This song is about a soldier saying goodbye to his lover, just as the first star comes out in the sky. 

Proceeds on BandCamp go to "Musicians Defend Ukraine"

More information on www.NastasiaY.com

Evening Star

One year after the invasion, Ukraine-born Nastasia Y created this resistance song in both Ukrainian and English in order to reach more people about the on-going war. In addition to Russia’s countless war crimes, missiles are purposely fired at energy facilities to wear down the citizens. While Nastasia is based in Canada, her family is living in cold and darkness this winter. However, the resilience and spirit of the people can be summed up by a statement made by the president, addressed to Russia: “Without light? Heat? Or without you? Without you.” “Do you still think you can break us into submission? Cold, hunger, and darkness aren’t as deadly to us as your ‘friendship and brotherhood’.” 

Released on Lulaworld Records, the track was produced by multi-instrumentalist Rob Christian known for his work with Larnell Lewis, Eddie Bullen and Elmer Ferrer. The verses of this song were written by a refugee seeking safety in Toronto, who does not know the fate of her family member - a prisoner of war.

Bez Vas

This song is based on the traditionally celebratory Ukrainian folk song “Zeleneye Zhyto” (“Green Wheat”) about bountiful harvest, transforming it to evoke tones of loss and melancholy. The song highlights Russia's ecocide in Ukraine, in particular the theft and burning of grain—a poignant symbol for Ukrainians since Stalin's hunger genocide, the Holodomor.

Stolen Green

In the winter of 2022-2023, when Russia began targeting Ukraine’s civilian energy to wear out our people, I couldn't shake the daily fear for my loved ones. Until I heard President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s words that inspired this song: Without light, heat, food, water, or without you? Bez Vas - Without you. These words give me hope that one day soon we will be with light, heat, water, and without them.

“Stolen Green” is inspired by the Ukrainian folk song “Zeleneye Zhyto” (“Green Wheat”), traditionally celebrating a bountiful harvest. However, I've reimagined this song from a darker perspective. By adding English lyrics, I aim to shed light on Russia's ecocide in Ukraine, including the theft and burning of our grain. The symbolism of wheat holds deep significance for Ukrainians evoking memories of Stalin's hunger genocide, the Holodomor, which claimed the lives of many of my family members in the 1930s.

Have you ever been so in love, you are completely overtaken, as if under a spell? In this song, a fortune-teller predicts a life of all-consuming infatuation, making us ponder if this type of love is divine or cursed. This is a song from the Lemko people, native to the picturesque Carpathian Mountains, known for these bluesy folk themes. This version, recorded live, is inspired by Khrystyna Soloviy, who popularizes Lemko songs in Ukraine.

Pod Oblachkom

Spring is a season of renewed hope and love's awakening. This song is from the Gorani people of the Balkans, often sung around Djurdjevdan (Saint George’s Day), a spring celebration. As nature blooms, so does young love (usually alongside the caution of the scolding mother!). I'm often fascinated by the commonalities in folk songs from Eastern Europe and beyond. In this one, as nature awakens, a girl falls asleep while waiting for her lover.

Spring Willow

As parts of Ukraine are temporarily occupied, I was drawn to this beautiful song from Kosovo in the Serbian language, depicting the ancient land in a sombre fog of darkness. Nothing can be seen in the mist except a beam of light, illuminating from a jacket being woven by a tailor for a village wedding. There are just as many ornaments on this garment as there are stars in the sky, symbolising the triumph of love over darkness and oppression.

Gusta Mi Magla

Growing up in Ukraine, Oy Chiy To Kin' Stoyit' was a popular folk tune to sing around the table, often by my dad. It tells the tale of a Kozak, our revered hero and freedom fighter, captivating the interest of a girl while on horseback. The couple rides into the night, but by morning, their passion fades as they part ways. 

This version was recorded live at the Small World Music Centre, capturing a magical spontaneous organic moment.

Love Until Dawn

We draw our strength from nature, and my favourite traditional celebration in Ukraine is the summer solstice (Ivana Kupala). Young people dance to folk music, swim, and sing by bonfires all night, celebrating magic, destiny, and fertility.  Legend whispers of the elusive fern flower, which is said to bloom on this night only. Young men in the village go tirelessly searching for it, risking encounters with gorgeous trickster water-nymphs who may lead them astray. Yet, to discover the flower is to find eternal luck.

