Folk Rave: Furda + Kukawica

Two bands with different approaches to traditional music, capable of making the listener dance wildly as well as in a melancholy reverie, will play in Warsaw's Chmury.

The Lodz duo Furda reinterprets a wide spectrum of traditional music, using electronics, throat singing and traditional instruments from around the world, with the Biłgoraj suka—a rare fiddle-like instrument—at the forefront. They perform their instruments and effects themselves. The result of their explorations is hypnotic tribal ambient with an almost club-like rhythm; they cite the neofolk acts Heilung and Omnia, as well as IDM producer Lorn, among their inspirations. 2021 saw the release of Furda's first and so far most recent album, Bojany.

Kukawica are five female singers who draw on repertoire from across the Slavic region and beyond—taking inspiration from traditional polyphonic songs from Poland, Ukraine, Latvia and even the Balkans. Their approach to traditional music is rather revisionist: they use non-traditional instrumentation, including clarinet, shruti box or viola da gamba, perform traditionally male-oriented songs and create original arrangements.