“I didn’t dream of becoming a Cossack—I dreamed of breakdancing”: Cossack Siromakha on the latest episode of the UNZIP podcast

In the new episode of UNZIP, Albert Tsukrenko and Kozak Siromakha listen to and discuss Cossack songs—from Baroque melodies and radio archives to modern interpretations. How is the sound of the Cossacks changing? What remains constant in these songs? They also discuss personal and cultural freedom, life without documents, discipline without alcohol, and music as a way to preserve Ukrainian identity. Listen to the song selection for this episode:

1. Anatoliy Solovyanenko, “The Cossack Rode Beyond the Danube,” 1985
2. Nataliya Svyrydenko, “Cossack Dance” from “The Bratislava Tablature,” 1991
3. The beet farmers’ choir from the village of Stebneve, Zvenyhorodsky District, Cherkasy Region, “How the Cossack Boy Came Back from the Field,” 1982
4. Ivan Patorzhynsky, Karas’s aria from the opera “The Cossack Beyond the Danube” (composed by Semen Gulak-Artemovsky), 1956
5. Taras Petrynenko, “Cossack Destiny,” 1995
6. Nikita Dzhigurda, “Reactor,” 1987
7. Ruthenia, “Lullaby” (“Sleep, Little Cossack”), 1992

Listen to the podcast recording here

UNZIP is a podcast that delves into the archives of Ukrainian music. You’ll hear host Albert Tsukrenko and his guests on the UnZip podcast search for answers to questions about our musical identity. And best of all, they’ll surprise you with songs unearthed from the archives of Ukrainian Radio.