Kupalo

Eight years into the war, a "full-scale invasion" shattered my world. Missiles streaked over my hometown, and a Russian tank struck my grandpa's home as the invaders retreated from Kyiv.
Derived from an age-old Ukrainian melody, this song echoes ancestral warnings of history repeating itself. Here, a Kozak asks his beloved to meet him at dusk, beneath the first star of evening, before he sets off for battle.

The plight of Ukraine's soul began in Crimea, where this war ignited. It's the homeland of the Qirimili people and my fondest childhood memories. Sung in the endangered Crimean Tatar language, this song sheds light on their land and their struggle. Life under the current Russian occupation echoes generational trauma since Stalin's 1944 ethnic cleansing of the Tatars. To defy silence, I open my album with a non-traditional rendition of a wedding song from Qirim (Crimea)..

Salgir River

'Obrys', or 'Outline' is the debut release from DoVira, whose name translates to 'trust' in Ukrainian. The EP features re-mastered versions of their successful debut singles 'Nese Halya Vodu' ('Galia Carries Water'), 'Oy Chyj To Kin' Stoit' ('Whose Horse Stands There'), and 'Jihav Kozak Mistom' ('The Cossack Rode Through Town'). Also included are two exciting new releases: 'Oy U Nedilenku' ('Oh On a Sunday'), a progressive rock composition based on a rare theme dating back to the Tatar slave raids, and 'Ty Zh Mene Pidmanula' ('You Fooled, Deceived Me'), a soulful version of a well-known folk tune. 

DoVira is a project where people of different cultures and musical backgrounds work together creatively. Ukrainian musical traditions are an 'Outline'. Everything else is open to possibility...

5 Yihav Kozak Mistom

3 Ty Zh Mene Pidmanula

2 Oy Chiy To Kin' Stoyit

1 Nese Halya Vodu

DoVira is now thrilled to present their their debut full-length album, self-titled as ‘DoVira’ (releases November 25th, 2016 at the Burdock Music Hall in Toronto). Recorded at Canterbury Music Company in Toronto, the album features nine guest artists, including Juno-award winning tabla virtuoso Ed Hanley (Autorickshaw), woodwind master Ernie Tollar (Tasa), Georgian polyphony specialist Andrea Kuzmich (Darbazi, ZARI), and Slavic white-voice singer Anastasia Baczynskyj (Lemon Bucket Orkestra). 

The album singles out the Ukrainian folk melody as the point of departure for a musical treasure hunt within tradition. By putting a contemporary spin on well-known folk songs, while researching and reviving forgotten material, DoVira hopes to showcases the beauty and richness of this music to broad audiences. By collaborating with artists of different backgrounds, including Indian, Polish, Georgian, and French-Canadian musicians, the project has an even greater philosophy. With the events going on in the world today, negativity and hate is increasing between brothers, sisters, and the closest of neighbours. DoVira aims to spread awareness about Ukraine's current struggle to keep its culture alive, while promoting a universal message of trust and a 'unified planet' through their music. DoVira’s music isn’t meant to be catering to a specific community or demographic – it is true contemporary 'world' music.
credits

DoVira - DoVira - 08 - Teche Richenka

DoVira - DoVira - 03 - Horila Sosna

DoVira - DoVira - 01 - Yest' Na Sviti

Nastasia Y is a Ukrainian-born artist in Toronto on a mission to sing to the world about Ukraine, combining jazz, funk, rock, pop, and electronic elements with Slavic folk. Her music mirrors her journey, from being raised in Kyiv to her late father's folk/protest songs, to Canada’s jazz scene, to the Nastasia Y Band (formerly DoVira) fusing all her influences. 

Nastasia has collaborated with artists from Elizabeth Shepherd, to BLISK, to Oleh Skrypka, and is an active volunteer for Ukraine, having traveled to Poland and Ukraine to help those affected by Russia's invasion. Her album ‘Kyiv Soul’ (May 2024) features Juno and Grammy award nominated musicians, exploring themes of resistance, generational trauma, and ancestral magic.

Pronunciation: nas-TA-s’yah

Nastasia Y

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