Various Artists – Folk and Great Tunes from Belarus (CPL-Music, 2025)
The landscape of Belarusian folk music has undergone significant upheaval in recent years. Following the failed revolution of 2020–2021, numerous musicians and groups left the country, while others faced imprisonment for participating in mass protests. The onset of the war in neighboring Ukraine in 2022 prompted further departures, including some of the most established names in Belarusian folk. Several bands disbanded, while others continue to navigate creative expression under strict regulations.
Amid these challenges, preserving Belarusian folk culture remains a pressing concern. Folk music, deeply rooted in themes of love, nature, and the changing seasons, transcends political turmoil. To highlight the resilience of this tradition, Elvira Baranovskaya of the folk group Aratseya curated an excellent compilation of Belarusian folk artists. The selection features musicians still active both within Belarus and abroad, ranging from emerging talents to established names.
The compilation Folk and Great Tunes from Belarus includes a diverse array of styles, reflecting the breadth of Belarusian folk music, ranging from deeply rooted artists to adventurous musicians who have developed fascinating combinations of folk music with rock, electronica, and jazz. These include:
Aratseya perform lively folk-rock featuring female lead and harmony vocals along with various strings and percussion.
Roskvit features female and male lead vocals, catchy pop beats, accordion and bagpipe.
Nevrida seem to be influenced by Belarusian folk, hard rock and the evocative Celtic sounds of Ireland. They sing accessible songs accompanied by rock guitars, bagpipe, fiddle, and drums.
Paparats are described as folk fusion. It is one of the most interesting acts on the compilation. They intertwine various beautiful vocal layers accompanied by shamanic drums, exquisite flute, jaw harp and various other instruments.
Folktronica band Pawa features angelic female vocals accompanied by electronic atmospheres and beats, piano and what sounds like bagpipes and various keyboards.
Adarvirog are a folk-metal band with ominous and growling male and female vocals, heavy metal guitars and fiddle.
Ales Chumakou & Tacciana Jacnaja are described as folk bards. They play acoustic folk featuring male and female lead vocals accompanied by a string instrument.
Palac’s two songs are quite different. One sounds like rock featuring lead male vocals, hard rock guitars and drums. However, the other song is more appealing and folk oriented with fiddle.
Rokash is an enjoyable folk-rock band with female vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, flute, and drums that fans of British progressive rock band Jethro Tull might enjoy.
Yagorava Gara is another notable ensemble. They feature flutes, call and response and polyphonic female vocals, light percussion.
Voka Charota are described as medieval fantasy folk. It is a folk-rock band with a mix of rock drums, guitars and early music instruments.
The compilation represents artists not only from Minsk but also from regional centers such as Brest, Gomel, and Grodno.
For a deeper dive into the project, an interview with Elvira Baranovskaya is available in Folk Galore magazine.
Buy Folk and Great Tunes from Belarus .
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.