The band NAMGAR play ancient music, seasoned with modern elements of rock and electronics, bringing forth images of the great wide-open steppes and energy of the modern world. The band contribute to the preservation of their native Buryat language by endorsing the beauty of its people’s songs. They play their own versions of traditional Buryat and Mongolian songs using instruments such as the yataga (a 13-stringed zither), chanza (a three-stringed lute) and the khomus (Jew’s harp), along with electric bass and drums to craft their unique sound.
Band members Evgeny Zolotarev and Namgar Lkhasaranova worked in the archives of St. Petersburg, Moscow and Ulan-Ude, Buryatia, collecting 100 forgotten traditional Buryat songs, a selection of which feature on this album.
