A weekly variety radio show and podcast showcasing the best in Ukrainian culture, history, folklore and music. Broadcasting from the west coast of Canada in English and Ukrainian.
One of the things I love (possibly the most!) about hosting Nash Holos is the opportunity to share Ukrainian music I love with listeners of the show.
Here's one I shared this week.
I have the song on a CD I picked up in Ukraine a few weeks ago. It's a compilation of 200 mp3s of tracks recorded back in the day.
There is little IMHO to wax nostalgic over in the soviet era. But if memory serves me, there was more appreciation for Ukrainian folk music. Probably as a result of that appreciation, more of it was being produced in contemporary arrangements like this.
OTOH it could be a global trend in our era away from indigenous folk music towards bland commercial conformity in the music industry, thanks to well-heeled promoters and smart marketers.
Thank goodness for people who market gems like this ... and put them up on YouTube!
One of the performers traveling across Canada this month with The Talents of Ukraine 2011 show tour is contemporary violinist Innesa Tymochko. Now a New Yorker, Innesa originally hails from Lviv, Ukraine where she studied music and launched a musical career that had her performing on stages throughout Europe.
In a recent interview on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio, she revealed that she was a child prodigy at age 6. While she studied classical violin, she was also enthralled by the beauty and power of traditional Ukrainian folk music. In fact she was so drawn to it that she developed her own "fusion" style of contemporary Ukrainian folk music.
With charming candour, she admits to an abiding love of Ukrainian folk music, the stage, and pleasing audiences with her music. This woman's joy of performing shines through the minute she first pulls the bow across the strings. She'll then take you on a musical journey that is guaranteed to pluck the heartstrings of any Ukrainian folk music lover.
This will be Innesa's first trip to Canada and she is very excited to be part of this tour. It starts out in Vancouver on Tuesday, October 11 at the VancouverCenter for the Performing Arts. After that it's on to Vernon for a Wednesday evening performance, then to other points east, wrapping up in Montréal on October 25.
If you haven't bought your tickets yet, don't wait a minute longer! This will be a show you don't want to miss.
Along with Innesa, you'll be delighted with the performances of two outstanding singers from Ukraine as well as the spectacular Donbas Song and Dance Company of Ukraine. Tickets for the performances in Western Canada can be purchased from Ticketmaster, and elsewhere from the venues where the show is being held. Details at the Boen Arts website and in earlier posts (here and here).
Innesa has her own website which is www.innesa.com and you can read more about her and order her CDs there.
Meanwhile, I found a few YouTube videos of Innesa performing. They’ll give you an idea of her onstage charisma. But there’s nothing like the real thing! So I hope you'll join me in seeing her perform live on stage in Vancouver... or at a venue close to you.
This is Vivaldi's Storm, which opened the show we chatted on:
This is her performing Podolianka at her own wedding.
...and someone else's wedding (where she puts me in mind of the late Al Czerny):
For those earlybirds amongst us, here she is doing a medley of Ukrainian Christmas tunes:
An absolute joy to listen to, and talk with! If you missed the interview with Theresa Sokyrka on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio a couple of weeks ago, or would like to hear it again, you can catch it on the Interviews page at the Nash Holos website.
We chatted about her music career, her Ukrainian roots, her experience on Canadian Idol, and other things.
Many thanks to Theresa for the interview. I was unfortunately unable to take in her live performance in Parksville (minor surgery the day before) and hope to get a chance to chat with her in person next time she's on the Island.
In the meantime, enjoy these videos I found of her on YouTube:
My friend Stepan Pasicznuk (a.k.a. "Ludwig") employed his classic Brit wit in this song he wrote about the pathetic state of Ukraine's parliament.
These clowns want all the perks of a civil society without putting out any effort to be civil themselves, much less act with any decorum or dignity in their role as representatives of their country and constituents.
They deserve much more contempt than this gentle satire but it's nonetheless quite amusing and cutting enough.
Just came across this lovely video showcasing the splendours of Ukraine.
The few typos and oddly translated idioms ("dissolve into meadows" and "inhale a gulp of fresh air") only enhance the charm of the outstanding videography ... and music.
