"IVAN"

My grandfather was born in the small village of Bilovod in the north-east of Ukraine, survived the war and occupation as a child, until the age of 18, my grandfather did not even speak Russian. After school, he went 1000 kilometers to the other part of the country to the city of Kaliningrad, where he graduated from the maritime school and forever connected his life with the sea and with this city. There he met my grandmother, later my mother was born, and then I was born. For 40 years, my grandfather worked as a radio operator in the merchant navy and, it seems, during this time he visited almost all countries of the world, he was bitten by a shark on his leg, he lost several fingers from frostbite, got into a storm hundreds of times, lost consciousness from an electric shock. My grandfather had many such stories about his great marine life. Grandfather spent most of the year at sea and only a few months on land, where my grandmother and mother were always waiting for him at home. He always brought gifts and sweets from abroad. And in his spare time from the sea, he was engaged in his favorite radio electronics, went to a beer bar with colleagues and, of course, to the stadium to see FC Baltika. Football was his passion, my grandfather watched football all the time. For a long time it was our tradition, on Saturday or Sunday we sat down with him at the TV and watched 5-6 matches that went on that day, but most of all grandfather loved to watch English football.

Last year, due to complications caused by a coronavirus, my grandfather passed away. We were very close with him, he was with me all my childhood and youth. It was not an easy decision for me, I had been hatching this idea for almost a year, but I thought it would be right. I dedicate this musical story to my grandfather. Of course, this is not the music he was listening to. In general, as long as I remember him, he listened more to talk shows on Radio Mayak and read a lot of books. Inside is a musical story about death, about love, about hope, about waiting, about sadness and joy. Inside, all that I can associate with my grandfather, there are songs from Russia, Ukraine, and Lithuania, the sea and the Kaliningrad port, FC Baltika. 

Sleep peacefully, Ivan!
05/11/1937 - 25/11/2020

«ИВАН» / «IVAN» a story by Prince of Gosplan

🇧🇪-based (earlier based in Malmö 🇸🇪)

De Kat Memwa is a mix series which aims to cherish talented artists from all over the world who are seeking to promote non-obvious music through thoughtful storytelling! 

De Kat Memwa is curated by Prince of Gosplan (Kirill O.) who is also performing as a DJ under the eponymous name.

De Kat Memwa is a resident of Malmö-based @retreatradio with (non-)ambient show 'Deep Relief' and collaborative experimental dance music show 'Ordealia' w/ @jonteprippz 

In the beginning, in addition, to the mix series De Kat Memwa was extended as DJ's trio with the participation of @andrew-lipa & @andreykalder. All the founding members are disseminated between Sweden, Germany and the USA which makes a collective performance impossible. However, altogether we are involved in the curation and production of 'Deep Relief' show!