The Arts Council of Mongolia (ACM), in cooperation with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Mongolia and Musiques Suisses presents AGULA, the first Swiss-Mongolian joint music album by Mongolia's Arga Bileg Ethno Jazz Band and the Heiri Kaenzig Quintet of Switzerland.

The album launch was held as part of ACM’s annual Membership Night on March 24 at Ancore Conference and Event Hall in Ulaanbaatar and included a special live show by Arga Bileg Ethno Jazz Band.

The name “AGULA” is derived from the old Mongolian word for mountain. The “A” stands for the Alps of Switzerland and the Altai Mountain Range of Mongolia. AGULA is part of a larger music project that celebrates the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Mongolia and the 10th anniversary of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Ulaanbaatar.

The project aims to promote cultural exchange, cross-cultural understanding, and greater partnership between the two countries, their people, and artists, and to continue the half-century tradition of cooperation and bilateral relations.The Swiss and Mongolian music groups joined forces to create the new musical production and held two nights of concerts at the State Opera and Ballet Theatre on May 29 and 30, 2014. The lead artists then jointly recorded AGULA at the White Arch Studios in Ulaanbaatar.

The album was released in partnership with a Swiss label, Musiques Suisses, and was recently launched at a joint concert at Moods Jazz Club in Zurich in February, 2015. The launch was followed by a tour of five cities in Switzerland.The artistic exchange celebrates five decades of cooperation between the two countries in development, economics, education, and culture.

More information:

Arts Council of Mongolia

AGULA project

Musiques Suisses

Heiri Kaenzig