The Spring of Warsaw, DAGADANA

DAGADANA, for eight years now, have triumphantly merged elements of Ukrainian and Polish culture through jazz, electronic and world music. By mixing folk, jazz and electronica they create their own unique language. Their full of humour concerts show that they make the music of such kind that makes both the listener and the performer happy. Full of warmth vocal lines sang often through voice processors, bold synthetic sounds, melodic acoustic bass and children’s toys used as instruments is Dagadana’s method to flood the listener with sounds that are never boring. Their latest 4th record collects traditional songs from many regions of Poland and Ukrainian. And there’s an exceptional piece recorded in Chinese in collaboration with a band they met in Beijing – North Lab. The core of the new album is made of Polish and Ukrainian folk songs. 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 Inner Mongolia) and Aiys Song from China – during Dagadana’s visit to Beijing. DAGADANA are proud of their long-lasting cooperation with China since 2012. One of its fruits is the album „Meridian 68” which features performing guests from Beijing. The band has also performed on concert tours in Poland and China (e.g.: Shanghai World Music Festival, Polish Circles of Art Festival, Festiwal Wschód Kultury, Polish Radio Trójka). Musicians from the North Lab band, who have been invited to join the project, present in their works the beauty of Chinese and Mongolian tradition blended with contemporary vibes. Those keen-to-experiment artists met with Polish-Ukrainian DAGADANA in 2013 in Beijing. Music was then for them the only mutually understandable language. A strong bond between the musicians, determination and support from the Polish Institute in Beijing, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Department of Culture of the Poznań City Hall resulted in issuing of the „Meridian 68” album in Poland and common performances on concerts. The artists found their inspiration in various sources: their own families, books and during ethnic music workshops. In the World Music Charts Europe, a prestigeous ranking of 150 best albums in 2016, prepared by the members of Worldmusic Workshop of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), DAGADANA’s album „Meridian 68” was ranked on the 48th place. “Meridian 68” is to be released in China in 2017 and the band is planning to visit the country again for more concerts.

May 18, 2017, Yugong Yishan