Balaklava Blues: Let Me Out
Ethereal vocals and a lush soundscape have a haunting power.
By Kerry Doole
Balaklava Blues - Let Me Out (URGNT): This Toronto-based group is described as "a Ukrainian-Canadian hyper-folk-noir trio," and the conflict in Ukraine has had a powerful impact on their recent work.
As the final instalment in their intense and emotional series of black and white music videos accompanying their sophomore album, last year's Let Me Out, they have released a radio edit of the title track on YouTube and other DSPs.
A label press release describes the clip this way: "The video meanders between live-action and animated dream states as its protagonist is carried deeper and deeper into the endless winter of post-traumatic stress. It was shot on Ojibwe land on the Canadian Shield by Serbian-Canadian cinematographer Pedja Milosavljevic and animated in Ukraine by Dmytro Nechepurenko in extreme circumstances — adapted his unique stop-motion style as a reaction to not being able to shoot outdoors and having limited electricity/light due to power lines being destroyed by air strikes."
The song is reportedly inspired by an age-old ballad from the Chernihiv region about a long-distance relationship and is just as powerful and haunting as the video. It leads off with the serene and ethereal vocals of Marichka Marczyk and gradually builds in intensity, featuring violin, keyboards, and harmony vocals in creating a lush soundscape.
Balaklava Blues was created by husband and wife Mark and Marichka Marczyk. Their music and videos reflect themes of Ukrainian cultural identity in a time of war, and their homeland's traditional folklore is a major inspiration. The pair describe themselves as “fighters on the cultural front of the war for global democracy and freedom” and have spent time on the physical front in Ukraine as well as raising money for soldiers like Marichka’s brother Max. Their concerts and other creative endeavours have raised over a million dollars for Ukraine.
The group has a full slate of festival and club shows this summer/fall, including some noted Canadian festivals, as well as shows in Poland, Germany, Ukraine, Estonia, England, the US, Korea, and Taiwan.
Links
Publicity: Paul Brooks, Take Aim Media
Management – Mark Marczyk, Olha Chertkova
