Plato Newsroom #13

A five fresh releases by Belarusian artists Loukii, Wavy Mroy, Applepicker and марг + NATUR label compilation

15.12.2023

newsroom

Greetings, brothers and sisters! This is the thirteenth episode of the Newsroom project, a news podcast from the Radio Plato team, in which we talk about new Belarusian music. My name is Denis Reemotto and we continue sharing the gems of the Belarusian scene.

In today's episode:

a new song with four songs about Minsk places from марг
the single "Da" released on the Sidechain label by the Belarusian artist Loukii
a Belarusian-language album from the hip-hop artist from Oslo, Wavy Mroy, called "Miełancholija"
solo album "Ещё больше песен про город и торговые центры" by Mikita Arlou, known as Applepicker
a multi-genre electronic compilation from the NATUR label

Settle in, we're taking off!

And we start with the recently issued "В Минске" EP from the multi-genre artist марг. He started making music at the age of nine using a guitar and a dictaphone. His music represents an impressions of his surroundings spinning by. марг himself quotes SOYUZ to describe his music: "I am what I have seen, I am what I have heard". He also has a side-project called "Парадокс" together with his friend Mikita. Let's check out what марг has to say about his release:

– "В Минске" is not just music, it's a photo album of sorts. I have noticed that whenever I want to remember something, I often end up writing a song about instead of snapping a photo or writing down a note. Each track on this EP is a record of a walk I took around Minsk. "Слепянский водоканал" for example, is about walk in cold spring weather, when the snow is still out, thin ice is still covering the canal, but April is just around the corner. Who knows what will happen?

Next up is the artist known as Loukii. His setup is simple – home recording using a multitude of instruments. He is known to Miensk audiences thanks to his live performances in clubs and bars around town as well an occasional festival. Loukii does not limit himself to a single particular genre. His live shows are always a great opportunity to catch some warm positive vibes and great music. But what about this particular single?

– The single was released by Sidechain label. It's one of those feelgood tracks as a reminder for our future self that everything is gonna be alright, there’s always a chance. The track was composed a few years ago, sax part by Wladislaw Kalinowski. The video was shot by Valeria Rodionova in Tbilisi.

Let's zoom over to Oslo, where we meet the Belarusian hip-hop artist Wavy Mroy, who rethinks r&b through his unusual flow by mixing melancholic melodies with elements of other styles. In Stas's tracks, you can hear the influence of different genres, which blend together into a unique concoction with its own kind of atmosphere. Here's Stas with more details:

– I started the Wavy Mroy in 2016. Back then I was releasing my first tracks in Russian, then I experimented with English and I now sing in Belarusian. I still keep experimenting, trying to find my own sound, my own voice.

For me, "Miełancholija" is probably the most important release I've ever made. This is my first attempt to do something in Belarusian. I am trying to bring in new music genres less represented in Belarusian music and help remedy our native scene's obsession with the existing trends, directing it towards the past, while little is left to innovation and freshness. The album was created in 2023, sad times in our parts, so the term "melancholy" seems to reflect rather well our shared sentiments and feelings of people subjected to all of this.

Next, we are flying over to Warsaw and the next artist, I think, needs no introduction. Say hi to Mikita Arlou and his project Applepicker. Mikita has been making music since the age of 10, he started with sample-based trip hop and dream pop, but eventually moved on to recording live instruments on tape, which influenced his gradual move towards lo-fi indie sound. Let's give the word to Mikita:

– The material for the album has been collected over seven years. During this time I took part in recording of other albums by SOYUZ, my other project White Cave, "Голос Кинчева", Misha Dalida and others. I have been working at Studio 42 where these albums have been recorded, so I was recording my own songs in spare time in between. As time went on, I began to realize the tracks chosen for the album have a certain Miensk vibe so I decided to dedicate the album to the city. I almost always feel the influence of the city on my music. The cover art depicts three different neighborhoods in Miensk I have lived in over the time of working on these songs. Of course some of the references buried in the lyrics are for Miensk-dwellers only, but the music is universal, wherever you come from.

Closing out the episode is the compilation from Natur label. Most of the artists on the compilation are Belarusians and Ukrainians who were forced to leave their countries due to the political situation in the world. The music featured on it represents hope for a brighter future and sincere love for the music. Uladzislau, one of the label's founders, shares his vision of the label and its future plans:

– Natur is an independent electronic label founded by myself and my girlfriend Glafira Stseliukova in Warsaw. The idea of the label is to discover new talents in the underground music community, support existing ones, and create a fertile ground for international exposure.

Natur Digital Compilation 001 consists of 20 tracks in completely different styles made by our many friends. Among them you will hear tracks from my close friend and talented composer Ilya Semashkevich, as well as music by the famous Ukrainian musician Volodymyr Gnatenko, and others, including Shjva, Okravan, Aslamin and many others.

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That's it for today. This was the Newsroom podcast — the music news show by the Radio Plato team, where we gather info about the news of the Belarusian electronic music scene. The podcast is brought to you by our team: Reemotto, Stwone, Helga, Krik, Schmoltz , Nadya Ya, Stereobeaver and KorneJ. Cover art by chernova.ya.

If you're a Belarusian making music, share it with us on social networks and we'll share it with the world in our next episodes. Subscribe to the podcast on streaming platforms, support us on Patreon, or simply Paypal us a donation – this helps us do more cool stuff. See you on the otherside!