Contemporary

Ukrainian Music

By Volodymyr Kish

One of the most prominent characteristic of Ukrainian culture and a key part of a Ukrainian’s character is the love of music.  I grew up listening to it, singing it and dancing to it.  It is a potent sound track to almost every Ukrainian’s life.  It draws its compelling influence on us by virtue of the fact that it reflects all the passions and emotions that have characterized the Ukrainian experience throughout our long and turbulent history.  It is full of life and energy as well as nostalgia, sadness and tragedy.  And though much of it has stayed the same through the centuries, the changing times have also had their impact on the musical talents that have always been present in great numbers in the Ukrainian population.

I am pleased to note, that though Ukraine is facing some serious challenges and deficiencies  in our current time, one thing that is not lacking is the wealth and breadth of musical creativity that has manifested itself in the two decades since Ukraine became independent.  Freed from the ideological and oppressive artistic restraints of the Communist system, Ukrainian musicians, bands and entertainers have been responsible for a veritable explosion of musical creativity over the past twenty years.  This reached its peak during the Orange Revolution when Ukrainian musical performers of all kinds united in opposition to political corruption and used their musical skills to motivate the masses of protesters on the Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square)  in Kyiv. 

For almost four weeks, the hundreds of thousands of protesters that would gather daily on the square were treated to not only to political speeches but also some of the best musical entertainment they had ever seen or heard.  Aside from the political achievements gained, the Orange experience demonstrated the richness of contemporary musical talent in Ukraine.  It brought to national and international attention the richness of the Ukrainian musical scene and helped spread the fame and acclaim of such performers as Ruslana, Taras Petrynenko,  VV, Mandry, Okean Elzy, Tartak, Haydamaky and Mad Heads.

Here in Canada, we have been fortunate to experience some of this musical richness, as many of these singers and bands have performed here at the Bloor West Ukrainian Festival as well as on personal tours.  Thanks to an open global musical distribution network, we are able to buy their CD’s just as easily here as in Ukraine, and thanks to the Internet and You Tube, we can watch their performances any time we wish.  It is through this medium that over the past week I have stumbled across two more interesting Ukrainian groups that demonstrate to me the continuing richness of the Ukrainian musical scene.

One is a unique and eclectic group of musical performers going by the name of Dakha Brakha that hail from Kyiv.  They take Ukrainian folk themes and turn them into mesmerizing musical art performances that almost defy description.  Their music is considerably enhanced by costuming and a flair for the dramatic.  They are currently on tour in North America and will be playing in London on October 5 and Toronto on October 6.  You can find a good example of their style and music on You Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubam0cToyEg, and further details about their tour at their web site at: http://www.dakhabrakha.com.ua/eng/playbill. 

Another eclectic and highly entertaining group that I came across through a recommendation from a friend on Facebook is the band OT VINTA.  Although they have been around for almost twenty years, it is only recently that their interesting fusion of Ukrainian and a rockabilly style has begun to garner them some deserved acclaim.  A superb example of this can be found on You Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpQOzFWBtEc.  Definitely unique – how many Ukrainian bands do you know of that play the banjo and ukulele.

The bottom line is that Ukrainian music is not only alive and well, but is taking the 21^st century by the horns and creating some very talented and very creative new music, while still retaining a distinctive Ukrainian flavor.  Spend a couple of hours on the Internet and You Tube and you will certainly be convinced of that too.