Welcome to the last blog! It really doesn't seem like the semester should be over already. Good luck with exams and I hope y'all enjoy my blog.
For this last blog I wanted to talk a pretty cool place and culture. Ukraine has some really interesting instruments, dances, and (of course) heavy metal bands.
A traditional instrument used in Ukrainian folk music called the Trembita. This instrument is made of solid wood and looks like a tube. Usually they are up to 4 meters long. This wind instrument is documented at the longest musical instrument in the Guinness World Records. The Trembita is very popular in western Ukraine and is often used by shepherds to communicate with each other. This instrument makes beautiful, trumpet-like sounds that are found in folk and modern Ukrainian music.
The next thing I want to talk about is a very interesting Ukrainian dance called Hopak. The dance originated in the 1600s in southern Russia and in Ukrainian communities. When they returned from battle, they would gather and do an improvised dance in celebration. Men began to preform acrobatics as well during the dance while others would squat in order to prove their "manliness". The Ukranian verb "hopaty" means to jump which is where the dance name came from. The dance pace is based off of the performers preference so they can change their tempo at any time. Usually the music continuously gets faster and ends with a bang. Most of the dance is in unison as the men squat and the women spin.
And finally, my favorite part of the blog... HEAVY METAL! :)
I have been waiting all semester for a chance to truly focus on this amazing band. Jinjer is a female fronted band from Donetsk, Ukraine. They are a four-piece progressive/groove metal band that formed in 2010 with Tatiana Shmailyuk as the vocalist. The band's popularity has skyrocketed within the last few years as they signed with Napalm Records. With Roman Ibramkhalilov on the guitar, Eugene Abdukhanov on the bass, Vladislav Ulasevich on the drums, and Tatiana Shmailyuk on vocals, this band has produced 5 studio albums. Their first album called Inhale, Don't Breathe was release in 2012 and rereleased in 2013. Cloud Factory soon followed in 2014. One of my favorite albums was released two years later and it was called King Of Everything. This album is responsible for the band hitting it big because of the song "Pisces". Last year, the band released an EP (Micro) and another album (Macro).
The band takes musical influence from other metal bands like Gojira, Lamb of God, Pantera, and Slayer. Tatiana has been screaming since she was young and actually screamed so much that she developed a hernia in her stomach. When she wasn't screaming, she was singing along to Ukranian pop music. She began taking singing seriously and started getting lessons. She ended up performing with a choir but the songs were accompanied by dancing so she quit. Her older brother suggested Ukranian heavy metal bands, like Aria. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, she began listening to bands like Nirvana and The Offspring. Eventually, Tatiana stumbled across a female fronted band called Otep and was inspired to form a band of her own. Now she uses her music to talk about her life and her music has become a way for her to vent about her emotions. One of their singles called "Ape" actually talks about her view on how horrible mankind can be and how it infuriates her.
Song suggestions:
"Perennial"
"Teacher, Teacher"
"Retrospection"
This song is partially written in Ukrainian!
So there ya have it folks! I hope you guys enjoyed my blog! Goodnight everyone, thank you for coming!
(There's always room for a vague Eminem reference, right?)
Hey y'all! I hope you guys have had a great week. I know it's been super stressful since finals are coming up soon. Just remember that we are almost halfway through freshman year, stay motivated and work hard!
So I wanted to dig into Arabian instruments, cuisine, and of course... heavy metal!
I started to do some research on Arabian cuisine and found out some super interesting things! Having communal meals is common in Arabian culture. Family and friends eat from a shared dish and they move what pieces of food they want to their "section" of the plate. They also don't usually use utensils which means they eat with their hands (not very covid friendly). There are rules such as only eating/drinking with your right hand and using your thumb and index finger to pick up your mouth.
Families usually return home and eat a communal meal of couscous after attending mosque. They all sit around the table to enjoy couscous, meat, and vegetables. Guests are always offered the best pieces of food from the whole dish.
I wanted to look into the Qanun because I thought it looked pretty cool. It was introduced to Europe in the 12 century and it is a descendant of the Egyptian harp. It has over 81 strings that are attached to the right side along a long bridge which is on skin-covered windows. The strings can be plucked with one or two fingers. Also, the strings are organized into 3 groups (24 chords) which consists of three chords to one notes and there are 8 notes per octave. There are tuning pegs on the left of the bridge. On the left side of the instrument, there is a row of brass levers that change the pitch of the notes. The Qanun is typically played on a table or on the player's knees.
I'm very excited for this section of my blog because I found a super cool band called Kimaera. Kimaera is a death metal band from Lebanon that formed in 2000. Their discography includes aspects of doom metal, death metal, and progressive metal. The first song I heard took me off guard because it starts with the same vocal style of the Arabic music we listened to in class. After a second or two, the instruments come in and the vocalist hits you with some intense screams. I certainly could see myself listening to this while running or something. I highly encourage you guys to listen to it so you can understand what I mean! This band is very successful as they have produced three studio albums and two singles. Their last song was released just a few days ago and it includes beautiful female vocals which is a direct contrast from the dark instrumentals. The song is different from the first one that I came across and is much less intense.
Here is the first song that I came across:
Here is their newest song that was released at the end of last month:
I hope you guys enjoyed reading my blog and have a great weekend!
