E-mail: info@f-cat.de | Telefon: +49 (0)30 26 103 29-20 
Tickets
You can get your tickets via the local concert promoter.
See tourdates.
music from the grasslands
Hanggai
| China
Booking-Agent:
Frank Abraham
+49 30 261032920
fa@f-cat.de
SeeChina.com May 2010
"Mongolian folk and rock band Hanggai, one of the best live bands in Beijing, put on the most exciting show of the day, with a high-energy set that had the crowd dancing and kicking up a cloud of dust. It was definitely the only time I’ve ever seen people moshing and crowd-surfing to a folk band."
Jazziz, September 2008
"not only an excellent debut for the band, it’s also an accessible entry to Mongolian music for the adventurous Western listener"
Pasadena, 11 Sep 08
*** (three stars)
"oddly melodious…musically complex and compelling"
Snap, August 2008
"open-country grooves that anyone who doesn’t require electricity can settle into."
Shepherd Express, Sep 2008
"Mongolian Velvet Underground"
Songlines October 2008
**** (four stars)
"hugely impressive for a Beijing bedroom production"
(Also. ‘Drinking Song’ in Songlines Top Of The World free CD)
Kyle Page in Time Out Beijing
"Mongolian folk-inspired rock outfit Hanggai seem to have struck that all-too-rare fulcrum of using traditional sounds for inspiration whilst giving antiquity a new and surprisingly vibrant life within the framework of a loosely applied rock 'n' roll sensibility."
"…the rich overtone harmonies of this album are endearing, mesmerising and absolutely unforgettable."
"…Introducing Hanggai is fresh, very much alive and completely spellbinding. This is one of those rare records on which musicologists, world beat aficionados and fans of independent and avant garde music can all agree."
Limelight Sep 2008
**** (four stars)
The Sydney Morning Herald August 2008
"It’s hard to imagine anyone remaining indifferent to this music. It’s exuberant, exotic, exciting and unusual"
Weekend Australian, August 2008
"Hanggai draw deeper on folk traditions, putting more emphasis on instruments such as the horse-hair fiddle, morin khuur, and two-stringed lute, tobshuur, with only minimal electronica and discreet electric guitar and banjo. Some of their songs, Five Heroes for example, seem to share an eerie kinship with Celtic balladry, a trait exposed by The Chieftains In China album many moons ago. Other tracks, such as Wuji, for instance, seem to imitate the gait of a Mongolian horse galloping across the Steppes." Tony Hillier
411mania.com
"…emotional roller coaster…The beauty and excitement are intricately well-played…The closest I can get to describing this album is that it’s pure magic. Enjoy"
PopMatters 8/08
"...more than an introduction to Hanggai: it could also serve as an introduction to indigenous Mongolian music on the whole, a gateway Mongolian folk album for non-Mongolians."
Rhapsody
"…spacious, undeniably gorgeous music has won it many fans…excellent production…elegant songs, top-notch production and strangely familiar tunes…This music will make you homesick for a place you’ve never been"
Inside World Music (insideworldmusic.com)
"I would like to introduce the world to Hanggai"
Orlando Weekly, 14/08/08
"Hanggai are indisputably Chinese, but also incredibly accessible for novice listeners who have yet to acclimate to the unique tonal complexities of Asian music."
The Wire, September 2008
"arresting sound…wistful and visionary"
Evening Standard, August 8th 2008
*** Three stars
"I’m sure they sell far fewer records than Sa Dingding but their music has much more bite"
"effective arrangements…airy, delicate and transcendental…encouraging"
The Beijinger
"a fine album ready for introduction to a world audience…"
Financial Times, August 2nd 2008
*** Three stars
World Music Central (7/16)
charming, raucous, brilliantly jubilant and a breath of fresh Mongolian grassland."
MOG (7/16)
"Hanggai’s music holds an important place in our repertoires of cultural identities. Amid all of the scarcely distinguishable new indie trends—power punk bands borrowing from punk bands of old—nu-metal bands recycling and regurgitating glam metal, but with boosted testosterone levels…well, it’s nice to hear folks embracing their roots every now and then.
As Hanggai rediscover their musical heritage, we are fortunate enough to be able to discover it through them. That, I believe, is a privilege in which we should capitalize."
Another "Mogger" comments: "Great, great post." (social networking)
Phrough.com (7/23)
"It’s about time you broaden your musical horizons, and I’ve got an excellent recommendation: Hanggai. This album is a beautiful break from your standard musical rotation."
Global Rhythm, Aug/Sept 2008
Half-page article
"highly pleasurable taste of folk music style that begs to be discovered by wider audiences"
The Guardian, July 2008
*** (three stars)
"melodic, often mournful songs at times echo the sturdy charm of Celtic balladry"
The Independent On Sunday 27 July 2008
"spearheading a Mongolian folk revival"
"Some tracks have an urban atmosphere, but many exude the wonderful calm which travellers on horseback experience, as they traverse the limitless wastes of Central Asia."
The Observer 27 July 2008
"Their debut album is a delight…Hanggai update tradition with elegance."
The Scotsman July 2008
(a one-page review)
"Some tracks have an urban atmosphere, but many exude the wonderful calm which travellers on horseback experience, as they traverse the limitless wastes of Central Asia."
Froots Aug/Sept 2008
"Hanggai are a particularly exciting prospect. They’ve already had a rave review from the Shetland Folk Festival and indications are that they could easily fill the vacuum left by implosions in the Tuvan camp."
"…the comparison I’d make for Hanggai is with early Yat-kha!"
"There’s that same harnessing of youth with rediscovered tradition coupled with the awareness that they needed to make their music interesting for this recording."
Pitchfork (7/10)
"Sometimes, an album takes you so by surprise that it takes days to get your mind around just how much you like it."
"creating something new and exhilarating…"
"Hanggai's debut is an unmitigated success. It distills everything powerful about Mongolian folk music and makes something new from the ingredients…"
"transcendently powerful music that anyone from anywhere can understand."
Global Rhythm – Spotlight review (Aug-Sep)
"…IIchi and his brethren introduce contemporary sounds into the music, make it more palatable to younger audiences. …a highly pleasurable taste of a folk music style that begs to be discovered by wider audiences."
The Chico News & Review (6/19)
Descriptive review
The Scotsman, May 2008
Sue Wilson’s review on Shetland Folk Festival 2008
"These otherworldly, hypnotically layered voices anchored a sound that blended the region's typical horseback rhythms with loping country basslines... Hanggai were the undoubted toast of the festival, rendering audiences agog wherever they went. The band couldn't have expressed their reciprocal delight more transparently, despite the limited words at their disposal."
The Shetland News, May 2008
Article on Shetland Folk Festival titled "High on Hangaai [sic!]"
"The night’s most unusual and well received offering came in the form of the three Mongolians and three Chinese men collectively called Hangaai [sic]."
"The fast tempo of their last song had the whole hall clapping and stamping their feet bringing everything to a rousing crescendo, rewarded with a standing ovation."
