A Personal and Political History (and a Playlist) of Ukranian Experimental Music
Adrian Ivakhiv (Courtesy photo)
On Monday April 4, “Selectric Davyland” welcomed Adrian Ivakhiv, Professor of Environmental Thought and Culture at the University of Vermont and Visiting Scholar at UCSB’s Carsey-Wolf Center, to the KCSB studios (our first in-person guest in 2 years!) for a special broadcast presenting a deeply personal and political history of Ukrainian music from the 1980s to the present.
Over the course of an hour-long program of interviews and music, Professor Ivakhiv gives examples of contemporary experimental music from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, and Ivakhiv’s own recordings from the Canadian Ukrainian diasporic scene in Toronto, with interviews covering moments in the political history of Ukraine, its regional cultures in post-WW II Soviet occupation, the impacts of the Chernobyl accident, and the immediate consequences of the current war. Below, Professor Ivakhiv provides KCSB listeners with a playlist of experimental music from Ukraine, featuring the tracks played on the show, as well as more by other contemporary artists and groups. You can also still watch a recording of his online presentation for the Germanic and Slavic Studies Department, entitled “Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine as Turning Point” (presented live on Tuesday April 5th) by clicking on this link HERE.
PLAYLIST AND FURTHER LISTENING
“Ethnogenesis from an Etobicave,” track 9 from AGAINST THE SKY (originally the B-side of a 1991, 90-minute cassette release called “Stalagmite Under a Naked Sky”)
Recommended further listening: “Music from the Marble Cupola” (Gong-like psychedelic explorations featuring Shakti Yaga and the Space Hoarklers)
A spring ritual song from the Chernobyl Zone, sung by Ukraine’s leading “authentic” traditional/folk ensemble of the 1990s.
4) Zavoloka–AGF (Kateryna Zavoloka, experimental composer from Kyiv, now based in Berlin):
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Korin by Zavoloka, released 28 November 2005
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5) The Moglass, from Kharkiv (eastern Ukraine):
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Asimuth Vibrating by Moglass, released 01 August 2006
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(the title is the name of a poisonous, hallucinogenic nightshade) –
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Datura by Kadaitcha, released 16 June 2019
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Zavoloka (see above) with Dania Chekun – “Nad vodoyu” (Above Water)
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ABOVE WATER by Zavoloka & Dania Chekun, released 10 August 2006
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Dronny Darko (Oleg Puzan, from Kyiv) – “Heart of a Molfar” – “droney” ambient experimental music (“molfar” is the Ukrainian word for shaman or sorceror)
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Heart of a Molfar by Dronny Darko, released 23 August 2021 1. Heart of a Molfar A Molfar transforms fire of the heart into unconditional love, which becomes a remedy in itself. Without love, a deep healing cannot occur. This is spiritual growth
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Nonsun (black/doom/drone/
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