Eastern European folk music is here and with a twist

I think most people would find my top listened-to genres on Spotify odd.

Hip-hop, indie-pop, Americana folk, classical,and Eastern European trap and folk music.

Back home in Minneapolis, I am a part of a Polish folk group where I dance, sing and play the violin.

It took me a long time to understand why my mom pushed me into this group, but today I am so grateful to have a musical genre that I feel ethnically connected to. Folk music is a symbol of nationalism and cultural unity. At every Polish and Ukrainian party, you will find an accordion or a speaker playing “Hej Sokoły” while everyone shouts the lyrics.

With the war going on in Ukraine, this folk music is on the rise in eastern Europe.

Folk music in Eastern Europe transcends borders and political history.

It wasn’t that long ago that western Ukraine was part of Poland, and that region today still shares similar traditions, including music. The more Ukrainian folk music I listen to the more and more surprised I am at how many of the melodies I have heard before.

It is in times of national celebration and trial that people come together to play and sing these songs. It brings people together and it provides a sense of hope and mutual understanding.

On Spotify, you can listen to historical recordings that are one hundred years old of people singing these songs.

You can hear the history and a sense of toil as well as resilience in the music. It is so powerful.

The technical element that makes eastern European folk music stand out to me is white-voice. White-voice is singing with an open throat, with free volume and bright color.

It originates from mountain calling and is in essence, screaming or yelling in tune so that the notes vibrate out of you and produce an echo that fills a space.

If you play an instrument, you know that when you play a note in tune you can hear that clarity and vibration, and white-voice is doing the same thing in a more exaggerated way.

What makes white-voice so special is the emotion that it brings. White voice is singing with your entire body, and it is so moving. And when it is done in harmony it creates a sound unlike anything I have ever heard.

Folk-inspired music is dominating the top chart in both Poland and Ukraine today. The top song in Poland is “Mamo Tyś Płakała” which translates to “Mama You Cried.” It is sung by sanah and Igor Herbut.

The song uses an old popular folk melody. The money made by the song is going to the Ukrainian resistance.

The cover art for the song is communist-inspired and holds a lot of interesting symbolism. It is a stamp with a photo of the two singers having a meal. The table is full of food and the pair are dressed in simple communist-inspired clothing and edited in a way to look like photos taken during the communist period.

The top song in Ukraine is a song called “Stefania” by the folk-rap band Kalush Orchestra. The song will represent Ukraine in this year’s Eurovision contest. The song has a lot of folk themes with a modern twist. The lyrics of the song are about a person longing for their mother and their homeland. “Sing me a lullaby mom/I still want to hear your native word.”

Eastern European folk music is something that I would recommend people listen to.

With the war in Ukraine, now is the time that we should celebrate their beautiful culture and music.