Buryat band Namgar brings the grassland to Beijing

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It's been a while since world music lovers in Beijing were treated with some real good sounds. And it is even rarer to see a band from a Russian republic called Buryatia in town. Namgar is probably the most known Buryat band in the international music scene. It presented a low-key but overwhelming show at the recently re-located MAO Livehouse.

This haunting female voice is from the heart of the group, Namgar Lhasa-ran-ova. Namgar, whose name means "white cloud", grew up in the tiny village of Kunkur near the border crossing of Mongolia, with the Buryat Republic.

Handout Photo

A fusion of Buryat-Mongolian traditions and modern rock/jazz elements bring together images of the great wide open and modern drive. Traditional Mongolian instruments, including the yatag, a 13-stringed zither, the chanza, a three-stringed lute, and the morin khuur, AKA Horse Head Fiddle, are blended with electric bass and drums to craft the band's unique sound.

The melodic music Namgar creates was passed down to Lhasaranova from her grandparents and father, who sang to her as a child. The inventive arrangements are new, but the stories told in the songs are as old as the indigenous Buryats themselves. They revolve around tales and myths of ancient Mongol fighters, champions, horses and famous battles.

"The music traditions of Mongolia and Buryatia are powerful. Our grandparents and parents passed down our ancestors' beliefs and emotions from generation to generation. We are empowered with the spirits and we feel the passion to sing it out loud. That's why we sing and we dance. We sing for the beauty of nature," lead vocals of the band Namgar Lhasaranova says.

Handout Photo

The four-piece music group is more like a family project. Namgar's husband, Evgenii, was a rocker. He plays bass and traditional instruments. And their son Timur, the guitarist, joined the band on his own wishes.

"Now we live in cities, not on the grassland. And we find less and less people know about or speak the Buryat language. We wish to encourage younger generations to understand and love Buryat culture, music and keep our native language alive, " Namgar Lhasaranova says.

A band named Rid from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia opened the show and paid respect to the achievements of Namgar. Rid caused a sensation on a Zhejiang TV Talent Show "Sound of My Dream" earlier this year.