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Albums
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Anda Union’s 2nd album,“Homeland, was recorded with 14 time Grammy award winning producer/sound engineer Richard King, whose Grammy’s include Yo-Yo Ma and his albums Silk Road, The Goat Rodeo Sessions, Appalachian Journey, and the film soundtrack Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Anda Union are cultural icons of Mongolian music. Bringing a unique combination of styles from across the grasslands coalescing into the unbelievably colorful and magisterial sound of this triumphant pioneering band. They have headlined many world music and mainstream festivals winning over fans around the world. with their expressive and energetic music.
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‘Wherever I unsaddle my horse, there will be my home and my homeland”
Bair Dugarov, Buriat poet
Tradition has it that you should be buried in your place of birth as the very land itself is possessed by ancestral spirits. The tumultuous war stricken history of the Mongols and the birth of countries and borders has time and again left them cut off from their spiritual homelands.
In Anda Union’s second album this longing for homeland is strong and resonates with a mature intensity, inspiring new lyrics for old songs and new compositions for ancient tales. The Mother Song combines two long songs lamenting the distance between families and a yearning for reunion. Hometown is inspired by their sense of loss of the steppes of their childhoods.
As Anda Union travel further from the grasslands they are searching and forging a new way of being Mongolian, and are part of a generation who are no longer nomadic, but hold the nomadic ideal in mind. Through their music they convey the hoof beats of wild horses running, songs of unseen birds on summer mornings, the sounds and sensations of a herders life and reflect the freedom and immensity of the Inner Mongolian steppes.
As Anda Union celebrate their twelfth year together their music soars to new heights. Bringing even more unique sounds and instruments into their repertoire, the band has developed an expansive and magisterial sound that defies categorisation, becoming cultural icons of Mongolian music.
“Each step for us is a continuous exploration. We are constantly evolving our songs, new and old, with every performance we learn something new so that it is very different from five years ago.”
The band’s kinship is a direct influence, an intuitiveness that comes from close association over many years, and a working process that is truly collective, formed from complex ideas and a mutual desire to create.
“Our music includes a shared history, from our childhoods we grew up together. For more than ten years we have laughed, quarrelled, and cried but today we are still ‘anda’, because of our music we have become true ‘andas’”
This sheer joy is reflected in the upbeat Drinking Song and The Herdsman and combined with the exalted and complex string arrangements of Suhe’s White Horse reminds us of Anda Union’s passion for the wild horse-driven culture of the Mongolian way of life. From it’s opening chords, the mighty pace of Jangar leads us into a miraculous world, showing us that Anda Union are masters of this powerful music.
TRACKS
1. Jangar (04:40)
2. Lake Dance Saverden (05:44)
3. Buriat Song (04:43)
4. Jiitaliin Gurgul (04:14)
5. The Herdsman (O4:17)
6. Handgai Gol (02:54)
7. Mini Mongol (04:42)
8. Black Running Bear (03:13)
9. The Sable Horse (03:26)
10. Hometown (04:57)
11. Suhe’s White Horse (04:29)
12. Mother Song (07:55)
13. Drinking Song (02:32)
All songs traditional, arranged by & copyright Anda Union except the following songs:
Jangar arr Yel Kexi & Uni, Lake Dance Saverden arr Nars; Black Running Bear arr A Batubayaar;
Buriat Song comp Tsetsegmaa, lyrics Na Semjid; Suhe’s White Horse comp Chinggeltu
The Herdsman comp Ge Qiedelzab & lyrics Che Tagbadorji; Mini Mongol comp/lyrics Urgen;
Hometown lyrics Urgen
CREDITS
Producers: Richard King and Anda Union
Recording Engineers: Richard King and Fei Yu
Assisted by Sheng Yuan Jin and Han Wen Ni
Recording Studio: Tweak Tone Labs, Beijing
Editing Engineer: Fei Yu
Mixed by Richard King
Mastered by Marc Theriault at Le Lab Mastering, Montreal
Cover photograph: Ayin
Photograph of morin hor: Lucy Wallace
Portrait photographs: XiLi
Design: Sophie Lascelles
Translator Jane Zhang Tiancang
International Artist Management: Tim Pearce
SONGS
HOMETOWN
I’m longing for my hometown, my birthplace far from here
I’m longing for my family, I wonder how you are
I’m missing my hometown far away from here
I’m missing my family I wonder how you are
The river is parched, my heart bleeds,
The spring has run dry, my spirit is heavy
BURIAT SONG
The place where the sun sets is Buriyate
The place where time began is Buriyate
The place where life began is Buriyate
The place where Mother Alonggua was born is Buriyate
* In the heart of Buriyate is Lake Baikal which is believed to be the source of the Mongol people.
