World renowned, and one of the best music groups from Russia, this musical group was founded in 1992 in the Republic of Tuva, Russian Federation.
The name Huun-Huur-Tu derived from the Tuvan word khun khurtu “sun propeller.” The members are seasoned veterans of Tuvan folk music. However, they have collaborated freely
across genres with such musicians as the Kronos Quartet, The Bulgarian Voices Angelite, Stevie Wonder, Frank Zappa, Ry Cooder, Mickey Heart, Bob Weir (Grateful Dead),
The Chieftains, Tony Levin, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Kodo, The Moscow Art Trio, Ravi Shankar, Ross Daly, Carmen Rizzo. They also have contributed music to movies
(“Geronimo” Colombia 1993), TV shows and commercials.They were a BBC Awards for World Music nominee in 2004 and 2008.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huun-Huur-Tu
Kaigal-ool Khovalyg
An extremely talented, self-taught throat-singer, Khovalyg worked as a shepherd until the age of 21 when he was invited to join the Tuvan State Ensemble.
He settled in Kyzyl and started teaching throat singing and igil. A co-founder of Huun-Huur-Tu, he left the State Ensemble in 1993 to devote his attention to the newly formed quartet.
He has performed and recorded with the Tuva Ensemble, Vershki da Koreshki, the World Groove Band and the Volkov Trio. Covering a range from tenor to bass,
Khovalyg is particularly known for his unique renditions of the khoomei and kargyraa singing styles.
Sayan Bapa
Sayan Bapa, child of a Tuvan father and Russian mother, grew up in the industrial town Ak-Dovurak. He received his musical training in Kislovodsk, Northern Caucasus,
where he played fretless bass in a Russian jazz-rock band for several years. In the early 1990s he returned to Tuva to study his roots, and became a member of a folk-rock band,
performing traditional Tuvan music on electric instruments. A co-founder of Huun-Huur-Tu, Bapa is a versatile string instrumentalist, and performs on the doshpuluur,
igil and acoustic guitar. As a vocalist he is currently specializing in the kargyraa style.
Radik Tulush
Radik was born in the Ovur area of The Republic of Tuva, near the border with Mongolia. He has been interested in studying and performing folk music since childhood,
and learned throat-singing from his grand-dad. While Radik was still in secondary school, his family moved to Kyzyl. After receiving his high school diploma,
he started studying medicine. Upon graduation he worked at the Centre of Folk Medicine in Kyzyl. He later graduated from the Chyrgal-ool Arts School (Kyzyl),
where he had been studying igil. He participated in various Tuvan rock and folk collectives. Radik currently teaches igil at the Kerndenbilija Arts School of The Republic of Tuva.
He joined Huun-Huur-Tu in 2005.
Aleksei Saryglar
Aleksei Saryglar joined the ensemble in 1995 to replace Aleksander Bapa. He completed his musical training in Ulan-Ude as a percussionist for classical and popular music,
and became a member of the Russian state ensemble “Siberian Souvenir.” A multi-talented performer, Saryglar makes his mark as a sygyt singer,
and his expertise with traditional Tuvan percussion and string instruments naturally extends into the art of piano playing. Like the other members of the ensemble,
he resides in Kyzyl when not on tour.
With Sainkho Namtchylak “Mother-Earth! Father-Sky!” (2008)
With Ross Daly “The White Dragon” (2008)
With Carmen Rizzo “Eternal” (2009)
“Ancestors Call” (2011)