In my latest report from the contemporary music scenes of eastern and central Europe in The Quietus, I look at Ukraine’s powerful electronic underground.

Like the whole of Ukraine, its music scene is strong. Apart from metal, folk, post punk and hip hop acts, its electronic artists have been shining for a good few years now. Important hubs come in the form of nightclubs. Closer and ∄ (which roughly translates as ‘does not exist’) can be found on the edge of the centre of Kyiv and are key to promoting the country’s contemporary electronic scene. Classically trained musicians who have turned their interests towards deconstructed electronic music include Katarina Gryvul and the aforementioned Maryana Klochko. Dmytro Nikolaienko, of the Muscut label, has discovered a dreamlike music ideal for a younger generation: lost hauntology or fuzzy dubs straight from Odesa performed by the band Chillera. And then there’s Shukai, the Muscut sub-label, where listeners can rediscover artists such as experimentalist Valentina Goncharova or sci-fi soundtrack composer Volodymyr Bystriakov.

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Inner Ear: Ukrainian Music For March