Dakhabrakha

Met with an exuberant crowd and thunderous applause at their 2024 Farquhar show, Kyiv’s DakhaBrakha returns with its powerful, sonic feast and visual spectacle, continuing their support for Ukrainian culture and resistance. The quartet’s “ethno-chaos” sound plumbs the depths of Ukrainian roots and contemporary rhythms, fusing ancient folk melodies with everything from indie rock and pop to hip hop and the avant-garde. Intimate then riotous, this soulful tapestry of the unexpected creates “live shows that take DakhaBrakha beyond mere curiosity to utter brilliance.” (NPR) Created by avant-garde theatre director Vladyslav Troitskyi for productions at the Kyiv Center of Contemporary Art in 2004, DakhaBrakha (which means give/take in old Ukrainian) retain elements of the dramatic in their elaborate garb and compelling performance style. The group’s music is based on songs collected in Ukraine villages by folklorists, then infused by the global musicality of its four extremely talented and urban-dwelling musicians whose influences include American pop hits and dance music, African rhythms, Indian tabla, and Jamaican dub, among many others. With percussion and accordion as key elements, they play an array of Indian, Arabic, African, Russian and Australian traditional instruments.Totally unique and utterly mesmerizing, it’s no wonder they win fans everywhere - sometimes in unexpected places: they “went into Bonaroo as unknowns but ended up with one of the most receptive crowds of the weekend. They got cheers for mournful accordion and apocalyptic cello…Animal noises and bird whistles…” - Rolling Stone