Leléka – Kolysanky

Description

 

Leléka presents new album “Kolysanky”. A journey into the dream world of Ukrainian lullabies: music of confidence and security.
The ensemble led by singer Viktoria Leléka with her enchantingly magical voice interweaves sounds from the world of jazz and other popular music genres with motifs from Ukrainian folk music to create a tonal atmosphere that can be both soothing and deeply moving.

Kolysanky represent one of the oldest and most essential elements of Ukrainian folk culture. These traditional lullabies had a strong protective function – in pagan times they were considered a talisman to protect the child from misfortune and illness. Leléka picks up on this protective symbolism and builds on this tradition with the album. The ensemble led by singer Viktoria Leléka with her enchantingly magical voice interweaves sounds from the world of jazz and other popular music genres with motifs from Ukrainian folk music to create a tonal atmosphere that can be both soothing and deeply moving.

With its personal interpretation, the ensemble aims to bridge the gap between tradition and modernity and ensure that this part of valuable Ukrainian culture is not forgotten. In a time full of challenges and crises, this album is intended to provide comfort and build a bridge between past and present by reviving the rich musical narrative tradition of Ukraine. Because even in our difficult times, the human soul should be able to experience gentleness and security.

 Sleep as a journey of the soul – The spiritual depth of Kolysanky

Lullabies have always been an integral part of Leléka’s concert repertoire, which gave rise to the desire to dedicate an album entirely to the world of falling asleep and dreaming. These songs have a special significance in Ukrainian culture. According to ancient legends, sleep is a mystical journey of the soul into other worlds. These motifs are reflected in the lyrics of many lullabies, in which sleep is often depicted as a “shaggy man with four eyes” or sung about by animals. A frequent motif is the cat, which wanders between the real and dream worlds. The old Ukrainian expression “singing cat” describes the ritual of placing a cat in a new cradle while a lullaby is sung. These deeply rooted customs and symbols give the Kolysanky a special spiritual dimension, which is brought to life in this album.

 About the band Leléka
Founded in Berlin in 2016, Leléka (Ukrainian for ‘stork’) is a young, multicultural quartet led by Ukrainian singer Viktoria Leléka. Her ethereal voice shapes the character and atmosphere of the ensemble’s sound. The band’s sound world, which ranges from dynamic grooving passages to delicate folk ballad tones, finds its framework in a contemporary jazz language that the quartet has developed into a varied concept. This mixture of jazz and Ukrainian folk music has already earned Leléka numerous awards, including the Creole Berlin world music competition and the European Young Jazz Award Burghausen 2018. The band was also nominated for the German Jazz Award in the “Band of the Year” category in 2022.

The increased interest in Ukrainian culture since the outbreak of the war of aggression against Ukraine has made Viktoria and her band one of the most important musical ambassadors for her homeland. Since then, her concerts have not only been experiences of innovative reinterpretations of old, mostly forgotten folk songs, but also a strong sign of solidarity for the right of Ukrainian culture to exist. Highlights of the band’s history include appearances at festivals such as Elbjazz (Hamburg), Jazz & the City (Salzburg), the Bardentreffen (Nuremberg) and the Rudolstadt Festival..

In recent years, Leléka has produced three albums in addition to various singles and a soundtrack for a Ukrainian TV series. Her debut album Sonce U Serci was released in 2021, followed by her album Rizdvo, released in November 2023, which was created in collaboration with the Kiev-based flute virtuoso Maksym Berezhnyuk and presents Ukrainian Christmas carols in a new, modern sound. Her latest work Kolysanky will now be released in January 2025 and is dedicated entirely to the rich tradition of Ukrainian lullabies.

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