The group btw is called Stelsi and I hope they'll agree to send me some of their awesome music to share on the show.
The video was made in 2008, the year that I visited Ukraine with my mom, two sisters and two nieces. Now I am feeling very nostalgic about that trip, so maybe this is the time to revisit it and share the rest of my memories here.
I also recorded some live music at a restaurant we visited in Kyiv by a group called Cheremosh. Unfortunately they have no website or CDs, but I can tell you they were terrific! And I can share their music with listeners of Nash Holos. :-)
So much to blog, so little time! But, I'll try my best to keep up and bring it all to you in good time.
If you are anywhere near Toronto this coming weekend, do not miss the chance to see this amazing musician perform live.
I have a couple of his CDs... which get a fair bit of airplay on Nash Holos. They are incredible enough as it is, but no comparison to seeing him on stage. So if you haen't yet, you can only imagine!
The first time I saw him was back in 1993, in Vancouver's Centennial Theatre. At the time he was with the Hopak Ukrainian Folk Dance Company of Ukraine. The troupe disbanded shortly thereafter, presumably due to a good number of members falling in love with Canada and deciding to stay.
However, the show was, in a word, spectacular. One of the acts was this young man sawing away on a violin ... and the way the hairs stood up on the back of my neck, I just knew that wouldn't be last I'd see or hear of him.
He settled in Toronto, where he developed a cabaret act calling himself Papa Duke. I'm told he has since recently relocated to Ottawa.
An earlier post I did on him just ahead of his concert in Hamilton last year featured a few videos of him performing.
They're playing a traditional Ukrainian folksong, Yikhaly Kozaky (Їхали Козаки), actually quite a gruesome and tragic tale played in a very upbeat polka style ... which is the norm for this song btw.
Well, who said Ukrainians don't have a sense of humour? OK it can be somewhat twisted at times but, what they hey. If you can't laugh what's the point of being alive?
For the Ukrainian-impaired, they give the plotline in English before they start playing.
Irena Bell, of the Ukrainian Hour Radio Program in Ottawa, profiles Martha Bielish, the first female Ukrainian Canadian senator
This week's music mix features several acts who will be performing at the Toronto Ukrainian Festival this coming weekend, including psychobilly band Mad Heads XL from Ukraine, folk group Zubrivka from Toronto, virtuoso violisnist Vasyl Popadiuk of Ottawa, and folk rock band Dunai from Ajax, Ontario
I'll be posting a few videos of these acts that I particularly like. Here's one by Mad Heads.
On last Sunday's radio program (international edition) I played Ukraine's 2007 and 2008 entries. The latter was a request from a new listener in Japan, and I thought it would be fun to play them back to back. Both years, Ukraine came second in the Eurovision contest.
There was a very lively discussion on this blog back in 2008 about these artists and the direction Ukrainian music has been taking. You can check it out here, but in the meantime, here's the wild and crazy 2007 entry.
These gals have been on the Ukrainian Canadian music scene for several decades, and while they've slowed down a bit on the recording side of things, they're still making the rounds of local festivals and events.
Cheremshyna became very well known in the days before the internet and social media, when networking was done face to face ... and maybe over the phone with a little help from the Ukrainian BBC, i.e., Баба Бабі Сказала (Granny told Granny).
Of course musical excellence may have also played a contributing role in their popularity!
In the 1980s and 90s they released several albums ... Volumes 1, 2 and 3 on vinyl (and cassette) and then on CD The Best of Cheremshyna and По Стежках Мрії (Along Paths of a Dream). They also released a wonderful Ukrainian Christmas album back in the 80s with a bunch of other local performers. It originally came out on vinyl and is currently available on CD at Yevshan, along with their "Best of" CD.
Unfortunately, Cheremshyna doesn't have a website, but I did manage to find this YouTube video someone put together online. It's a slideshow with one of their recordings in the background...Ой там за лісочком (Oy tam za lisochkom) which means "there beyond the woods."
Stompin' Tom Conners' ode to the Ukrainian Canadian community was featured on Nash Holos last Sunday, July 25. It was performed by the Kubasonics... and the song followed a rather accurate if brief re-enactment of an after-dinner scenario at a traditional Ukrainian hall gathering.
