Global Hit

Horses also feature in our Global Hit today.

We’ll, actually we’re talking about a fiddle made with horse-hair.

It’s one of the traditional instruments from Mongolia used by a group called Hanggai.

Hanggai is bringing Mongolian folk music to the streets of Beijing.

The band is a mix of musicians from both Beijing and the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia.

The band’s leader is a 28-year-old named Ilchi. His first love wasn’t Mongolian folk music, he was into punk and grunge.

But he had a conversion of sorts when he was 21. That’s when he remembered the songs that his father and grandmother used to sing to him. They hailed from Inner Mongolia.

Soon, Ilchi had disbanded his punk rock group and formed Hanggai.

Not all of the new band’s music is laid back and pensive.

Here’s an upbeat song from their CD. It’s called “Drinking Song.”

Hanggai’s look matches the band’s sound. They wear traditional Mongolian costumes on stage.

But their youth has helped attract a loyal following of Beijingers young and old.

Now Hanggai is releasing a CD here in the US. It’s called “Introducing Hanggai.”