- Field Recording
- Experimental
- Ambient
- Atmospheric
- Wintery
- Ethereal
- Delicate
- Dreamy
In the second edition of Naughty Natalie's Winter Special called "Krystall Mass" you are going to hear:
– Soundscapes of the Galindez Island, the Antarctic wind and local seabirds. This was made possible with the kind support of the National Antarctic Scientific Center of Ukraine (also known as the Vernadsky Research Base), to whom I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks and admiration.
– a very recent track by the talented Ukrainian electronic musician Mokri Dereva, also known as my dear friend Yura, who is currently defending the freedom of Ukraine and fights against russian imperialism at the front as a member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I want to express my deepest appreciation to Yura, who, even while undertaking such a serious duty, still finds time to pursue his greatest passion.
– a field recording I made a few years ago during a small expedition with friends to the Rusanivski Gardens on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kyiv, Ukraine. In this recording, my friend Natalka charmingly imitates the melody of "Shchedryk" (“Щедрик” in Ukrainian and known in English as "Carol of the Bells") — a Ukrainian shchedrivka (New Year's song) composed by Mykola Leontovych, a remarkable figure in Ukrainian choral music culture.
While the joyful melody of "Carol of the Bells" is widely recognized, not many know about its initial cultural mission and contribution to Ukraine’s diplomatic efforts in the 1920s. When it traveled the world spreading the word about the Ukrainian fight for its independence as it was being occupied by the Soviets.
In the meantime, its composer Leontovych – one of Ukraine's intellectual and religious elite of the time – stayed behind and became a target of Bolshevik repression. He was tragically assassinated by a KGB agent at his parents' home in Ukraine.
"Shchedryk" originates in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, where Leontovych collected folklore and arranged its modern version — an area now caught in the midst of fierce battles and turned into a ghost town due to the russian invasion of Ukraine.
The photo shows the Кришталь ("Crystal") sanatorium in Truskavets, a city rich in mineral springs and sanatoriums that are themselves gems of modernist architecture in Ukraine.
