Sunday, February 19, 2012

AnDa Union

Back in November of last year, a group of Inner Mongolian musicians - AnDa Union - came through Lawrence, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri on their US tour. The group performed at the Lied Center on the campus of the University of Kansas. In addition to their live show, there was also a screening of a documentary about the group at a library in Kansas City.

I want to share AnDa Union and their music here on my blog. They're awesome.



I'll first talk about their show and then the documentary about the group.

AnDa Union's show was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. They use instruments unique to the grasslands of northern China, belt out "Mongolian throat singing" for their vocals, and select their songs from a catalog of ethnic folk music from the steppes of the Mongolian plateau.

To get a taste of what they're about, here is a YouTube video of the song "Derlcha" from a performance they gave in January, 2011:



Very unique stuff. I'd never seen anything like the bowed instruments most of them are playing. That's not an er hu. It's an instrument native to ethnic Mongolians (that I don't know the name of). I found it interesting that, as you can see from the video, they're not pressing down on the strings when they play that instrument. Instead, they're pushing their fingers onto the fret board next to the string.

Here's a photo of what I'm talking about:



Below is another video of what was probably my favorite song of the show - "Galloping Horses." This song was the finale of the show we saw in Lawrence:



This song, and their whole show really, is so high-energy. In addition to unlike just about anything else in the world, AnDa Union's music is simply a lot of fun. I personally think having a good time is what going to see a music performance is all about and felt very happy after the show had ended.

I regret not getting this post written a few months ago when they were still on tour in the US so others would know about the group. Looking at their website, their next several shows are in Australia and New Zealand and they will be playing in London this summer. Their website also says that they'll have a UK and European tour this summer and autumn. If they're coming near where you live, I'd definitely check them out.

If AnDa Union isn't coming to your area, you should look out for the soon-to-be-released documentary about the group - AnDa Union: From the Steppes to the City.

I was lucky enough to help organize the first North American screening of the film on November 2, 2011 at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Library. Several musicians from the band and the director/producer of the documentary were there to watch the film with us and then answer questions afterwards.

The premise of the film is to introduce you to the band in the city where they all live - Hohhot, Inner Mongolia - and then take you to each one of the band member's home towns/villages. If I remember correctly, all of the members of the group are from the countryside of Inner Mongolia (if they all aren't, most of them are).

Inner Mongolia, traditionally, was a nomadic place where life revolved around raising animals and surviving the harsh seasons. Now, there are big cities are popping up throughout the autonomous region. The growth rate in Inner Mongolia is one of China's highest as the region is flush with an abundance of natural resources. A lot of the traditions and culture native to the region are being lost due to the homogeneousness that comes with economic development.

The footage of going back to each group member's home and meeting their families is a wonderful thing to see. The viewer gets to meet their families, see the food they eat, and see the homes where they live. Seeing all of these things is not something you can experience through too many other mediums.

Between visits to different home villages, there's footage of the musicians in the group practicing their songs, teaching lessons to young Inner Mongolians interested in learning traditional music, fine-tuning their instruments, and performing their songs. The film shows how the music is intimately intertwined with the places that they are from.

I really liked "AnDa Union: From the Steppes to the City." Not only is it great to see the group doing things related to their music, but it's even better getting to see the culture from which their music is derived. Being invited into homes deep in the Inner Mongolian countryside is not something that many will ever get to experience.

The Screenings section of the movie's website gives a number of film festivals that the film is being shown at in the coming months. If I ever see anything about the film's wide-spread release in the future, I will be sure to post it here to my blog.

I got a huge intake of AnDa Union back in early November. It's so cool that they - and a number of other China-related acts - came through Kansas this past year. The only thing I missed seeing during AnDa Union's stay in Kansas was their jam with local Lawrence musicians at a local coffeeshop. I couldn't make it to that night. I'm sure it was a sight to see.





Edit: Thanks to fellow blogger Ramesh for sharing that AnDa Union was featured on the BBC World Service on 2/14/2012. This is a really good interview with the producer of the film and one of the band members.

3 comments:

Ramesh said...

Wow. I just heard about AnDa Union a few days ago from a BBC podcast about the group and their filmaker manager Tim Pearce. Nice story worth listening to - http://tunein.com/tuner/?ProgramId=9&TopicId=37330123&

Amazing how we can learn of incredible things in today's interconnected world.

Confused Laowai said...

Wow, that was amazing. Mongolian throat singing still amazes me. Thanks so much for the share. Makes me want to learn Mongolian actually!

Mark said...

@Ramesh - Thanks for that link!! I added this link to the original post. I'm glad the group got that great exposure.

I spoke with Tim for several minutes and a few of the band members while in KC. They were all so hospitable. I know that the Lied Center, the venue where the band played, said that they were so easy and cheerful to work with. They're all really good people.

@Confused Laowai - I'm glad you enjoyed this! They are unbelievable musicians. You would love their live show.

It would be unreal to actually speak some Mongolian with them after the show!