Shukai Vinyl & CDs

Review: In the mid-80s, Svitlana Okhrimenko, Oleksandr Kohanovs'kyi, and Tamila Mazur, students at the Reinhold Glier Kyiv Academy of Music, formed the foundation of Cukor Bila Smert. Their blend of music and camaraderie led to the addition of Eugene Taran, who further helped shape the band's vision. Dubbed Sugar - White Death, their ironic moniker challenged media sensationalism and amidst endless musical exploration, they crafted two albums in 1988 and 1989. The band's unique "sugar calypso sound" emerged, a blend of Kohanovs'kyi's music and lyrics by Okhrimenko and Taran. A significant studio session in 1990 yielded tracks featured on the Mannered Music compilation which sparked international interest. Their journey concluded in 1993 with the release of "Selo" by Koka Records, and now some of the best bits make it onto this new collection.

Review: You may not be familiar with avant-garde composer Valentina Goncharova, but this incredible collection of rare home recordings is enough to answer any questions you might have as to how mind-blowing her work is. The sort of artist who needs to flee the Leningrad Conservatoire in order to have the space and freedom to fully explore ideas. Combining elements of musique concrete, drone, ambient and a kind of lo-fi classical, this is an expression of place - sanctuary of the home - and its ability to offer protection from creative oppressors. Using vocal mantras, curious refrains, amplified and distorted strings (cello in particular), you really get a sense of not only the where but the how behind these arrangements. Hushed but dense, they draw the listener in with surprising speed, so before you know it you're right there in that domestic studio watching a genius at work.

Review: Svitlana Nianio is a Ukrainian artist, musician, and singer known for her standing in the nation's avant-garde circuit. Cutting her teeth as a member of the experimental group Cukor Bila Smert (Sugar White Death), her work has over the years blossomed into an ever-keen exploration of voice and composition. After a spate of relative non-success, she "disappeared from the public eye" until a resurgence in popular interest came in the mid 2010s. However, we cast our minds back: the newly reissued Transilvania Smile is an early work, containing the original soundtrack for a dance theatre performance of the same name, which Nianio composed and performed in 1994 in collaboration with the choreography group Pentamonia, based in Cologne. A delicate balance of Nianio's vocals, backed by piano and harmonium, create a haunting and atmospheric sound blending folk, classical, and ambient elements.