HU are a fantastically unique force of nature. The musical sensation was founded in 2016 in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. The quartet is considered a pioneer of the hunnu rock genre and now has almost 900 million streams worldwide - and counting. Their debut album The Gereg (2019) brought them their breakthrough: not only in their home country, where they were the first band ever to be awarded the prestigious Chinggis Khaan Order, but even in a galaxy far, far away, when they contributed an original song to the soundtrack of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Two years later, their name appeared alongside artists such as Elton John, St. Vincent and Ghost on the epic tracklist of The Metallica Blacklist album. There, at the personal request of the metal legends, they delivered a striking, powerful cover version of "Through The Never". The follow-up album Rumble Of Thunder (2022) took The Hu to iconic stages such as the UK's Glastonbury Festival as well as North American arenas supporting Iron Maiden. These first two captivating albums delivered on the band's promise to share their cultural heritage - their lyrics are entirely and deliberately in Mongolian. "When you learn the language and translate our lyrics, you understand the context even better - the background of why we chose those words," explains frontman Gala, the group's throat singer and morin khuur (horse-headed fiddle) player. "We hope to encourage people to speak more Mongolian and take an interest in Mongolian culture. It's a very rich culture and it should be represented."
Now, as The Hu prepare to release their highly anticipated third album in 2026, they are taking it one step further. At their second home, Nature Sound Studio in Ulaanbaatar - a place so familiar and cozy that "sometimes we even take off our shoes, we feel so free there," grins Gala - the band has continued to push their boundaries, describing the new work as an "enriched" form of hunnu rock.
"We've taken our time to get it right, and I'm very happy that we're now almost ready to release what we've been working on for the last few years," says Gala. "Besides the fact that we always stay true to ourselves, the most important thing for us is consistency. That's been the case from the beginning. We don't just want a song that's in the charts for a week and then disappears. We want to create something that lasts for decades."
In the near future, The Hu are planning a full summer of festivals in Europe as part of their Incarnation Tour, with appearances at festivals such as France's Hellfest, Germany's Graspop Metal Meeting and Denmark's Roskilde Festival. Afterward, they hope to return to the U.S. and "tour the world" to celebrate a new era of the band.
"We are currently focusing on our live performances and working on a completely new setlist," Gala reveals. "We want to play bigger venues so we can create a more elaborate production and bring in impressive elements of our culture to share these ideas with our fans. And besides our third album, we already have great ideas for another album!"
Translated with DeepL
