Some lives are difficult to imagine unless one has experienced something similar. Alisa Nedashkovska (Travis or Alice) wrote her debut EP during her first two years as a Ukrainian refugee in Berlin, and uses the music to bridge the gap between identity and geography. In a similar fashion, the short story that sits beside the EP mentions “the boy within the girl and the girl within the boy,” a further blurring of boundaries and definitions. To dance is to liberated temporarily from such distinctions; for an in-depth look at the experience of Ukrainian refugees, we continue to recommend Gianmarco Del Re’s newly published book Ukrainian Field Notes (Velocity Press), based on his monthly column here.
Travis or Alice springs into action with the brief bombardment of “Kyiv Fashion Week,” which is already one of our favorite track titles of the year. The pace is swift, the electronics undulating, the voice chopped, looped and abraded, as if seeking definition. For those who are wondering, there is in fact a Kyiv Fashion Week, part of the larger Ukrainian Fashion Week in September, a showcase not only for fashion, but for how bombing and war shape fashion, and in a grander sense, how war affects personality and presentation. Do we dress like we feel inside, or how we want to be seen?
In similar fashion, one might ask if “Happy (Sophu8)” is a reflection of happiness, a wish or a long-lost dream. An industrial pulse runs through the piece, which sounds as if it has absorbed some of Berlin’s club energy while remaining authentically Ukrainian. Sophu8 (Sophus) is the name of the cover designer, whose work can be found on Instagram; again a line is drawn between form and abstraction. And what better way to describe dichotomy than to include two versions of the same song? “Spysh?” contains gnarly sub-bass, fertile patterns and upfront textures, a piece constantly in flux. The segment at the turn of the second minute sounds like the dial-up of a classic phone. Every other note is erased, and then returned; the music is parable-packed. The phone rings again, but no one picks up. Ukraine’s Na Nich tackles the track with gusto, embracing its percussive elements, presenting a bleaker, sparser vision.
Given the circumstances, the title “KRYCHY!! (SCREAM!!)” seems apt. How can one possibly find one’s self when nothing in life seems constant? Simultaneously an expression of frustration and frantic energy, “KRYCHY” is offered as an outlet, one we hope reaches club floors where it can be experienced by the masses: the louder and more crowded the better, as distinctions melt away.
As the EP ends on “Idols/Outsiders,” one thinks of the artist herself, dislodged while yet at home, searching and yet – at least in the case of this EP – finding. Travis Goes Deep demonstrates inner power turned outward, suggesting that when one is in between states – home and away, boy and girl, or as the artist puts it, “between fear and the rush of becoming” – the very act of creation can be an anchor. (Richard Allen)
a closer listen 