SVITLANA NIANIO - KYTYTSI

• Year: 1999

• Genre/Style: Russian Neo-folk

• Standouts: Ptak Łowczy, Koło Lasu, Co To Za Pora?

The first in my series of #RareGems! Kytytsi, by Svitlana Niano, A range of the pastoral and dreamlike mysticism of the Ukraine. Svitlana highlights folk arrangements with melodic and esoteric analog synths to create a picture for the pastoral fantasy genre. Settling in somewhere between the countryside affection of Vashti Bunyan’s voice and the isolated melancholy of Sibylle Baier, Svitlana’s voice lilts around with tenderness. 

Some of the later songs (like Trzęsienie Ziemi) do away with the singing-by-the-campfire folk fare, and instead take on eerie music box melodies backed by strings + electric piano. There are the occasional brassy harmonium and flute on this album as well! The livelier sounds dispel the eeriness of the above mentioned tracks and bring us back to the center of some quaint Ukrainian village.

Listening to a 16 track album can be a drag and filler tracks are a pain. However the tracks on this album all contribute to the soundscape of the land it was recorded in. A picture of the foggy European mysticism from the past that imaginably borders in on rural farm-life. 

Enjoy!