Oduchu – Nostalgia 图瓦乡愁 (Stallion Era, 2025)
Oduchu, a Tuvan duo whose name means “healer,” its third album Nostalgia, the group’s official entry into the Chinese music market.
The project unites two musicians born in the 1990s: producer, arranger, and guitarist Chingis Sorju and throat singer and multi-instrumentalist Mengi Mongush. The duo focuses on reimagining traditional Tuvan music within contemporary frameworks, combining overtone throat singing and folk instruments with elements of modern popular production.
Formed in Tuva, Oduchu has released three albums to date. Their debut The Healer earned the Jury Grand Prize at the Russian World Music Critics’ Awards, drawing attention from world music circles. Follow-up album Road to Home (2023) reinforced their international profile and helped define the group’s identity, as it balanced ancestral themes with cinematic arrangements.
The new release Nostalgia (图瓦乡愁) completes what the band calls its “Tuvan Trilogy.” The ten-track album explores memory, identity, and ancestral roots through Tuvan folk melodies, overtone singing, and spacious, film-influenced production.
Mengi Mongush serves as the duo’s lead throat singer and traditional instrumentalist. He belongs to a new generation of Tuvan throat singing practitioners and counts Kaigal-ool Khovalyg of Huun-Huur-Tu and Kongar-ool Ondar among his mentors. His performance style references classic Tuvan techniques.
Chingis Sorju, a co-founder of Oduchu, is a Tuvan musician, producer, and guitarist trained in music engineering in Saint Petersburg. He arranges, records and designs the group’s sound so that traditional Tuvan patterns sit alongside modern harmonic and rhythmic structures.
Musicians: Lead Vocals: Mengi Mongush on lead vocals and traditional Instruments; Chingis Sorzhu on guitar.
Recording Engineers: Andrey Parahuda, Dionis. Mixing & Mastering: Michael Oshkanov.
Buy Nostalgia.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.