ШЩЦ, the label founded in Kiev and raised in London, is currently touring Berlin and Prague, making it the perfect time to experience some of the rich ambient sounds they have been exploring. Both labels promise to further develop the underrated leftfield music of Ukraine and its diaspora, and to forge closer collaborations with a growing network of likeminded international artists.
CDM has been following ШЩЦ for some time, ever since their braindance-focused debut compilation. This year they’ve been plumbing the icy depths of some beautiful ambient sounds. And they’ve been busy filling London with events like this:
They’re on tour in August. In Prague, ШЩЦ will meet up with Motsion, an interdisciplinary Ukrainian collective active across the continent. In Berlin on Sunday, some of the same groups will come together with various international talents from the region and form the new label Kontext. It’s a double debut, as it will inaugurate a new island garden stage surrounded by water. (The site was the former Ipse before it was destroyed in an arson attack.)
Sunday’s lineup is packed with artists from Ukraine and its allies (including, for example, Buttechno, who has openly advocated collective responsibility and challenged pro-regime and pro-war Russian artists):
Buttechno
Minor in Natural Sciences
Special guest DJ
Sascha Zlych
Konakov
Window Finder
Andriy K.
Nefo
Tris
New Medecina
Extract
DJ Manager
Max Switlo
A highlight – Nefo Zhang, also known as @_stellar_crust_, contributes both a modular set and this alien-looking sculpture:
But let’s listen to the music that the label has released. neue medecina is one of the founding artists of Kontext – so we don’t know what the label will do yet, but we at least get a taste. With Exthract we get this beautiful ambient piece, which is officially due to be released in October, but is already available now:
ШЩЦ co-founder Bodya Konakov has released this minimalist beauty that alternates between introspection and whimsy – and yes, the track “Boards of Canada” sounds like Boards of Canada:
Today is the day of the Ukrainian flag, so I close with the full remarks on Max Svitlo Dear My Rocket from April. It mixes text and musical journeys and unfolds into a journey through the personal saga of coping with Ukraine’s struggle for survival.
And it is a reminder that – like this accordion player – many of our own friends from the Ukrainian scene are at the forefront.
Max Svitlo, a Ukrainian visual artist, photographer and filmmaker, explores the unexplored territories of the subconscious, navigating his personal fabric of melancholy and darkness. From this experience of darkness, he begins to see light and love, which then becomes the essence of his media project Svitlo (Ukrainian for “The Light”).
In this album, Max Svitlo unveils an expedition of improvised musical rituals born in the quiet isolation of a village in the heart of Ukraine. Svitlo’s music is an odyssey from the depths of despair to the peaks of hope, from the resilience found in loss to the serene beauty of eternal melodies and the abysmal echoes of dark realms. It contains drone soundscapes, noise textures, poignant poetry and spontaneous improvisations on a range of instruments, including an accordion played by a friend currently on the front lines defending Ukraine.
In his poems, you can hear “Dereva Moi Rakety” (ukr. “Trees are my rockets”). It really feels like experiencing a sound world reminiscent of Paradzhanov, in the dark forests and endless fields of Ukraine, where spirits call to battle. It is an awakening river that gives a sense of freedom that slowly explodes from within. After listening to this album, your thoughts will somehow become brighter and clearer, serving as an anthem for those who fight their inner demons. It is like an orchestra of angels flying above us with bloodstained wings and tears in their eyes.
There is not much more to say after that. I would just like to say that as we have the privilege of listening to music in Berlin this week, I am thinking of the people in the war zones who I know are yearning to hear music again.
