TaRuta band from Kyiv is a respected member of WorldMusic scene.
Having an amazing and original sound, the band for eight years of existence has already twice been a winner of Chervona Ruta national music festival in Ukraine. The band also brilliantly showcased itself at different music festivals in Ukraine and Europe: “Tallinn Music Week”, “EuroRadio Folk Festival”, “Koktebel Jazz Festival”, “Land of Dreams” (Krayina Mriy), “Kauno Hanza Dienos”, “Skamba skamba kankliai”, “Z wiejskiego podwórza”, “M?nuo Juodaragis”, “Trypilske Kolo”, “Woodstock UA”, “Vilnius City Fiesta”, “EuroBasket-2011”, “Slavske Rock”, “Gogol-FEST” and others.
The heart of TaRuta band consists of folklore researchers Ievgen and Olena Romanenko. The band also contains a great team of professional musicians: Taras Kozak (drums, percussion, xylophone), Oleksandr Atamas (bass guitar), Rostislav Mamadloikov (guitar) and Yaryna Tovkailo (folk wind instruments).
TaRuta band has first loudly declared itself at international music festival “Land of Dreams” in 2008 in Kyiv. In 2010 the band’s debut studio album “Born in Love” and the first music video for the song “Stork” have emerged.
The most fascinating part of the album is represented by solo piano improvisations by pianist Roman Kolyada and electronic sound produced by DJ Igor Liodin. This period is also notable for emergence of the second music video created by a legendary director Taras Khymych in picturesque Carpathians – “Borom-borom”.
In late 2013, along with the beginning of revolution on Maidan, the band takes active social position and does everything possible for supporting the people with words and actions. As a result of everything experienced and seen, in spring 2014, TaRuta records and publishes a new EP called “Celestial Hundred”. It contains a composition with the same name with lyrics by a young Kyiv poet Zoriana Palamarchuk. The EP also contains a song by one of the last Ukrainian rebels, Gryts Gerchak – “My Highlands, My Summits”, and two Ukrainian folk songs – “People, Unite!” and “Chumatska”. The band has made a music video for the song “Chumatska” in a picturesque castle Radomyshl.
Short story:
Kyiv WorldMusic band "TaRuta" - a knit ethnomusicologist (folklore researchers) team and the professional pop musicians who are not afraid to experiment and introduce modern musical trends into authentic Ukrainian folklore. During the eight years of experiments "TaRuta" gave new life to more than ten ancient Ukrainian folk songs, turning them into genuine hits, recognized Ukrainian and European public. Early in career, around 2007 band performed mostly classical ethno-rock, but later musicians figured out that boundaries of the genre are too tight for them, and they began to expand their musical horizons, experimenting with jazz, funk, disco, electronic music and, even with punk rock. But the sole and immutable core "TaRuta" has always been and will be Ukrainian ethnics, which, combined with the right musical components will strike your heart, like a virus. So be careful, you are in the area of Ethnic virus "TaRuta."