For the Ukrainian-impaired, here are some translations so you can know what you are saying as you sing along:
Samahonka = home brew Kubasa = garlic sausage Perogy = pierogi, pyrohy, stuffed dumpling, button Borsch = beet soup Polka = very energetic traditional dance Zakuska = appetizer
Here are the lyrics to Zakuska Polka :
Upupupup, Papa, upupupup! Come up and dance Mama,upupupup! Samahonka! Put some in cup! Upupupup,upupupup! Upupupup,upupupup!
Come up and dance, and when you wish, You could eat one, pickled fish! Maybe cabbage roll, perogy, kubasa, Maybe bowl of borsch, and polka!
Zakuska polka, she's very fine, Sometime we dance, sometime we dine. Sometime we drink, eep! Too much wine! But, Zakuska's good anytime!
Upupupup, Papa, upupupup! Come up and dance Mama,upupupup! Samahonka! Put some in cup! Upupupup,upupupup! Upupupup,upupupup!
Come up and dance, and when you wish, You could eat one, pickled fish! Maybe cabbage roll, perogy, kubasa, Maybe bowl of borsch, and polka!
Zakuska polka, she's very fine, Sometime we dance, sometime we dine. Sometime we drink, eep! Too much wine! But, Zakuska's good anytime!
Upupupup, Papa, upupupup! Come up and dance Mama,upupupup! Samahonka! Put some in cup! Upupupup,upupupup! Upupupup,upupupup!
Saw this guy Saturday night ... what a great show!! He was one of the performers at the Ukrainian charity ball in support of Ukraine House and the Ukrainian Paralympic team.
Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to speak with him but picked up a couple of his CDs. This song aired on Nash Holos Sunday night. It's a rather cutting indictment of the politician who lost the recent presidential election. But a great tune. Enjoy!
I guess it's fair to say that there wasn't nearly enough time on the schedule to allow for finding treasures like this restaurant. Something for my next visit ... which I hope will be soon!
In the meantime, there's always this video to enjoy...
This song by Zubrivka opened the program last Sunday. Thought I'd share it again with you, this time with a video of them performing it live (courtesy Bill at UkeTube).
If you haven't got their CD Знову вдома (Home Again), you can order it through their MySpace site here. If you do have one, order a couple more ... Christmas is coming after all! :-)
Here they are singing Тече вода каламутна - Muddy Water's Flowing.
A dear and loyal listener from the east coast of the United States sent me a link to this video, which he says he just loves. I like it too, so thought I'd share it with you.
I'm not crazy about the sleazy costumes the dancers are wearing, but the song is great. It comes close to that uniquely Ukrainian genre of contemporary music that I keep hoping will materialize and take the world by storm.
The artist is Natalka Buchinska. I really like her music but unfortunately don't have any of her CDs for broadcast. If I did, she'd get a lot of airplay. And if it came with liner notes in English translation, Nash Holos listeners would be able to get to know her better. (I hope her manager reads this blog!)
Here's the video:
Here's another he also sent me a while ago. (Thanks, Ronnie!)
Last week I got an email from the charming Volodymyr Agafonkin, who represents a Ukrainian lyrical rock band called Обійми Дощу (Obiymy Doschu, Eng: Rain's Embrace).
The group plays very lyrical, autumnal rock music with progressive rock and neoclassical influences. They recently released their debut album "Елегія" (Elehia, Eng: Elegy) in August.
Обійми Дощу has very generously put up the tracks for free download on their website. However, I would encourage you to purchase their CD as well. By doing so, you'll find out more about this interesting and very talented group in the accompanying 10-page booklet. Most importantly, however, you'll be encouraging these incredibly talented musicians to continue creating and sharing their beautiful music.
That booklet and CD are on their way to Nash Holos, and when they arrive I'll be doing a CD of the Week feature. So make sure to stay tuned!
In the meantime, I'll be sharing a few tracks while we await the arrival of the package from Volodymyr.
Their debut track on Nash Holos was Самотні ночі (Samotni nochi Eng: Lonely nights) and aired last Sunday, October 18. Here's a video clip for you to enjoy:
