Huun-Huur-Tu are a music group from Tuva, a Russian federative republic situated on the Mongolia–Russia border. The most distinctive characteristic of Huun-Huur-Tu's music is throat singing, in which the singers sing both the note and the drone's overtone, thus producing two or three notes simultaneously. The overtone may sound like a flute, whistle or bird, but is solely a product of the human voice. The group primarily use native Tuvan instruments such as the igil, khomus, doshpuluur, and dünggür. However, in recent years, the group have begun to selectively incorporate Western instruments, such as the guitar. While the thrust of Huun-Huur-Tu's music is fundamentally indigenous Tuvan folk music, they also experiment with incorporating not only Western instruments, but electronic music as well.
History
The khöömei quartet Kunggurtug was founded in 1992 by Kaigal-ool Khovalyg, brothers Alexander and Sayan Bapa, and Albert Kuvezin. Khovalyg had been involved in the khöömei scene since 1979. Not long afterwards, the group changed its name to Huun-Huur-Tu, meaning "sunbeams". The focus of their music was traditional Tuvan folk songs, frequently featuring imagery of the Tuvan steppe or of horses. The ensemble released its first album, 60 Horses In My Herd, the following year. The album was recorded at studios in London and Mill Valley, California. By the time recording began for the follow-up, Kuvezin had left the group to form the more rock-oriented Yat-Kha. Kuvezin was replaced by Anatoli Kuular, who had previously worked with Khovalyg and Kongar-ool Ondar as part of the Tuva Ensemble. The new line-up recorded The Orphan's Lament in New York City and Moscow, and released it in 1994. In 1995, Alexander Bapa, who had produced the first two albums, departed the group to pursue production as a full-time career. He was replaced by Alexei Saryglar, formerly a member of the Russian state ensemble Siberian Souvenir. A third album, If I'd Been Born An Eagle, recorded in the Netherlands, followed in 1997. This time, in addition to the traditional folk music, the group performed some rather more contemporary Tuvan songs, from the latter half of the 20th century. In early 1999, the group released its fourth album, Where Young Grass Grows. For the first time on a Huun-Huur-Tu album, non-Tuvan instruments were featured, including harp, tabla, Scottish smallpipe and synthesiser. The album also features two excerpts of recordings made of Kaigal-ool and Anatoli singing whilst riding horseback on the Tuvan grasslands. Huun-Huur-Tu participated in the 2000 BBC MusicLive event, performing the opening and closing songs for a live, early morning broadcast from Snape Maltings. The following year, the group released their first live album. In 2003, Kuular quit the group and was replaced by Andrey Mongush, an experienced teacher of khöömei and Tuvan instruments. Mongush's tenure with the group was short and in 2005 he was replaced by Radik Tülüsh, formerly of Yat-Kha fame. Huun-Huur-Tu signed with Beijing management company Stallion Era in March 2015 and has since been to China for several performances.
