Ojra
Halyna Breslavets - voice
Natalka Dudynska - violin
Petro Yuha - solilka, hulusi, dvoyanka, guitar
Yurko Yefremov - bass, dulcimer, drymba, kalimba, buhay, bayan
Halyna Breslavets teaches Ukrainian folk singing and vocals at Kharkov's State Academy of Culture. Petro Yuha plays with Kharkov's philharmonic orchestra. Natalka Dudynska works as a musician for Kharkov's theater of musical comedy For the last 10 years the artists were collecting and researching Ukrainian folk music. Ojra are laureates and participants of many folk, jazz and rock tenders and festivals. They have collaborated with the experimental theater Yara Art-Group and La MaMa/New York.
Andrey Kiritchenko
Born in 1976 in Kharkiv / Ukraine and started his musical activity in 1991 as a singer / song-writer in a rock band. Active in fields of electronic music since 1996. Andrey is a crossgenre experimental sound artist combined acoustic and digital aesthetics, tiny melodies and noise. So far, under all aliases he released more than 40 albums on labels such as Staalplaat, Ad Noiseam, SPEKK, Zeromoon and Nexsound; has over 50 compilation appearances on labels all over the world; performed through continental Europe, Russia and Kazakhstan; had collaborations with Francisco Lopez, Kim Cascone, Sara Lunden, Jeff Surak, Kotra, the Moglass etc.; nominated and awarded by Qwartz Electronic Music Awards.
myspace.com/ojrakiritchenko
nexsound.org
lollipopshop.de
I first heard "Ojra + Andrey Kiritchenko", it seems, in 2008, at Gogol Fest in Kyiv, thus, let me note that the album notably differs from what sounded there and then. Moreover: if it did not differ - it would not exist at all. This is a principally important moment. On that evening, Andriy said that in Ukrainian folk songs there was surprisingly a lot of cruelty, death and things of that kind (just such songs were played at the concert). Beautiful musically - but this does not rid them of the negative "lining". Therefore, the album (recording of which was already planned then) would happen only provided light colors definitely prevail in it. And thus I'm pleased to say: light colors do prevail in this album - definitely! Thanks to all the musicians, while the major persons guilty of this are Halyna Breslavets and Andriy Kyrychenko) First, Halyna sings so that even sad songs - which, however, do not constitute the majority - sound transparent, without deep shades and black-and-white make-up. Halyna not just sings - she works magic, submerges.. it is real meditation, and - very beautiful one.. While Andriy - he always works with the sound space neatly, with care. And in this album his tolerance, delicate nature are revealed very brightly - not a single superfluous motion, tone, hint... The space remains clear - decorations appear fragmentary and absolutely unobtrusive. They afterwards form their own layer of fragile patterns - but the space all the same remains clear and transparent, therefore the general picture acquires depth, immensity, extraordinarily lots of warm, light, heartfelt overtones sound in it... In the end, one just does not want to turn off this disc)
Anton Jozhik Leyba (Hedgehog)
[from: http://umka.com.ua/eng/catalogue/modern-arrangements/ojra-andrey-kiritchenko-a-tangle-of-mokosha.html]
