Even the Forest Hums: Ukrainian Sonic Archives 1971-1996: remember, play, dance, resist.
A beautifully curated and timely introduction to the country’s rich and storied musical tradition.
If you’re a fan of Eurovision, perhaps you’ve seen the performance of Verka Serdyuchka’s 2007 Grand Final Performance of “Dancing Lasha Tumbai,” a song that was not unfamiliar to controversy for its pro-Ukrainian sentiments. Almost everyone is familiar with the Christmas classic “Carol of the Bells”, which owes much of its success to the Ukrainian New Years carol “Shchedryk,” composed by Mykola Leontovych. But outside of these famous examples, there has been little Western engagement with the rich, expansive, and innovative music of Ukraine.
Now, Ukraine’s resistance against Russian invasion urges us to take a closer look at its vibrant cultural creations, as the invasion consists of a focused effort to not only destroy the physical, but the creative as well. All facets of Ukrainian culture are under attack: such national treasures as the home of artist Polina Rayko, churches serving as community centers, and museums are systematically destroyed or looted. Russia’s hope is that through these crimes, the world will forget about Ukrainian culture and identity, allowing them to engage in their empirical endeavors uninterrupted. However, some pieces of art exist beyond just the physical plane, making their erasure all the more difficult. Music is the perfect example—after its creation, it exists perpetually through performances, playlists, and digital media. An eclectic selection of Ukrainian music that spans several decades under Soviet rule as well as through the first years of independence, Even the Forest Hums: Ukrainian Sonic Archives 1971-1996 provides music from the past to add to the conversation of the present.
Distributed by Seattle-based Light in the Attic Records, Even the Forest Hums is just the first of many pieces of Ukrainian music that the label hopes to put out in the coming years. Pulsating throughout the recordings, Ukraine’s cultural heartbeat is felt. The genres within the compilation range widely, with excursions in jazz, rock, avant-garde, and electronic, and yet there is still a strong sense of cohesion-every song remains in conversation with each other throughout the entire 1 hour and 26-minute runtime. The songs, with many still having to appease strict Soviet limitations at the time of their creation, effortlessly provide agency to the diverse Ukrainian culture that resisted a homogenization of art. In an interview with NPR, Vitalli Bardetskyi, a DJ, record shop owner, and one of the curators of this compilation album, explained that while there are no outright protest songs on the compilation record, “The biggest protest in this music is aesthetically. It's not any Soviet music. It's got zero Soviet aesthetics into that. They sound like traditional Ukrainian music.” Even under occupation, Ukrainian identity was still unmistakably vibrant. More than just a beautifully curated musical collection, Even the Forest Hums is a perpetual memento, a reminder that witnessing a cultural creation gives it a life far beyond any hope of containment.
While there are technically no protest songs on the LP, several track titles read could easily be read as calls to action. “Remembrance,” a gorgeous piece of funk-jazz by Vodohrai, slowly unravels throughout its runtime, revealing more and more layers. The serene flute and lush piano are juxtaposed by a strummed guitar riff that adds a bit of energy and urgency to the otherwise relaxed atmosphere, more reminiscent of something one would hear from James Brown rather than an up-tempo Ukrainian jazz song. Its title, however, acts as a reminder to the listener of its purpose, a sonic puzzle piece enabling those that experience it to engage directly with the past and present of Ukrainian culture and music. “Play, the Violin, Play” by Kyrylo Stetsenko and Tetiana Kocherhina works off a similar dynamic. Here, the title reads like a command, imploring and coaxing active participation in the music. The last of this trifecta, “Dance” by Vadym Khrapachov, fills a similar niche. A steady electronic beat is met by the levity of a melancholic flute, where the song itself seems to be mirroring the realities of Ukrainian life under occupation-dancing in the face of hardship, a somber but continued perseverance. These songs may never provide an outright critique of life under occupation, but together, they seem to provide three ways to resist: remember, play, dance. In some cases, the most effective resistance is the kind that subverts expectation.
Other moments of the album are chock full of mesmerizing experimentation. Valentina Goncharova’s “Silence” balances calm and consistent wind instrumentation with uneven bell chimes, providing a sense of unresolved tension. The result is a spacious and evolving track that carves out an atmosphere all its own. “Barreras” by Iury Lech experiences a similar phenomenon. Watery, reverberating xylophones provide a pulse to a song that acts akin to a lazy river, inviting the listener along for a serene and placid ride. The saturated melody rises and falls, sometimes reappearing to push the song towards its gentle conclusion. Despite the various kinds of music that this compilation tackles, miraculously, none of it feels out of place. Jumping from jazz-funk, to techno, acoustic, and more, the record is never afraid to push and pull in a variety of musical directions, and yet each song always feels like it belongs and is perfectly placed.
Much like a guided tour, Even the Forest Hums serves as a wonderful introduction to a rich and vast musical history that is finally being given the worldly recognition it deserves. Each song on the album offers a limitless web of possibilities and expansion, acting as invitations to the delightfully complex and expansive world of Ukrainian music. The electronic tracks on the album are an appetizer for the world of Ukrainian rave culture waiting to embrace your curiosity. The somber folk that Yarnpioneers on their track “Viella” is embraced by contemporary artists, such as the Dakh Daughtersand DakhaBrakha, that continue to honor this folk tradition.Music as a cultural tour guide allows for an endless amount of discovery with other artistic creations and mediums. The cultural footprint contained within Even the Forest Hums has been followed and built upon by a variety of artists, ensuring that it continues to inspire an endless array of melodic resistance well into the future.
edited by River Wang.
album artwork believed to belong to either the publisher of the work or the artist.
