Hromadske Playlist: What We Listened to in 2024

Vivienne Mort - "Veil"

In August, the members of the band Vivienne Mort, Daniila Zayushkina and Gleb Prots, released their first album in five years - "Veil". Their previous album "Experience" was released back in 2018, and in 2019, the band announced an indefinite creative hiatus.

The album's title has two meanings: it refers to the bride's headpiece that shields her from the world and which she removes to be free, as well as fate or destiny.

"Despite the fateful proximity to the empire of invaders, Ukraine has embraced its fata with dignity, not wanting to be an unloved bride, entering into a struggle against the greatest evil of the world," the band members said.

Ragapop - "Is Love"

Ragapop is a project by Ruslana Khazipova and Anna Nikitina from Dakh Daughters, along with Anton Ocheretyanyy. Their first full-length album "Do you listen to Ragapop?" was released in May 2024. The songs feature texts by Sophocles translated by Ivan Franco, as well as poetry by Ukrainian writers Ilya Kalyukin and Svitlana Pyrkalo.

The track "Is Love" is built on philosophical-rhetorical and sometimes absurd questions about painful themes, the complexities of love, and human existence.

Artist Chuprinenko

Singer and theater actress Marusya Chuprinenko describes herself as "the songstress of the steppes and seas of the Kherson region." Through her music, she tells stories of her home and the history of its people, referring to this genre as "documentary song."

Her songs combine a gentle voice, poignant lyrics, and minimal musical accompaniment—acoustic guitar and cajón.

One particularly moving piece by the artist is "Song." Last year, it went viral on TikTok, and it was from this song that many listeners began their acquaintance with the singer's work.

"Step" was released in 2024. As the musician described, it is a song about home and love.

"I dedicate the release of this song to my dad, who was at the wheel of my childhood and the silver 'Deo Lanos' with a dolphin on the mirror, with great love and hope that he is now driving the coolest heavenly cars," Chuprinenko explained about "Step."

Blooms Corda - "Future"

Blooms Corda is a Ukrainian music group founded by Danil Halik in 2014. The Kyiv-based band blends funk and jazz-influenced music with poetic lyrics.

In April 2024, the group released the album "Rain is Falling, but the Sun is Shining." The record consists of 11 songs recorded in a home studio over the course of 2023-2024.

The song "Future" is about the sudden arrival of that imaginary moment in the future when everything is fantastic and better.

"When the desired future has already arrived, here I am living it here and now, not thinking about tomorrow. It's just not entirely clear if this is a glitch?" - described the song Danil Halik.

Rusiiick & Misha Substance - Reactor

At the beginning of 2024, Rusiiick (Ruslan Pilipenko) and Misha Substance (Mikhail Biaskov) released a joint album titled Reactor. The long-play was recorded by the artists from the very beginning of the full-scale invasion.

In 10 tracks, the musicians combine electronics with heavy instrumental accompaniment and broken rhythms.

According to the artists, the main concept of the album originated during the blackout, which is why they channeled all the aggression that arose at that time into this work. Through broken rhythms and heavy instrumental sounds, the musicians aimed to convey a state of constant anxiety.

Sick Solution - Hardcore Yakuza

Hardcore Yakuza is the first full-length album by the band Sick Solution, featuring 11 songs.

"Muzvar" describes the work as heavy contemporary Ukrainian metalcore without pop choruses and electronics, but with influences from other genres. The character of the album chooses a different way of existence and alienation from the painful human world in each song. The hero goes through all the mortal sins and ultimately dies.

Maria Kvitka - "Let the Heart Be Free"

In 2023, the album "Let the Heart Be Free" was released— the debut work of singer Maria Kvitka, who is also a folklorist, promoter of Ukrainian culture, and costume artist.

The album includes eight compositions based on ancient folk songs. Some of them were recorded by Maria Kvitka during folklore expeditions, while others were found in collections of folk songs. However, they are all united by the theme of love.

"I selected the songs to reveal all possible facets and manifestations of love—from passion and devotion to one’s native land and love for family," - explained the singer.

In particular, the album includes a wedding ritual song from the Chernihiv region "Dove", the song "Love is Forgotten" from Rivne, "Brown Eyes," which consists of fragments of songs from the village of Kryachkovka in the Poltava region, and a recitative from the poem "Thought" by Taras Shevchenko.

Schmalgauzen - "Blood and Wine"

The band Schmalgauzen consists of graduates from the Karpenko-Kary Theater, Cinema, and Television University. The group creates experimental music with jazz elements in theatrical productions.

In the fall of 2022, Schmalgauzen created the performance "YourFree," excerpts from which went viral on social media, while the main song "Blood and Wine" garnered over 3 million listens on Spotify. Schmalgauzen has already toured Ukraine several times, filling venues to capacity.

Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She

The seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe was released in February 2024, following a five-year hiatus in her solo career. Unlike previous works, this album primarily features a gloomy electronic sound with significant influences from trip-hop, gothic rock, and industrial music.

Dua Lipa - Radical Optimism

Radical Optimism is the third studio album by British singer Dua Lipa, released in May 2024 under Warner Records.

In announcing the album, the singer described it as "infused with psychedelic pop music, paying homage to British rave culture."

In an interview with Time, Dua Lipa referred to the album as "more mature" and discussed the internal changes she has undergone: "I am definitely not the person I was when I wrote my first album. I have changed and learned a lot... to accept everything as it is, not to view anything as bad and not to consider anything a failure. This implies growth and understanding of oneself, as well as realizing one’s worth."

Interestingly, the music video for the song Illusion was created by the Ukrainian director Tanya Muinyo and cinematographer Nikita Kuzmenko.

Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department

The Tortured Poets Department is the eleventh studio album by singer Taylor Swift, released in April 2024. Rolling Stone magazine called it the most personal album of her entire career.

The album set several records. It achieved the highest number of listens in a single day in Spotify's history and became the first album to surpass a billion listens on the platform within a week. The long-play also topped the weekly charts in over 20 countries.

It is believed that Swift shaped the lyrical content of the album around "the five stages of grief" - anger, denial, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The album was surrounded by rumors that it describes her personal life. At the same time, Swift herself rejected attempts to reduce her work to the autobiographical content of her songs.

Lady Gaga

In November, the song by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars "Die with a Smile" reached a billion listens on Spotify. The track took less than 100 days from its release in August to achieve this milestone. Now Gaga has seven songs that have reached a billion listens.

In the fall, Lady Gaga released a video for her new single "Disease" from the upcoming seventh album LG7. The new video was directed by Ukrainian filmmaker Tanya Muinyo.

Lady Gaga explained that "Disease" is a song about the conflict with one's own demons and fears.

By the way, the star's last album "Chromatica" was released back in 2020