Hudaki Village Band
Nine musicians from the Ukrainian Carpathians, this is the HUDAKI Village Band.
They are the masters of the alchemy of musical-vibrating happiness. In 17 years of performing in hundreds of festivals and concert halls across Europe, the band has learned to make their archaic, night-time moments of happiness accessible to the uninitiated.
In the Maramures region, a mountainous area of South-west Ukraine on the border with Romania and Hungary, village musicians are called hudaki.
They are the masters of the alchemy of musical-vibrating happiness. In 17 years of performing in hundreds of festivals and concert halls across Europe, the band has learned to make their archaic, night-time moments of happiness accessible to the uninitiated.
In the Maramures region, a mountainous area of South-west Ukraine on the border with Romania and Hungary, village musicians are called hudaki.
Various ethnic musical influences make the traditional music multifaceted and unique. Archaic Slavic vocal tradition, Romanian melodies, Jewish rhythms and Romany temperament blend together in a local cross culture that has evolved over centuries of living side by side. Hudaki Village Band has performed in the Sziget Festival in Budapest, Fusion and Bardentreffen in Germany, KlezMore in Vienna, Notes d’Equinoxes Delemont and Festival des 5 Continents in Switzerland, Respect-Prague, Balkan Trafik Brussels, Gooikoorts Belgium, Les Suds Arles in France and many more.
As these ballads and archaic sounds fly around the room, you have a feeling of elusive dimensions. Then what you have to do is just open the door to your heart and let this swirling musical tornado in. And it makes you feel so good!
From the heart and to the heart With fiery rhythms and melodies, the Hudaki Village Band quickly swept away the daily routine of the audience and spread the pure joy of life.
This music becomes addictive – probably because it’s so vibrant, authentic and moving. There are touching ballads which take you into mystical dream worlds. There are ecstatic rhythms inviting a frenzy of dancing. There are solemn hymns which create a mood of sacredness.
Our Musicians
Kateryna Yarynych, vocal
Vitaliy Kovach, vocal, guitar
Mykhailo Shutko, vocal, violin
Volodymyr Tishler, double bass
Serhiy Kovach, accordion, plonka
Volodymyr Korolenko, cymbalom
Vasyl Rushchak, drum (percussion)
Yuri Bukovynets, clarinet, taragot, flutes
