DakhaBrakha

They mix cello, accordion and synthesiser with punk, hip-hop and percussion from all over the world, but their basis is traditional Ukrainian folk music. DakhaBrakha call their music Ethno-Chaos. Their songs live from a dramatic build-up of tension and are full of power, humour and melancholy. The sound of the traditionally colourful quartet is minimalist, sacred and contemporary at the same time. The name of the band, which was founded in 2004 by Vladyslav Troitskiy, the director of the avant-garde theatre Dakh, comes from the old Ukrainian and means give and take. The concept behind it is to record old regional folk music locally and combine it with other musical influences. For almost 20 years, the band from Kiev has been experimenting with folk song motifs from Ukraine, Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Their rousing music is like a celebration of freedom. In the face of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, it is more so than ever.