Mariana Sadovska/Vesna: »Transistor«

Mariana Sadovska is a Ukrainian artist who defies classification. She finds major inspiration in the traditional music of her home country and of Eastern Europe at large, something she researches methodically in terms of sound. Through new arrangements woven into original compositions with unusual sonic images, the past becomes contemporary, and the regional universal. Pop-Kultur will be presenting her along with Vesna, her band with Christian Thomé and Markus Braun. Archaic sounds and contemporary instruments meet electronic styles. For centuries, lyrics have addressed questions of origin and identity, the struggle for freedom, the future, youth, mourning, hope and love, and now, Mariana Sadovska and Christian Thomé make them sound more urgent than ever. Their Commissioned Work underlines the newfound topicality of traditional songs, combining past and current understandings of war. Vesna will be supported by Vasylysa Furmanova, who fled Ukraine on an evacuation train that was so crowded, it was nearly impossible to move a limb. The young musician pours all her experiences into her voice, processing the barely imaginable in her haunting songs.

Credits: Mariana Sadovska (concept & music, voice, keyboard), Christian Thomé (concept & music, drums, zither), Vassilisa Furmanova (voice, badura, bass), Markus Braun (sound), Daria Fomina (flute), Valerij Lisac (video).