Scotsman Review: Anda Union – The Wind Horse Monday August 12th, 2012



WHATEVER else the Mongolian band Anda Union might think of the bedlam that is the Fringe, they really appreciate all the rain. “Good rain, good grass,” one band member pronounces, spoken like the native of the Mongolian plains that he is.

Good grazing, of course, means healthy horses, and their music is full of them, from their totemic, elegantly carved horse-head fiddles to the show’s title tune and their closing stampede, evoking enough fleet-footed steeds to carry Genghis Khan’s hordes – or, if the pace is anything to go by, a legion of Lone Rangers.

The six singer-instrumentalists, augmented by male and female solo singers, generate a mighty sound – a combination of instrumental resources including those fiddles, a rectangular-bodied Mongolian lute, Jew’s harp, and drums, and the uncanny, larynx-twisting growl of their .

Their opening number alone could have supplanted an entire old-fashioned BBC sound effects department, as they evoked wind-swept steppes, bird calls, ringing bells and, of course, the approaching thunder of hooves.

Exotic stuff, you might think, but what is perhaps surprising is that much of this music is tunefully accessible. At one point their female singer, Saihanniya, sings a beautifully nuanced melody over a guttural background growl, the song threaded through with mellifluous, cello-like lines from the fiddles. Later, she joins the male singer for a haunting duet, his vocals swooping and ululating, hers trilling delicately, against an atmospheric backdrop of instrumental and vocal drones

Their flautist could stand in for a trio, as he demonstrates in a solo spot, playing a tune on flute while accompanying himself with his own, buzzing, wheedling throat singing, with no evident symptoms of hyperventilation

Jim Gilchrist Herald Scotland Anda Union – The Wind Horse, Assembly George Square Published on 6 August 2012



A few years ago, Huun-Huur-Tu, a folk group from the Republic of , set up a Mongolian enclave on the Fringe and charmed the socks off everyone with their amazing throat singing and songs about horse herds and weather patterns on the steppes.

The eight-strong folksong and dance team Anda Union are Huun-Huur- Tu's successors with (Tibetan) bells on. Their songs, many of which have been handed down through their families, take the throat singing phenomenon, where the singer produces two or more notes simultaneously, into another dimension entirely. This is the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young model, with amazing group harmonies and all the more impressive when it transpires one other-worldly chord pattern is coming from the flute player, who is playing his instrument while singing a "solo" piece.

Accompanying these songs that tell of ancient legends, female rustlers and holy mountains, are bowed, two-string cousins of the cello, assorted percussion and the occasional guitar which create urgent, sometimes ruggedly impressionistic sounds. After their galloping horses adventure, we didn't so much need a translation of the song's title as to be dissuaded from finding a shovel.

Rob Adams

Three Weeks Edinburgh ED2012 Music Review: Anda Union – The Wind Horse Saturday August 11th, 2012 06:21



Greeted by a pleasant fellow in traditional Mongolian dress, I’m handed a blue scarf to drape around my neck, and confusedly oblige. Entering the venue I’m confronted by a sea of blue-scarved spectators, and have a sudden feeling of being part of something special.

Over the next hour, we, the Blue Scarves, are treated to an eclectic mix of Mongolian music, some lullaby-like, some up-tempo, all hypnotic. Every musician introduces their own favourite melody, each song telling a story – from mountain narratives, to tales of beautiful girls, passed down through generations. A wonderful array of voices serenades us, each a unique, finely tuned instrument. We leave with smiles and souvenirs (our blue scarves!) as a memento from our special afternoon.

Christy Brown

Assembly George Square, 2-27 Aug, 3.30pm rating 4/5

Anda Union - The Wind Horse

the quality and enthusiasm of their songs was universal. On ‘Galloping On a Wind Anda Prayer Horses’ the frenetic strings and Venue Number 3. Assembly George shouts were underpinned by a Square, George Square, EH8 9LH. powerful drumbeat that recreated the 2-27 August 15:30 (1 hour). thunder of animals run amok. Yet the Suitability: U. songs did not just rehash a distant If your knowledge of Mongolian pastiche of Mongolian folk, but history is limited to Genghis Khan, or provided a modern update of it. The if you think that is merely throat-singing in particular sounded background music for washed-out as though it would have fit perfectly hippies, then Anda Union are the on a Talking Heads album. perfect group to shatter these A minor complaint is that some of undeserved stereotypes. Hailing from the more vocal-driven songs lacked Hohhot in Inner (which is, the power and drive of the more slightly confusingly, located in instrumentally layered songs. More Northern China), they bring a could have also been done with the passionate intensity to their music lead singers, who, when on stage, which not only jumps over the culture added extra harmonies and humour barrier, but shatters it. to the songs. But Anda Union Upon entry to the fairground of the confirmed by this performance that Elegance Tent, blue scarves are they are not just a niche interest, but handed out by performers in essential viewing for anyone who is a traditional dress, ‘for luck.’ The fan of live music of any genre. Their waiting instruments give off the smell prodigious talent and infectious of resin, an odour that evoked enthusiasm point to future stardom. memories of my own violin lessons. Undoubtedly these will be some of Suddenly the Mongolian grasslands the standout musical performances don’t seem so remote in the of the summer. brightly-coloured venue. The [Michael Tansini] understated lighting and shifting backdrop provide an effective complement to the music. The meaning of the ‘Anda’ is ‘blood sibling’. It’s a fitting name, for the band’s success lies in the tight instrumentation and the closeness of the musicians. The songs rapidly wax and wane in volume and complexity, strings burst into frenzied bowing and guttural throat vocals quickly become another instrument. Each song was introduced and led by a different performer and all were about a different topic: girls, a lost lifestyle, drinking. Each song had its own distinctive rhythms and harmony, but