Koliada

One things leads to another, and then you find yourself overdubbing sopilka tracks in a sublet room in the Carpathian Mountains.

Yes, I've recorded a Ukrainian Christmas carol (koliada) just in time for what they call "Polish Christmas" (which nobody really celebrates) here in Kosiv. It's a tune I've always liked, called "Nebo i Zemlia" ("Heaven and Earth"). My rendition features a banjo, a sopilka, and my congested-sounding voice. It was inspired largely by what I had on hand (call it necessity, call it realism), a little by nostalgia, a little by Hutsul music, and a little by the opening of a Grandaddy song that I really like. If you'd like to hear it, you can go to my long-neglected page at www.myspace.com/tsarinamaria.