Ukrainian Field Notes XXXI

Welcome to a new streamlined episode of Ukrainian Field Notes. This month, we interviewed Mariana Bondarenko head of music and Iryna Lobanok Music Programme Manager at the Ukrainian Institute for our regular podcast on the London based community radio Resonance FM.

The interview came about within the framework of Grace Note, the newly launched programme aimed at supporting and promoting Ukrainian music on the international level through strategic placements in foreign media outlets.

The Ukrainian Institute’s mission is to strengthen Ukraine internationally and domestically as a subject using the tools of cultural diplomacy. The Institute promotes better knowledge and understanding of Ukraine internationally, and develops cultural relations between Ukraine and other countries.

Mariana and Iryna talk about the main challenges that have unfolded since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion within the cultural sphere and the financial constraints the Institute has had to contend with.

Tracklist:

• Hidden Element x Floex – Yellow Ribbon
• DZ’OB Ft. Mattia Prete – Zamovliannia
• Pokaz Trio – Song Of Sirens (Live at Bimhuis Amsterdam)
• SI Process – Rukh
• Vadim Neselovskyi – Odesa Railway Station
• Blooms Corda – Пісня про війну
• Ihor Tsymbrovsky – Brilliant Small Poetry

 

In addition we have an exclusive ambient mix by be_ca_di to mark the release of the V/A FUNDRAISER COMPILATION “24.2.24” on his ОЧІ label. Here is what he told us.

How did you go about compiling the ОЧІ fundraising compilation 24.2.24 released to mark the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion? Did you give any specific indications to the artists?

I wanted to build upon the success of the previous fundraiser compilation we released last year – 24.2.23 and create an even bigger and diverse reflection on the past year. There was no specific indication to the artists, I just started an open call on Instagram and chose 58 tracks from maybe 200, I lost count…

And did you notice any difference over the course of the past two years? For instance, I have personally noticed that over the first few months many artists included snippets of speeches from Zelenskyi and war sounds like air raid sirens, whereas now many artists seem to have gone for ambient and / or noise in their output. Would you say that is the case?

There is a difference to previous compilations – the general sound expresses different styles of electronic music and has more extremes – from ambient to dubstep. Compilation has three parts – it begins with ambient and noise tracks, flows into rhythmical tracks and ends with ambient / noise compositions. There are no air raid sirens but you can hear speeches from different politicians of the Ukrainian past in this compilation – like the track “Dotyk” from Justcallmesergio. Also there are poems and vocals from famous Ukrainian writers to hear.

Tracklist:

• Anton Malinowskyi – doppelgänger (unreleased)
• Leo Buy – thoughts before sleep (released on ОЧІ)
• Piragranty – no concept (released on ОЧІ – ’24.2.24’ V/A FUNDRAISER COMPILATION)
• 3sds – 3 days at frontline (released on ОЧІ – ’24.2.24’ V/A FUNDRAISER COMPILATION)
• Parking Spot – Hiddén (released on Dnipropop)
• Kotyk Arrangement by Kotyk Murkotyk (released on ОЧІ – ’24.2.24’ V/A FUNDRAISER COMPILATION)
• Anton Malinowskyi – semblance (unreleased)
• be_ca_di – the dawn (released on ОЧІ)
• theplo – untitled (released on ОЧІ – ’24.2.24’ V/A FUNDRAISER COMPILATION)
• ummsbiaus & Difference Machine – hodynnyk (released on ОЧІ – ’24.2.24’ V/A FUNDRAISER COMPILATION)
• seraphina & no justice – from the abyss (released on ОЧІ – ’24.2.24’ V/A FUNDRAISER COMPILATION)
• Anton Malinowskyi – for all the dawns (released on ОЧІ – ’24.2.24’ V/A FUNDRAISER COMPILATION)
• monotonne – 1 november (released on ОЧІ – ’24.2.24’ V/A FUNDRAISER COMPILATION)

Also, in this month’s episode, we feature a number of new releases and four new videos. Andriy Kiritchenko‘s video “Tiger Laughs” from his latest album Maria, an homage to the artist Maryia Prymachenko; Igor Yalivec‘s “Petrichor”, from his album Etudes, an animation made by Sasha Lukjanenko, a Ukrainian artist currently living in Norway; Yuriy Bulichev‘s “Colors and Shapes” from the ambient album Unrelated produced on a modular Eurorack synthesizer with handmade samples from field recordings utilized to create noise textures and percussion; and Kojoohar & Frank Ursus “Debris Field”.

