Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦

Let's listen to music straight from Ukraine | MC #22 | Featured: Miss Monique, The Lazy Jesus, KLIM, Amphibian Man, Straytones, Moove, The Glass Beads, Dakha Brakha & more...

Last Thursday, we all woke up in a different world. After 8 years of hybrid war, Russia has invaded Ukraine. Each day with a trembling heart and a lump in my throat, I am following the war news. Terrifying things happen behind the borders of my country (Poland 🇵🇱). Ukrainian cities are being bombarded, civilians murdered, some people are escaping, some are holding weapons for the first time. I’m devastated by the cruelty and inhumanity of the Russian side. And simultaneously, the bravery and the solidarity of Ukrainians fill me with sincere admiration. I hope Ukraine will succeed and win this fight for freedom 🇺🇦

Right now, I’m doing my best to donate, help the refugees, and share important information about different fund-raisers. If you’re wondering: How to help Ukraine? Where to donate? When/where/how to protest? Here’s an amazing list with legit information:

I would also like to express my thanks for the emotional support that I’ve received from my fellow Substackers. The fact you reached out to me during this fearful time means a lot. I consider myself really lucky to be part of such an empathetic community.

This Wednesday, we’re listening to music straight from Ukraine 🇺🇦 Special thanks to Reinis Vazdiks, melomaniac from Riga, Latvia. His last “Sunday Melancholy” playlist on Spotify was entirely Ukraine-themed and inspired me to make today’s mix. For this issue, I’ve picked some of my favorite Ukrainian artists:

• Miss Monique, the Queen of Progressive House, producer, and one of my all-time-favorite DJs*

  * I’ve mentioned her before in the 4th issue of the Midweek Crisis

• The Lazy Jesus, Kyiv-based musician, DJ, sound producer and filmmaker who experiments with instrumental hip hop

• KLIM, beatmaker/producer from Kyiv

• Amphibian Man, instrumental surf punk project

• Straytones, psychedelic/stoner garage-rock band

• Moove, a project by Artem Basov, a self-taught musician

• corn wave, an underground lo-fi project from Kyiv

• The Glass Beads, coldwave/darkwave duo

• Dakha Brakha, "ethno-chaos" music band

• & more…

When you’re reading this, many of the musicians from Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities are hiding in basements and shelters, helping others, or swapping their instruments for guns, actively fighting Russian invaders. They are ready to fight until the end. 

22nd Midweek Crisis’s playlist:

Open in Spotify | Open in YouTube

Feel free to leave your thoughts here:

Be safe and well,

Stygi