Ulaanbaatar Rockers Mohanik Throw Shade at Fellow Mongolian Bands Ahead of Tonight's Yue Space Gig, Jun 9

Though there's no shortage of folk bands in Beijing with lyrics about northern grasslands delivered in that region's time-honored throat singing style, one Mongolian group insists they have something special that sets them apart. For starters, the members of Mohanik hail from Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, rather than the neighboring Chinese autonomous region of Inner Mongolia that so many traditional throat singing troupes call home.

Apart from that distinction, Mohanik also strive for what they believe to be a more distinctive, nuanced, and all-around more authentic take on the music that also rocks much harder. Below, guitarist Enerelt Otgonbaatar tells us about his aspirations to accomplish such, as well as the band's legendary show at D-22's closing night, and their plans to perform their acclaimed album At Amarbayasgalant in full tonight at Yue Space.

Your bio says, "Mohanik is a 'nomad rock' band formed in 2004 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Ulaanbaatar is the capital of the country of Mongolia ... not Inner Mongolia!" Tell us more about that distinction. Does it set you apart from other nomad rock bands that claim to strongly represent Mongolian or Inner Mongolian culture with their throat singing and traditional music?
I know there are lots of nomadic-style bands popping up with all the costumes, and the big set up of traditional instruments, and elements. Their direction is for the entertainment business – we get that. We will become big fans of them and show respect if they wear their stage clothing in everyday life, talk the language they sing in everyday life, and live the life they portray in their music. But for most of them, it's just for show.

We are 'Uban kids with nomadic roots. We stick to guitar, bass, and drums. Adding throat singing, fiddles, and other traditional instruments and wearing nomadic costumes feels mechanical and not so genuine.

In a press release you talked about your plans to play your 2012 album At Amarbayasgalant in full at tonight's show. It goes on to say, "This album combines spiritual Mongolian folk, the psychological howlings of post-punk, and ferocity of punk and metal into an epic sound unique to the band." Tell us more about how you and your bandmates were influenced by post-punk and metal. Was it difficult to access such music in Mongolia at the time?
Where we are from – Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia – even though the community is small, we can say that there is a great variety in the arts and culture scene. The city picks up new culture waves pretty quickly, especially our generation with the Internet and modern technology.

As for our sound, we always have trouble trying to categorize our music into a genre or any other classification. We just let our inner sounds and noises grow into songs, and that is where we are at that point in time. The process between writing to releasing the last album was three years for 10 songs, whereas other bands could release three albums in that same amount of time.

Why did it take so long?
We simply didn’t want to mechanically finish the missing parts of the album. We let the songs grow themselves naturally, and released the album when we really felt the songs were ready.

And what about the hint of post punk and metal in our music?
I guess it is the energy we are trying to release. Who knows, when we are old the songs could be played differently with energy we have in that particular time.

The last time you were in Beijing in 2012, you played at the D-22 closing show. What are some of your fondest memories from that gig?
D-22 was crazy, one of our most memorable nights as a band. We were pouring Mongolian vodka on the crowd, guitar cables were falling out during songs, songs were being played in a random order and in an unrehearsed style. Nobody cared and everybody loved that moment at D-22. After the show, we had trouble finding alcohol, because anything and everything was drunk until the last drop.

Anything else you'd like to add?
We’re so excited to play in Beijing and Shanghai again, and we will bring our best to the shows.

Mohanik will perform at Yue Space tonight, June 9. Tonight's show will also feature Hugh Reed and the Electric Shadows, Motorbike Girls, Struggle Session, and Ogenix. TIckets are RMB 80 at the door. For more information, click here.

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