Yahudky

The Artist

DakhaBrakha is a Ukrainian quartet from Kyiv whose name means "give/take" in old Ukrainian, formed in 2004 out of the experimental Dakh Theatre under director Vladyslav Troitskyi. The group, comprising Marko Halanevych alongside vocalists Iryna Kovalenko, Olena Tsybulska, and Nina Garenetska, calls their sound "ethno chaos": traditional Ukrainian village polyphony fused with instruments and rhythms drawn from across the globe. Their striking visual identity, tall black lambswool hats and white beaded dresses, is as recognizable as their music. They've become cultural ambassadors for Ukraine, especially since 2014 and again after 2022, using their platform to spotlight Ukrainian identity. Yahudky sits in their early catalog and helped establish the template they've built on ever since.

The Album

Yahudky was recorded in Kyiv and released in the late 2000s, capturing DakhaBrakha in a raw, close-to-the-source phase where their theater roots still show through. The arrangements are largely handmade, built from voices, cello, accordion, hand drums, and whatever percussion the room offered, with little studio gloss. Much of the material draws directly from Ukrainian folk songs the group collected on ethnographic expeditions to villages, then bent through unexpected rhythmic and harmonic frames. The result feels both ancient and dislocated, as if traditional material had been shipped through a dozen other continents before coming home. Thematically, the record circles around womanhood, ritual, longing, and the strange humor of village life.

Listen For

The voices as the main instrument. The four-part vocal blend, three women and one man, does most of the heavy lifting here. Notice how they shift from smooth unison to piercing open-throated village harmony within a single song.

Nina Garenetska's cello. The cello often functions as a bassline, a drone, and a percussion instrument all at once. Track its role on "За дуби" and "Діброва," where it anchors the whole arrangement.

Genre collisions. "Африка" is the most obvious example, splicing Ukrainian melody with rhythms and textures from far outside the tradition. Listen for how quickly the group can pivot from folk lament to something almost club-adjacent.

The opening declaration. "Шо з-под дуба" sets the tone immediately with its rhythmic drive and layered vocals. Pay attention to how it announces the album's aesthetic in the first thirty seconds.

Lyrics rooted in ritual and nature. Oaks, water spirits, spring, and Kyiv itself recur as images across "Русалочки," "За дуби," "Ой, у києві," and "Весна чілі." Even without translation, the imagery bleeds through the delivery.