NEW RELEASES

Corridor Audio ~ Fundraiser V​/​A: ◇ (Uncertainty) FUTURE

◇ – signifies uncertainty. At the heart of every elementary particle, indeterminacy shapes a universe of probabilities. The future, intangible and ethereal, suggests it’s yet unborn in the deepest realms. At the core, the future is an unwritten canvas – it does not exist (yet).

All revenue will be donated to support the unit of Yurii Tymoshenko aka Mokri Dereva, within the framework of the charitable foundation www.lightofrespect.org

 

Klikerklub ~ ЗЕРНО/ GRAIN V/A Charity Compilation

Ukraine has been engaged in a defence war with Russia for 10 years. For the past two years, Ukraine has been facing a full-scale invasion by Russia. On this occasion, KLIKERKLUB is publishing the V.A. Compilation “3EPHO” on 24 February 2024.

“3EPHO” is not just about the music; it is Compilation of 50 unreleased tracks, a wild mix of different genres and a profound statement against cultural genocide. Bringing together Ukrainian musicians from three decades of independence, “3EPHO” showcases the vibrant underground music scene that has thrived with passion.

“3EPHO” will convey emotions that often deal with painful and traumatic experiences triggered by the circumstances of war, but it also wants to make a contribution to give comfort and send a sign of hope.

With “3EPHO”, KLIKERKLUB would like to show its deepest respect for the courage, strength, openness, warmth, friendliness and, last but not least, the creativity of the Ukrainian people.

“3EPHO” is released exclusive on Bandcamp as a charity album and 100% of the proceeds will go to

“Musicians defend Ukraine”
www.instagram.com/musicians_defend_ukraine
&
“Repair Together”
www.instagram.com/repair.together.

 

Echodive ~ Luxx

“One of the last representatives of the romantic wave of anonymous musicians who prioritize creativity, not the personality of the author. After the debut «Aura» on 2064年 Recordings and one track on the compilation from SHCHTS and a long silence, the author presents us with «Luxx» – four tracks of garage and breakbeat, in which romantic feelings and hope pour over the edge. Introducing Echodive on Mystictrax!”

 

Kojoohar & Frank Ursus ~ frost drought

the spark that ignited this collaboration came from a conversation between KOJOOHAR and FRANK URSUS – aka Te/DIS – about the kojoohar album that has just been released at the time and about angst pop and its position in the music scene. talking about new tracks kojoohar was working on, the decision was made to start a collaboration.

FROST DROUGHT is a 4-track ep that offers edgy angst pop with analog, gripping synthesizer sounds, metallic rhythms and enigmatic melodies, complementing by frank ursus’ vocals. music and lyrics of FROST DROUGHT describe a world of isolation, mistrust, alienation and the individual’s distance from itself. left alone in the dark…

 

Starless ~ Adopt

“An album of vintage experiments, a series of images, and small stories. Some of them expire, some don’t. The black inscription of being, ending and genesis from noise; unspeakable futility and insecurity, replaced by stagnation, and everything seems to freeze like that.
But – ashes to ashes, noise to noise.
No one will have peace.”
– Yurii Samson

 

Biblioteka Prospero ~ странно, он говорил о бессмертии [strange, he was talking of immortality]

“This album began with text, or rather, with a lot of texts that we decided to capture in audio mode. The material grew, ideas for sound accompaniment appeared, both improvisation and small plays written from sheet music. They attracted different people and events, a lot of instruments, both from the acoustic sphere, that is, saxophones, flutes, percussion (from drums and iron to stones and branches), and electronic ones – synthesizers, electric guitars, effectors. There are long stories, subtle sketches, long improvisations on guitars and a piece for four tubas and flute. This work sets a wide scope in its magnitude, it can be interpreted and thought of as an audiobook, a film, a performance that is timeless and does not recognize the same actors; by referring to various events, it draws a certain denominator, a connection to things that are enduring, irresistible. The album has a difficult fate; both accumulation and further processes took a long time. Then, for various reasons, it lay on the shelf for a long period of time, the files are dated 2007. During this period, several other albums were released, new projects appeared, and catastrophic events occurred. And it does not lose its relevance as a reflection on eternal truths, on death, love, greatness, collapse, disappointment and comprehension.”

