Tuvergen Band

Description

An emerging act at world music festivals across the U.S., Tuvergen Band ("galloping" in Mongolian) is a Chicago-based folk-fusion trio founded by Tamir Hargana (lead vocals, folk lutes, morin khuur), Naizal Hargana (morin khuur, vocals), and Brent Roman (percussion, didgeridoo, vocals) in 2020. Hailing from Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, Tamir and Naizal bring some of the country's most distinctive sounds to Tuvergen Band, including the cello-like horsehead fiddle (morin khuur), various folk lutes (the Tuvan doshpuluur and West Mongolian tovshuur), and khoomii; an ingenious overtone-rich style of throat singing. An ethnomusicologist and Asian percussion specialist, Roman augments these sounds with a custom hybrid drum kit of twenty global percussion instruments and didgeridoo. The trio use this rich instrumental palette to perform what they call "modern nomadic music," "”an exhilarating sound indebted to Mongolian and Tuvan traditions but inflected with bluegrass sensibilities, blues instrumental flourishes, hard-driving rock rhythms, and more. The band has appeared at music festivals around the U.S., most recently at the 2023 Festival International de Louisiane. Their debut studio album is forthcoming this year. For more information, visit tuvergenband.com or follow them on Facebook and Instagram @tuvergen_band.

Work Sample

This is essentially our Electronic Press Kit (EPK). The video talks about who we are, what we do, and the culture significance and impact. It talks a bit about our roles, instruments, and musical backgrounds. It also shows how we can perform live, virtually, and do educational workshops and masterclasses. This was shot in August of 2022. Total runtime of video is: 3:01

Tuvergen Band performs "Ekii Ataar"(Tuvan Good Horse) live at Lotus Fest on Sept 26th 2021 in Bloomington, Indiana in the lovely Buskirk-Chumley Theatre.
4:28 run time.

Song is a good representation about the importance of horses in traditional Mongolian culture. This is a good example of an up-beat energetic style song that we play. Also, this shows our "seated" version of the show we offer. (We also do a standing version for outdoor festivals) This also shows you a full song from beginning to end.

This is a performance reel from when we performed at the Chicago World Music Festival on July 28th, 2022 at The Promontory. This is a good example to show you a variety of the different types of songs we play, including our fusion with Blues music. It is also a good reference to show our range of tunes from up-tempo to serene. This video really allows you to hear the subtleties of the various styles of throat singing, and the indigenous traditional Mongolian and Tuvan stringed instruments. Runtime is 12:43.

We usually present a full length show as a 60-90 minute experience. It is hard to compress that down into 3 short videos. However, I tried to give 3 clips that gave a good representation of who were are, what we are about, and what we sound like. One of the video is a full song from start to end to give an idea of the flow. Another video is our EPK which goes into depth about who we are as artists and cultural ambassadors, our musical background and instrumentation. It shows that we can not only perform on major stages at festivals, but also offer educational outreach programs, workshops, and masterclasses. We also included a video that is essentially a "reel" (from the Chicago World Music Festival) that shows you the full range of our sound - from up-tempo, to serene, to blues influenced songs, to audience interaction and demonstrations. So, the video samples should give a fairly accurate representation of who were are and what we offer.

History

We got started performing as Tuvergen Band a few months before the pandemic hit. We started getting some traction and then everything shut down. When things started to get back to some normalcy we started doing shows again. Over the time we've been together, we are constantly honing our sound and aesthetic. While our music is deeply steeped in traditional roots, we are always figuring out new takes on classical folk tunes and ways to fuse other styles and genres of music with Mongolian and Tuvan; especially blues and bluegrass styles. We love performing and interacting with a live audience, but being able to raise awareness of traditional Mongolian and Tuvan culture is also very important to us. So, we will often do educational outreach, workshops, masterclasses, and residencies. We have performed all around the country, most notably at Globalquerque in New Mexico, Lotus Fest in Indiana, and Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette LA. But as a Chicago-based ensemble, we are always connecting with our base here in Chicago as well and have done festivals like the Chicago World Music Festival, educational outreaches in CPS as a part of the Chicago Sinfonietta's outreach program, and established Chicago institutions like Navy Pier, Chicago Cultural Center, and Old Town School of Folk Music.

Artistic Vision

We present what we describe as "modern nomadic music". The traditional nomadic lifestyle in Mongolia imparts a deep spiritual connection with nature and the elements present in that land. The folk music of the area draws heavily upon elements of the animals and nature of the region. What we strive to do is to take our audiences on a journey and share with them music, that while drawing from traditional Mongolian and Tuvan melodies, have been reinvented by the fusion of other genres styles of music, instrumentation, and rhythmic foundations. The hybrid drum kit we use is comprised of many different instruments from around the world, including the didgeridoo (an indigenous and culturally significant instrument of its own) which we feel blends amazingly well with the unique and spell-binding overtone/throat singing that is employed. Our artistic vision is to bridge the gap between old and new and to present traditional Mongolian and Tuvan melodies but updated for a modern audience and aesthetic. We want to give the audience a special experience where they can learn a bit about this rich culture while having a blast at the same time!

Programs for Specific Audience(s) Expertise

I think what we especially excel at for "specific audiences" would be for K-12 and for any music students/schools. We have done many outreach programs both as a band and as individuals. The percussionist, Brent Roman, himself works at New Trier High School, and has extensive outreach experience working with institutions such as Urban Gateways, Ravinia Outreach, Chicago Sinfonietta Outreach, Fulcrum Point Outreach, C.A.P.E., Old Town School of Folk Music Outreach, Cirque Du Soleil's One Drop program, and others. So, working with schools is something we are very comfortable with. Also, all of us graduated from music school educational institutions, and so we are very adept on working with music schools and institutions, where we get the opportunity to go more in-depth with music students. The members have given workshops and masterclasses to singers, stringed instrumentalists and percussionists.

Traditional Folk/Ethnic Artform Statement

We would definitely fall under that umbrella. While we would consider ourselves to be "folk-fusion", the instrumentation, techniques, melodies, dress and more all come from the indigenous lands of Mongolia and Tuva. As an ensemble, part of why we perform is in order to bring more visibility to our traditional heritage. Currently, there is an ongoing movement of "cultural-erasure" happening right now in Inner Mongolia (the area that both members Tamir and Naizal hail from). Students in school are being forbidden to use their own language, learn their traditional writing script, participate in traditional customs, etc. As cultural ambassadors, we feel it is our calling to bring visibility to traditional Mongolian culture. If more people learn of this rich heritage through our performances and outreaches, then perhaps it will help bring more visibility to the current situation and struggle, and ultimately help halt this cultural erasure.