Author
What is the track “Mriya - an Ode to Ukraine” about?
The track was inspired by the horrendous cruelty and suffering inflicted on the people of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin and his despotic regime. Its aim is to ask people to look not at the political wrongs and rights of the situation but the plain and simple individual stories of people’s - and all other creatures - suffering. Another aim is to raise whatever funds possible for a charitable foundation set up by musicians in Ukraine who are helping in a non-military capacity to defend their people.
How did the track emerge and what is the background?
To support those in crisis in Ukraine and those assisting them, I have released this track to benefit a small charity called ‘Musicians Defend Ukraine’. Moneys from the sale of the track will be sent to them. You can see and read about the work this organisation does, bringing aid and relief to those in such desperate need right now. MRIYA is a poetical heartfelt text set to music dedicated to the innocent people of Ukraine suffering under relentless assault by Putin’s forces.
How can we not be moved by the horror of events going on around the world?
News no longer remains ‘new’. Headlines change. The media moves on. The suffering and deprivation continues and increases. We watch helplessly as people are displaced and systematically threatened in their very right to exist. Despite it all there is a community of spirit that resists and fights back. Throughout my life and throughout my career I have tried to respond in whatever ways I can. As an individual. As an artist.
How did you meet the collaborators?
In the summer of 2019 it was my pleasure to come to know and work with film maker Jurko Marrow in Kyiv. It is now my honour to collaborate and work with him on this new piece.
The music was composed and played by my band members, Justin Ciuche (violin) and Jann Michael Engel (cello). I wrote the text, in English, in March this year. I asked Jurko if he could advise on an adaption into Ukrainian. Not only did he fully translate the poem but he also made a vocal recording in between his duties as an exponent of Ukrainian culture through his work as a cameraman and as an active defender of his country and people.
Combining our two vocals with strings by Justin and Jann and ambient sounds I “found” from this volatile landscape, this moment in time, I now present it to you, Mriya an Ode to Ukraine. (cello).
Where is the track to be found?
It is available on all digital platforms to stream or download here.
How can people donate?
On Bandcamp people can donate as much as they want but there is a £1.00 minimum. Click here to donate and share.
The project info is translated in 6 languages. Here’s the German page.
About Anne Clark
For more than 40 years, Anne Clark has held a unique place in contemporary music. Having never been able to really “fit in” in her youth, her voracious appetite for music and literature has not diminished. An inquisitiveness and practical need to be involved with the world around her has remained intact over the years. Initially, it was punk that led the way to a whole new approach to music, arts, and society itself, resulting in her genre-breaking way of making music. Combining literary, socially-engaged texts with innovative music, she has covered every kind of style, while at the same time maintaining her own identity on each and every recording.
Along her career, she’s had collaborations with numerous artists, including with the German musicians herrB and Thomas Rückoldt as well as Jann Michael Engel and Murat Parlak who have both become long-time musical partners of Anne, celebrating 20 years of working together this year! In 2020, which was her 40th anniversary of making music, she decided to invite young, innovative musicians, producers and DJs to take her material, and to not just “remix” it but completely re-interpret it. The results were fresh, exciting and contemporary takes by a new generation, made possible by an artist who in her turn influenced them. In 2021, she released, ‘Synaesthesia’ - Anne Clark Classics Re-Worked - providing an eclectic mix of fascinating interpretations by herrB and Thomas Rückoldt, as well as esteemed figures from today’s electronic scene including Solomun, Blank & Jones, Andreas Brecht and Yagya.
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