Recommendations from the Kyiv Independent: “Hutsul Metal” by Karna (Patreon)

Dear readers,Disclaimer: After reading this piece you’ll become one step closer to Ukraine.Hello from Kyiv. This is Daria Voytenko, project manager at the Kyiv Independent. Nowadays, people share a lot of interesting and exciting information about Ukrainian history, traditional culture, and customs. As a representative of Gen Z, I would like to introduce you to some modern Ukrainian culture. 

Since I’m a crazy fan of Ukrainian traditions, though, I won’t be recommending any typical Gen Z things —  instead, I’m going to lead you through the development of modern Ukrainian music and how we keep the spirit of our ancestors’ culture.

Ladies and gentlemen, please meet Karna – a Hutsul metal band from the heart of the Carpathians. 

The band Karna was created by a group of friends from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, a region in the west of Ukraine, in 1997. New metal music was definitely something brand new for Ukraine at the beginning of the 2000s. Fame caught up with the group shortly: They became a big deal, then made their fans wait five years for the next album. What an album it was, though. A year later, when the band was at the top of popularity and appreciated by thousands of Ukrainians, it disbanded.

What a tragic story… or rather, it would be if they had never reunited. Since they regrouped in 2014, they have considered their music style as Hutsul metal. Metal means metal music, but what about Hutsul?

I bet you’ve heard that there are unique ethnic subgroups of Ukrainians. The Hutsuls are one of them—an ethnic group living in Halychyna, a historical region that today is mostly part of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. They have many distinctive features that make them different from other subgroups, such as a unique Hutsul dialect, bright and colorful attire, authentic folk architecture, specific customs, traditions, folklore, and a wide developed folk crafts. 

The peculiarity of their metal music is manifested in the presence of ethnic Ukrainian sounds, special songs, and instruments. Have you heard about the trembita, a Ukrainian folk wind instrument that can reach eight meters? This is one of the most commonly used instruments among ethnic subgroups from the Western part of Ukraine.

Congratulations! You’ve just completed a little tour through the history of Karna and the Hutsuls. It’s time to practice listening skills. Today, we’re going to explore the latest Karna album called “Hutsul Metal.” 

Let’s start with my favorite song, “Vitrolom,” which means “gusting wind.” The song starts with ethnic sounds that make you feel in the middle of the Carpathian mountains. Sure, the text of the song makes great sense and enhances the atmosphere. However, in my opinion, listening to these sounds already gets you into this magical vibe.

Almost all of Karna’s songs start with Hutsul motifs that are maintained through to the end. However, some songs have really unusual or exciting interludes. 

Let’s consider another of my favorite songs called “Synevir.” Synevir is the largest lake in the Carpathian mountains of Ukraine, located in Zakarpattia Oblast. The song is a protest against the destruction of the Carpathians. In 2020, deforestation and poaching in the Carpathians began causing floods, landslides, and gusting winds, destroying houses and infrastructure. The interlude between 1:54 and 2:05 includes a snippet of a very old ethnic song of the Hutsuls – so old in fact, I can’t even find it on Google; it may have been orally passed down from one generation to the next. 

At the beginning of “Mama Halychyna” (A Mother Halychyna), another one of my favorite songs, Karna includes a kolomyika – a traditional folk genre with only two paragraphs. Kolomyikas have different sounds and meanings depending on which ethnic subgroup made them up. This is one unique to the Hutsuls. A little boy in this song addresses “spivanochky,” or short songs, thinking about where they would lead him, perhaps he would “sow” them in the mountains. A very Ukrainian vibe. 

Karna has dozens of songs, and I would say most of them make me feel like I’m in the Carpathians, no matter where I am. However, I can’t leave you without my personal, must-listen list of Karna’s songs: 

“Vatra” (Flame)

“7 trembit” (7 trembitas)

“Planeta Zemlia” (The planet Earth)

“Moia Myla” (My darling)

“Malenka” (Little)

“Dobryi Vechir” (Good evening)

“Sertse” (Heart)

“V obiymah spliachoho sontsia” (In the embrace of the sleeping sun)

“Ti shcho tantsiuiut na holovi” (Those who are dancing on head)

More of Karna’s songs are available on Spotify and YouTube Music.

Karna also has an official store where you can buy their merch. It seems they sell it around the world.

I truly hope you’ve felt the Carpathians and learned something new about Ukraine. Perhaps you added a few more cool songs to your playlist. I would be happy to hear back from you if you enjoyed listening to any of Karna’s songs!