The Eastern Side of Different Sounds - introducing acts from Eastern Europe

Rising stars and hopes of music markets in Ukraine and Belaru as well as Bastarda?s live accompaniment to Oleksandr Dovzhenko?s famous ?Earth? are the next attractions coming up at East of Culture ? Different Sounds 2018 which takes place in Lublin between 28 June and 1 July

One of the key ideas of East of Culture ? Different Sounds is to introduce the most interesting and original musical and cultural phenomena from the countries of our eastern neighbours. Artists from Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia or Armenia are increasingly bolder in conquering European markets, putting forward ambitious, innovative and exploratory projects. For the past few years, we have been presenting both contemporary bands that employ modern sound and language and those who are more strongly rooted in tradition. This allows us to demonstrate the full range of what is happening in the music scenes of Eastern Partnership countries.

This year, the presentation of artists from the east will open with two bands from Ukraine ? Sinoptik who play powerful, expressive stoner rock and OY Sound System who fuse hip hop, electronic music and club music.

Sinoptik?s new album ?Fields on fire? is literally hot off the press and it is largely this material that we will hear in Lublin. Their music incorporates classic rock instruments (bass, drums, guitar, keyboards) and English lyrics. Having cemented their position in Ukraine, they are starting to mark their presence in other countries, making appearances, for instance, at Sziget Festival in Budapest or Reading Festival in England. Their music brings associations with such contemporary bands as Tame Impala or Queens of the Stone Age, but it also links back to classic rock and psychedelia, such as Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin.

OY Sound System is a collective established in Kiev by the musician and vocalist known from Dakha Brakha ? Marko Halanevych and Taras Halanevych, who is responsible for electronics. The third member of the project is the vocalist Victoria Rodko and the group?s overall style can be said to be the effect of mixing ambitious dance music, dub, hip hop, trip hop, ambient and synth wave, in other words everything that has formed electronic and club music over the years. Their debut album, ?Attention! Attention!? stirred the Ukrainian music market and the band immediately gained a large following of loyal fans. OY Sound System offer catchy beats and backing tracks, first-rate vocalists with an original flow and a bunch of inspirations from ethno and world music.

As far as Belarus is concerned, at this year?s Different Sounds it will be represented by the band Super Besse who are taking western music markets by storm. These Minsk-based artists refer strongly to cold wave and new wave styles, making trips to post punk and electro as well. When listening to Super Besse, we are immediately reminded of Joy Division, Tuxedomoon, New Order or Killing Joke. Cold, sublime sounds and explosive concert performances are the band?s recipe for success.The band was set up in 2013 and instantly drew the attention of the music industry in our part of Europe, which secured them a contract with the Latvian label I Love You Records. Today, Super Besse is definitely one of the most interesting voices of contemporary Belarussian music.

An important element of East of Culture - Different Sounds is cinema. At the upcoming edition, aside from classic screenings of movies produced by our Eastern neighbours, we will also present the famous movie by Aleksandr Dovzhenko, "Earth". Live music to this masterpiece of the last days of silent cinema will be performed by the trio Bastarda, consisting of: Pawel Szamburski, Michal Górczynski and Tomasz Pokrzywinski ."Earth" is an allegorical, universal tale about man's fate, his relationship with nature and its uncontrollable forces and about changes brought about by the development of civilization. Bastarda's music perfectly complements the visuals created by Dovzhenko nearly 90 years ago.

Like every year, East of Culture - Different Sounds will provide a diverse and original programme which crosses musical boundaries.

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East of Culture is a cultural project integrating artists from cities in eastern Poland (Bialystok, Lublin and Rzeszow) and artists from Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldavia and Ukraine). It is carried out by the National Centre for Culture and the three Polish cities. The project aims at presenting and helping discover the unique aspects of each culture as well as at facilitating the sharing of artistic experiences. Over time, the festival has become a bridge connecting our Eastern partners with the broader European culture. In 2018, East of Culture takes place for the 6th time. The project has been made possible thanks to the involvement of creative groups and local governments of Eastern Poland and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage

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