Saoirse spotlights 5 of her favourite Ukrainian artists
With a dance music upbringing immersed in the free party circuit and her mum's own afterhours parties, Saoirse Ryan knows her biscuits. Celebrating the ecstasy of dance music across its many guises, the Dublin-born, London-based DJ is a beloved presence across club and radio land, whose notable achievements include: a four-year stretch on Rinse FM; an Essential Mix for Radio 1, where she also hosted her own Residency series in 2019; running Body Movements Festival, a celebration of LGBTQI+ club culture; and regularly putting on her consistently sold out trUst parties. The aforementioned has recently spawned into her own label, which has debuted the fruits of a lockdown spent honing her production skills. All of this goes to show, when Saoirse recommends something, you should take note.
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While the war in Ukraine continues to devastate lives and slips further from the front pages, local culture remains an important comfort, source of pride and galvaniser. With War Child maintaining psychosocial support on the front line, we also wanted to shine a light on homegrown creativity (see our recent Worldwide FM special for more), by inviting Saoirse to highlight her five favourite Ukrainian producers, pushing the envelope in electronic music.
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Dmytro Avksentiev also known as Koloah and Voin Oruwu is a producer and DJ from Kyiv making a yearly ambient album, dripping in emotion and sincerity. Check their Soundcloud page for some mind melting soundscapes.
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Resident of Kyiv's infamous Closer, making stripped back alien techno perfect for the early hours of the morning.
I've been starting a lot of my sets with The Alien Interview EP. Driving techy house with inimitable grooves.
Nastya Vogan is a Kyiv-based DJ, electronic producer and composer, also a resident of of the infamous ∄.
If you have heard any of my sets recently, you will have heard me play at least 2 or3 Quarium tracks per set – Fractal being my go to bridge track to get people in a trance.