Meridian 68
At the heart of the new album are folk songs from Poland and Ukraine. DAGADANA found their inspiration in many sources: amongst their families and friends, at ethnic music workshops, as well as on their friends’ and families’ bookshelves.
The Eastern influence is the result of an encounter with extraordinary musicians – Hassibagen from Mongolia and Aiys Song from China – during DAGADANA’s visit to Beijing. As Dana Vynnytska says, “We first got to China while Ukraine and Poland were preparing for UEFA 2012. We spent a week there, and when it was time to go back home, I felt the same overwhelming sadness as if I were leaving Ukraine. It was a total surprise because after all it’s such a remote culture, unknown to us, and yet it draws you in, it’s intriguing and new”. Everyone in the band was deeply impressed by the first meeting with the musicians over there. “Even though we didn’t know each others’ languages,” Dana remembers, “we communicated easily through music.”
This Chinese adventure is referred to in the record’s title: Meridian 68 “The 68th Meridian is exactly midway between Czestochowa and Beijing, the places where we recorded the songs. It runs through many fascinating countries. I wonder if we’ll get to play in some of them one day?”, muses Dagmara Gregorowicz.
The album’s artwork is amazing too and refers to the band’s journey. Both on the cover and inside there are beautiful illustrations by the Ukrainian icon artist Olya Kravchenko.
Dagmara stresses, “It was a mad vision creating this record. I’m thrilled that we managed to real- ise another musical dream. Now the time’s come to meet our audience, and go on a sound jour- ney together.”
Tracklist
1. Grajo gracyki / The musicians are playing
2. Kangding Qingge / Kangding love song
3. Rano rano raniusieńko / Early early early morning
4. U Jeziorecka / By a lake
5. Jestem sobzie starozina / I am an old man (IT IS THE FIRST SINGLE) 6. U poli bereza / A birch in the field
7. Siałem proso na zagonie / I’ve sowed a millet patch
8. Plywe kacza po Tysyni / A duckling swims along the Tysa
9. Nie będę się kłopotała / I shall never fear at all
10.Koby ne moroz / If, instead of frost
11. A w tomu sadu / That orchard
