At work yesterday, I heard a group of colleagues expressing their frustration and anger at how they felt they had been treated. Not to denigrate their opinions, this is how they felt and they made valid points, but I couldn't help thinking of those in Russia demonstrating against the invasion of Ukraine at great risk to themselves and their families. Again, how fortunate I am to live in a country where people can - and do - have the freedom to express themselves and vehemently disagree with the actions of their government.
I've also been prompted to explore more artists from Ukraine, which led me to discover Kyiv-based duo Ptakh_Jung aka Anton Dehtiarov (keyboards) and Volodymyr Babushkin (guitar). Taken from their Bandcamp biog, Ptakh_Jung "combine contemporary classical with electronic, post-rock, ambient,
elements of grunge and noise. They define their music as post-classical
and electronic impressionism." Which is a pretty fair description.
Since 2018, there has been an EP and couple of singles. I was particularly drawn to their most recent, Dnipro, released in December 2020.
The initial seconds of piano swirl immediately calls to mind I Don't Like Mondays by The Boomtown Rats, but it very quickly sidesteps into a pulsing house beat, with insistent, cascading piano and rolling bassline. It's all over in under four minutes and could easily go on for twice that length.
Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth largest city and there was a moving BBC News report earlier this week about how the city was preparing to defend itself from the invading Russian forces.
My
thoughts are with those fighting for the peace and freedoms that I, by
luck of birth and geography, all too often take for granted.
Ptakh_Jung on Soundcloud
Dnipro, and the video, are rather marvellous, quite a find!
ReplyDeleteIt's so true what you say, we're so fortunate, and it's so easy to take so much for granted. The events of recent days are just so sad and shocking that I find myself sinking into despair, yet I'm aware that all I feel is only that, only sympathy and empathy from a (currently...!) safe distance, not the actual experience that is a horrific reality for those in Ukraine.
Many thanks for your comments, C, lovely to hear from you. Yes, it can be difficult sometimes to look at the events in Ukraine and around the world and wonder how we can possibly make a difference. Over at The Vinyl Villain, Flimflamfan made a comment about "acts of kindness" which resonated with me. Sometimes we are in a position to donate goods or money or our time, sometimes it may be thoughts and goodwill, sympathy and empathy. Acts of kindness are important, however small or insignificant they may seem at the time.
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