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 Chasidy! I'm not much of a heavy metal girl, but I gotta say that Ukraine heavy metal has got my heart. It's actually pretty groove, thank you for exposing me to it. I also thought the Hopak dance was insane! my things and back hurt just watching them, but it is pretty cool and you gotta have the muscles to get that low and balance. As scary as it looks it be pretty fun to try. Great Blog! Hope your break goes great! Be safe girly!
Hey Chasidy! I would have never guess Ukraine had such an amazing musical culture. Thank you so much for sharing this blog with me! I really found that their pop music is Heavy metal
Hey Chasidy! So, not gonna lie, I did not know that Ukraine had as many heavy metal bands as it did. I always associate heavy metal with Northern Europe. The hopka dance makes me think they're jumping for joy after celebration and while it would kill my legs, i want to try it. Okay but back to Jinjer, I don't know that many female screamers. I love listening to female lead metal bands (catch me on heavy queens on spotify) but not a lot of them do screaming so thank you so much for making a blog where you can include them!
Hey Chasidy! I'm not much of a heavy metal girl, but I gotta say that Ukraine heavy metal has got my heart. It's actually pretty groove, thank you for exposing me to it. I also thought the Hopak dance was insane! my things and back hurt just watching them, but it is pretty cool and you gotta have the muscles to get that low and balance. As scary as it looks it be pretty fun to try. Great Blog! Hope your break goes great! Be safe girly!
ReplyDeleteHey Chasidy! I would have never guess Ukraine had such an amazing musical culture. Thank you so much for sharing this blog with me! I really found that their pop music is Heavy metal
ReplyDeleteHey Chasidy! So, not gonna lie, I did not know that Ukraine had as many heavy metal bands as it did. I always associate heavy metal with Northern Europe. The hopka dance makes me think they're jumping for joy after celebration and while it would kill my legs, i want to try it. Okay but back to Jinjer, I don't know that many female screamers. I love listening to female lead metal bands (catch me on heavy queens on spotify) but not a lot of them do screaming so thank you so much for making a blog where you can include them!
ReplyDelete