The Aprize Music Award named Ukrainian folk band DakhaBrakha’s album “Alambari” the best Ukrainian music album of 2020 during the ceremony in Kyiv on Feb. 26.
“Alambari” is the group’s sixth album released on March 27 last year. It was named after the Brazilian village where it was recorded. The album features nine DakhaBrakha’s songs, including “Dostochka,” “Vynnaya Ya” and “Khyma and Torokh.”
Critics said that the album is more energetic and upbeat than the quartet’s previous album “The Road,” which was named the best in 2016 by the Aprize Music Award.
The band’s four members — Nina Garenetska, Olena Tsybulska, Iryna Kovalenko and Marko Halanevych — attended the ceremony held in Kyiv’s art-space Mezzanine.
“We sincerely thank all the experts and all those who live through the music with us. We are extremely happy and excited,” DakhaBrakha wrote on Facebook.
Apart from DakhaBrakha, Aprize awarded Ukrainian rapper Stepan Burban, better known in Ukraine as Palindrom, for his album “The Walls Have Ears.”
Burban won a new nomination called “Aprize One to Watch” aiming to support young Ukrainian artists.
Contrary to other Ukrainian music awards that usually acknowledge mainstream artists largely focusing on pop genre, the Aprize music award strives to discover the industry’s groundbreakers and supports independent and underground bands and singers. The Aprize ceremony features performances by local bands and artists. This year’s lineup included acts in all kinds of genres from alternative by Ragapop to indie pop by Our Atlantic.
Aprize was founded by the online Radio Aristocrats in 2016 and has been presented annually ever since. Over the years, it has awarded Ukrainian star rapper Alyona Alyona, superband Maru and electro-folk band Onuka.
This year, the radio’s team reviewed 600 albums released in Ukraine in 2020 and selected 50 of them for the long list. Then, the online audience voted for 10 albums for the shortlist.
The winner was selected by the jury formed from the industry’s professionals from the U.S., Poland, Ukraine, Norway and Sweden.
DakhaBrakha outran nine shortlisted contestants, including modern Ukrainian artists Ragapop, Our Atlantic, Heinali.
The Aprize music award is just one of the latest recognitions of DakhaBrakha’s art. Last year the band performed at a live show hosted by the world-famous Tiny Desk Concert series of the U.S. National Public Radio (NPR).
Using their regular set of instruments — accordion, cello, drums, shakers and reeds — the band delivered another acoustic delight in the genre they call “ethno chaos.”