JIITALIIN GURGUL
We drink our first bowl of wine to you the bride and groom
Our next we toast to the fates for prosperity
We sing the Naadam Festival song to you
So that your marriage will be long and happy
THE HERDSMAN
The Herdsman’s horse is swift, like its ancestors
The Herdsman has the finest long uurga (lasso pole)
As he gallops the uurga whistles in the wind
The grass is high and lush brushing his stirrups as he goes
If the Herdsman’s horses are healthy, then he is content
The land is good and the rain is plenty
The horses are on the mountain slope eating the rich grass
The herdsman surveys the scene from across the green valley
Spies his herd and sees them grazing
If the Herdsman’s horses are strong, then he is content
HANDGAI GOL
Handgai Gol
The vigorous Handgai Gol is the purest water
Mother Earth created Handgai Gol this majestic river
Handgai Gol
The vital Handgai Gol is the freshest water
Mother Earth made Handgai Gol to nourish the land
MINI MONGOL
To be the world’s master
O Genghis Khan spirit of Mongolia
The ancient history of Mongolia
The queen Uugelun’s people are Mongolia
The melodies from the grasslands are Mongolia
The Mongolians have 800 years of history
The Mongolians have the sun and the moon
The eternal blue sky is Mongolia
My Mongolia
Where there is great history is Mongolia
Where there is joy and happiness is Mongolia
Where there are heroes is Mongolia
Where there are endless grasslands is Mongolia
Where the land is rich is Mongolia
Where there are felt tents is Mongolia
Where there is eternal blue sky is Mongolia
THE SABLE HORSE
The rider reins in his sable horse and moves in a tight circle
And the gentle girl runs around them
The rider rides his yellow horse around the mountain
And the golden girl follows
The rider gallops his silver dappled horse around the valley
And the silvered haired girl pursues them
The rider races his bay horse through the valley
And the chestnut haired girl chases them
JANGAR
This epic story telling tradition relates the legend of the invincible and magical hero Jangar and his twelve warriors’ heroic deeds. These legends were specially sung by travelling bards called the ‘Jangarchis’. The Oirat people were so fond of Jangar that they spent whole days and nights listening to a singer’s tales, seated around a fire with tobacco and hot milk-tea, immersed in the glory of their heroes adventures.
LAKE DANCE SAVERDEN (instrumental)
Inspired by the music of the Hoshut Mongols in Bayingol this is a dance song and ode to Xinjiang Mongolian culture.
BLACK RUNNING BEAR (instrumental)
Ode to the bear on Moadin Choar, a traditional flute made from a reed found in the Altai mountains
SUHE’S WHITE HORSE (instrumental)
This is a song composed from two long songs. Traditionally when young Mongolians marry they move far away and seldom see their families. This is a song about mothers and this separation.
“Grey haired old mother, every moment, every second we miss your loveliness.”
“After you get married find another clear spring and drink the water, my daughter who marries far from home.”
There are many legends that tell the story of how the Horse Head Fiddle was created. This song is inspired by the story of Suhe, who is grief stricken when his beloved horse is slaughtered by an evil jealous king. As he mourns, his dead horse comes to him in a dream and tells him to use his horse’s bones, skin and tail to make an instrument, so when Suhe plays it he will feel the spirit of his beloved horse.
MOTHER SONG (Chagan Tokhoy Notuk)
This is a song composed from two long songs. Traditionally when young Mongolians marry they move far away and seldom see their families. This is a song about mothers and this separation.
“Grey haired old mother, every moment, every second we miss your loveliness.”
“After you get married find another clear spring and drink the water, my daughter who marries far from home.”
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