– Let’s start over. How and when was POLE founded?
– Not so long ago – more than 10 years ago – we met and sang in the children’s group VIA “Teremok”. And three years ago we got together with this team to participate in the “Terem crossover” music tournament, we got a great response to our work and we didn’t want to leave anymore.
There are six girls in the group. Tell me who is responsible for what?
– The distribution of responsibilities within the team is very flexible, everyone can take on different tasks according to their readiness and desire. Someone chooses songs from the repertoire, someone arranges, deals with social networks and promotion, and someone – with the program. There are many missions, it’s good that we have six.
– How is your past? How did you meet folk music?
– Each of us had his own path: from the pop scene, from friends, from an unusual school. These stories have one thing in common – folklore arose in our lives during adolescence, and on our way we met people who managed to demonstrate the power and depth of this music, taught us how to work with complex materials.
– In an interview, talking about the creative path of the participants, you said that some of you “raised in a folk family.” What does that mean?
– We misrepresented ourselves in the mentioned interview. There were participants in our children’s team, which we can call so. And a “folk family” in this case is a family in which parents uphold an authentic traditional way of life to some extent and raise a child from childhood in an atmosphere of folk songs, games and rituals.
– In a team of six, there is a feeling that conflicts are inevitable, especially on the basis of creativity. How to find a common language?
– Of course, in the process of creating songs and arrangements, there are often passionate disagreements that end in candid conversations and creatively creating something new. We try to listen to each other and seek compromises, consider controversial issues from different angles, evaluate the situation as broadly as possible. It is important for each of us to be sensitive to his vision, because this music, our arrangements, is part of our soul.
– You released the album “Origins” in 2022. What is its history and concept?
“We seriously thought about what unites all people, and it formed the basis of this project. Life, death and common roots, ancestors. We are talking about the life of a particular person, and also about the life of everyone. Origins is a story about how we are alike in our experiences, yet unique and individual. 11 songs – 11 stages of life, from its inception to its extinction, celebration and mourning, loneliness and the joy of being with someone, all these have filled our music.
Origins is also a visual performance. Nikita (director), Katya (gesture vocalist), Tess (choreographer and dancer), Natalia (performer) – each is a unique part of Origins and fills the story with special meaning.
How did you come up with the idea to use sign language?
– We met Katya, the gesture vocalist of our project, invited her to the rehearsal and immediately fell in love! It was the first time we saw our music happen and we knew we wanted to take a step towards making our performances more inclusive. Music is the language of the world and we want to do everything to share it with everyone.
– How do you evaluate your own path during the past year? Is there anything you are particularly proud of?
“Compared to what we had a year ago, the difference is huge. We won a grant, recorded a debut album, presented a show performance, started working inclusively, met and worked with a lot of talented people. Our creativity became more meaningful as well as ourselves. If you need to highlight the thing, then this, of course, is the album performance “Origins”, which is our complex work with a great team.
– It seems that a folk musician has nowhere to turn: your main instrument is your voice, and your minimum musical instrument. Is there room for experiments in ethno-music? How is it expressed?
— Space for experiments is everywhere. We find material that is interesting to us, transfer it to ourselves and “retell” it in our own words. Ethno-music, in our view, is a strong but flexible foundation that conveys the traditions of the past, and we seek different languages and forms of expression by adapting them to the present. This search is an experiment.
– There is an opinion that it is difficult for a person, for example, from a metropolis to listen to such music. So you put on your headphones, turn on something rhythmic or in the background, and run. Where do you think folk music is, and most importantly, how is it heard?
“Anywhere, actually. Folklore is a home art that accompanies a person in their daily work. But now there really is a feeling that folk music needs the right time and place. It is a state of emotional experience when you want to share your feelings, find a response and support. All this is in the images of folk music.It is desirable to listen to such music with an open heart, in order to be ready to experience the emotions and experience the images embedded in them.
– In “Istoki” there are songs in Serbian, Bulgarian, Croatian languages. And in general, the album can be used to study the geography of folklore, from the song of the village of Plekhovo to the song of the Saratov region. How do you collect materials?
“This is a very chaotic and long process. Sometimes a song enters our repertoire a few years after we hear it. Sometimes we record a demo and analyze tracks on the same day. Each song has a different story. We usually look for records of folklorists, ethnomusicologists in open sources, we listen to a large amount of material. And if something is caught – we start work. The main criteria: heard, liked, felt, spoken.
– And how about property rights in this case?
– Since he is the author of folk songs, the authorship of the folk songs cannot be personalized. But regulations are another matter. Every time we work on a song, we create a unique arrangement of different voice, beatbox and instrument parts.
Have you tried writing lyrics yourself? Not for POLE, but for other projects for example?
There are several people in our group who write lyrics and poetry, and we plan to experiment with original material in the future.
— Which contemporary folk artists would you recommend listening to?
— Zventa Sventana, DakhaBrakha, Settlers, Laboratorium Piesni, hodíla ízba, KASHA, post-dukes, Go-A and others. It is very pleasing that there are more folk artists now and each is unique in their work.
— You travel a lot in parts of Russia. Where and why do you remember the most?
– Here we will agree – this is Onega (Arkhangelsk region) and its environs. We have been there twice in the last year and we can safely say that this is an amazing place. The performance we performed on the hot rocks on the shore of the White Sea on Kiy Island a month ago was an unforgettable experience. We also remember trips to Yekaterinburg with warmth, there is always a special mood from space and people.
– Can we say that music feeds you now? What do you do besides being in a group?
– Each of us has another profession in addition to music, and the scope of our work is very wide – from dispute resolution to caravan construction. We believe this is our strength, as development in a parallel space allows us to bring something new and unusual to the life of the group.
– You are preparing a performance on a hot stage at Archstoyanie. It looks dangerous at first glance. What will happen there?
It will be a real ritual. Songs, dances, gestures, unity with nature, lots of beauty. Everyone will be able to immerse themselves in ritual action. Live the story from birth to death. Discover new meanings through the prism of folk songs. And the fiery scene surrounded by bonfires in Archstoyanie is best suited for this magical connection with nature.
– You often talk about the ritual nature of your performances. Do you follow the rituals yourself? What?
Everyone has rituals in their daily life. The key ones for us are emotional cleansing, resetting rituals. Each person can create his own ritual, filling the symbolic action with an important meaning for himself. Sometimes you stop and say “what?”, “why?” You must answer their questions. And how?” trigger processes.
— There is an idea that it is the emotional side that is very strong in ethno-music. You may not understand at all what is being said about, but the vocals will convey everything the sound needs. Tell us about your biggest emotional turmoil related to music.
– It really is. It is not possible to perform or listen to ethno music without being indifferent. Every time we go on stage, we have the strongest emotional experience with the audience, and it is impossible to get used to this feeling.
– What if you specify?
Arina: My biggest emotional shock came when I stood in the middle of a group of people singing a spiritual verse. And whenever I sing on stage, I go crazy with what’s going on.
Alyona: The story of the Witcher Geralt of Rivia touched me deeply. The text of the original source, the film adaptation, the soundtrack made a very strong impression and inspired the creation of the song.
Lena: For me, it was the “Origins” performance that allowed me to experience maximum immersion in the images we put into the songs. While singing on stage with the girls, of course you go with the flow, you experience everything from the inside, but this is the maximum impression on both the audience and me as you are immersed in the action, not just the images. For example, when you sing a lullaby and see how a mother rejoices at the awakening of her child, it makes me cry every time.