Thanks to the wonderful work of designers Vilnis Chakars and Rita MacDonald and the analog expertise of Ryan Chichester, Steve Roche, and National Audio Company, the cassette tape version of the Band Together compilation is now available! The price includes free shipping in the US. (Please get in touch if you'd like to order multiple copies outside of the US.)
Includes unlimited streaming of Band Together: A Benefit for Ukraine
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 3 days
edition of 200
Purchasable with gift card
$15USDor more
Streaming + Download
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
*The flourishing Eastern European post-punk scene has given way to a boom of dark, rhythmic, and powerful new activity. One of the most original and captivating artists to recently emerge from this scene is Kiev, Ukraine's Morwan. The solo project of Alex Ashtaui, Morwan evolved from an earlier post-punk project, 563 (Pyat'shest'tri). Searching for a new direction, Ashtaui circled back to his half-Ukrainian, half-Arab roots, arriving at the perfect crossroads - a sonic aesthetic informed by both ethnic tradition and the familiar territory of dark, driving post-punk. Ashtaui cites additional influence from contemporary Russian groups Utro and Shortparis, as well as the industrial/experimental sounds of Swans.
Zola-Zemlya, Morwan's second release, is an exceptionally original piece of work. It is an album that reaches to the furthest corners of post-punk, further revealing a deep connection to the ethnic sounds of both Arabic and Slavic tradition. There is a profound reverence for nature in Morwan's lyrics - as Ashtaui best explains, "The nature in songs acts as a fundamental force, a given from which you cannot escape. With the help of metaphors associated specifically with nature I tell about some of my personal experiences and stories." Zola-Zemlya is equal parts primitive and contemporary, as traditional Middle Eastern instrumentation and structures are woven through driving, modern post-punk rhythms. Morwan's genius shines across all five tracks, a sound both genre-expansive and futuristic.*
lyrics
Я никогда не видел эти места,
Я никогда не смотрел в их бурые глаза,
Я никогда не хотел возвращаться домой,
Я никогда не хотел стоять рядом с тобой,
Где-то там вдали,
Слышится не уходи,
Где-то там вдали,
Слышится не уходи,
Где-то там из далеко,
Смотрят на меня глаза,
Где-то там на высоте,
Среди облаков во тьме
Brutal, battering industrial music from this Austin, TX, group rolls in like a thundercloud—pitch-black and threatening. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 8, 2016
Scratchy DIY punk from Philadelphia with an impeccable list of inspirations. Think Crass, Flux of Pink Indians, This Heat, and Chronophage. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 22, 2023
