The concert highlights a development which is slowly gaining strength on the Chinese underground: Groups and musicians discovering what makes their specific cultural heritage stand out from the rest and stumbling on the musical elemements exclusive to their locale. Even though these bands often operate within rock and punk circles, their approach can simultaneously be regarded as a conscious counterpoint to the quickly spreading influence of European and American art forms. Lyrics on “Introducing Hanggai”, for example, deal with riding on horseback, the “beloved grasslands” of the Mongolian steppe, “a young soldier named Hurnamjr” and pastoral life hundreds of years ago, thereby contrasting crassly with the garish neon-colour sounds of Beijing’s techno- and house-clubs and doom-ridden rock riffs of the emerging punk scene.

During their performance at the D22, Hanggai will again be wearing traditional Mongolian attire and combine traditional Mongolian instruments and contemporary “Rock instruments” into pieces which carefully walk the line between faithful renditions and daring re-interpretations. “Built from -- and meant for -- Mongolia's wide open spaces, this music will make you homesick for a place you've never been”, a quote says on the Hanggai webpage puts it – and makes you want to board that plane to Beijing right away.

Homepage: Hanggai
Homepage: Hanggai at MySpace
Homepage: D22