Ukrainian avant-pop artist Hanna Svirska spins an ‘electronic fairytale’

Who? Hanna Svirska is an avant-pop musician and animation artist based in Kyiv. Her multi-layered sound weaves together Ukrainian poetry, dynamic synths, samples of nature, and religious singing to tell stories of love, loss, and hope. Besides pursuing a solo career, she is also one half of the experimental acoustic duo Tunelilisu.

What? Since we first wrote about her debut earlier this year, she’s been busy crafting the sonic landscape that is Shepit, filled with the sounds of beetles and crickets, harmonica melodies, and vocals wavering between whispers, curses, and pleas. The lyrics, which explore the artist’s battle with depression, draw on verses from Ukrainian poet Lesya Ukrainka. In this EP, Svirska’s distinctive soothing ambient sound takes unexpected turns, featuring broken beats, playful sequences, and even disco arrangements. Svirska recorded the lead vocals in the woods to include authentic sounds of the forest, while sourcing percussion samples on mobile music apps.

What they say: “My debut EP Shepit is an electronic fairytale, an experiment aiming to modernise the traditional new-age sound,” Svirska wrote on Soundcloud. “I like making music everywhere because it makes me feel really present in the moment,” she shared with The Calvert Journal.

Why you should listen: Shepit takes you into a forest full of Ukrainian folk spirits — mavki — at first, whispering soothing hymns, then casting eerie spells as they jump from tree to tree.

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