 

L’Arc de Langeron ~ Purity

The «Purity» release from L’Arc de Langeron, the side project of Casa Ukrania’s Leonid Zhdanov, is dedicated to all the suffering Ukrainian children and their everyday traumatical experience. Serious topics are wrapped here in child’s worldview and light melancholic music, a mix of analogue timbres and children’s instruments that brings both pity and hope for the future renewal.

 

Yevhenii Dubovyk ~ contemplation of a new reality

In this EP, you will hear the piano versions of my past and future singles. This is the case when an “acoustic version” can come out before the main release. Among them are the tracks Affinity and Norway, which previously could only be heard during live performances as part of a jazz quartet. Also, the previously released tracks Resistance, Motion and Hope. This album was created to showcase my latest compositions in their original form. It is recommended to listen in silence to fully enjoy all the noise artifacts of the piano.

 

Leo Vibe / Leonid Bieliei ~ CANVAS / КАНВА

“Tracks 1.8 of the album “CANVAS” are based on the unrealized music material of the album “Suphina’s Litlle Beasts” with O.Yurchenko co-arrangement.
Graphics by Oleksandr Yurchenko were used in the design of the cover.
The album was created in 1999-2000 in Kyiv.”

 

58918012 ~ One Question

“Hi, friends! This EP is a result of a long time of work on different albums of mine. I don’t know why but almost for every my ambient album I usually write one track with the beat… I mean, it’s not a planned thing in general. I just writing “the next” track for the album and as a final result I have the track which is totally out of the context of a certain album and I just throw it into the folder named “other”. In some time I have a huge “archive” of tracks that are just on the borderline between life and death (I mean, I erase that folder from time to time).

This time I decided to check all the stuff out there before deleting everything and I found these 5 tracks. They may be slightly different from the mood and overall atmosphere perspective (from almost sterile electronic sound in “Ache”, to the warm and dark vibe of “Hollow Space”, to some techno vibes in “58TY”, and further) but each of them hooked me in its own manner.

I took them, and carefully finished and polished each of them and now they are ready for your ears. Honestly, I don’t even remember which track was written for which album previously…but it doesn’t matter in general. Now they will live in their own album/ep. That’s the story behind this release. Enjoy the music. Peace <3″

 

INSHYSVIT ~ EIDETIC 3

“Questioning the boundary between dreams and reality is quite complex. The human mind can perceive dreams as reality during sleep, and upon waking, we recognize them as dreams. However, sometimes situations arise where reality and dreams seem more or less important to each other.

There are several approaches to this question:

Scientific Approach: From a scientific standpoint, a dream is a physiological process that occurs in the brain. Dreams occur during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep when the brain is actively engaged while the body is paralyzed. Although dreams can seem real, they remain psychological phenomena.

Philosophical Approach: Philosophically, the question of reality and dreams can be intricate. Some philosophers, such as René Descartes, believed that there is a significant possibility that reality may be an illusion. Others argue that reality is what we can perceive through our senses and experience.

Spiritual Approach: Some spiritual traditions believe that dreams may have symbolic significance and reflect the state of our soul or even predict events. In this perspective, dreams can be a real form of perception of the spiritual or energetic world.

Thus, the boundary between dreams and reality can vary depending on the approach you use to understand these phenomena.

This is already the third album of the second serial cycle of dark stories! Somewhere it will be very dark, somewhere melodic, somewhere harmonious, and somewhere it may be unsettling.
I am very grateful for your attention to my work and support. ”

 

VIEWING ROOM

(Gianmarco Del Re)