and is quite a powerful force that unites everyone. For us, music has not only given a change to entertain around the world but is also a vessel to share our culture and message, and for that we are grateful and honored.

You have been selling out tours all over the world, achieving remarkable physical and digital sales and this year you are coming to our glorious Download festival in Australia, do you sometimes find it hard to grasp how well received your band has been? And do you know much about Australian heavy music?.

Absolutely, we really appreciate the amount of support we have been receiving all over the world and in countries such as Australia that Mongolian music hasn’t had much exposure. We still can’t believe that we will be sharing our music live with our Australian fans and are really excited to come to see everyone in person. We love Australia and music such as AC/DC.

Lyrically what sort of themes does the band sing about? There definitely seems some important threads about nature and respectfully acknowledging cultural identity. Also what does the band name mean or symbolise?.

See answer #3. Hu is the root word for human being in Mongolian language. We chose this name because of the inclusive nature of the word. We would like to share our music with everyone in the world without any exclusions.

What are some of your favorite albums currently or all time metal classics?.

Back in Black, Powerslave, Master of Puppets,  and Cowboys from Hell.

The HU are endlessly touring, but in terms of the second album; have you any concepts or ideas for the next album and can we except any musical differences or change on this?.

Yes, we have been working on the next album concept and ideas in the time between touring and even during the tour. We have been playing a few songs from our next album during our live shows. The theme and music will still be Hunnu Rock!

How are you finding the balance between lengthy tours and downtime(and hobbies/family commitments), because many artists find this a tricky tightrope to manage?.

Much like all other bands, finding the balance is a challenge but our families are very understanding and supportive which really gives us the fuel to keep going.

Art and music should compliment each other, how important is the art form ( be it album art or videos) for the band?.

Music itself is art. The visual component has also been crucial to our band’s success and the message we want to share. It also gives us a great platform to express our music since most of our listeners don’t speak Mongolian.

Australia is very excited for your debut performances at Download 2020, any final messages or thoughts for your fans?.

Sain uu Australia! We are coming to see you in March 2020 in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. We are super excited to share our music live with our Australian fans and thank you all for all the love and support! And thanks so much for your time!!.




Check out this incredible video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM8dCGIm6yc

and catch their two sideshows prior to Download:


Monday, March 16
The Gov, Adelaide SA

Tuesday, March 17
The Tivoli, Brisbane QLD

and Download Australia 2020 is just around the corner, so grab those tickets and embrace the heaviness of this music we love.


Grab those tickets here for heavy greatness:
https://www.downloadfestival.com.au/tickets








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