VA - Aftermath and Transitions (Traces Of The Ukrainian Underground in Cologne 1994-1996) (2026)

STROOM fills in a gap on the timeline, excavating vital experiments made in Cologne in the wake of the cult 'Novaya Scena' compilation by Svitlana Nianio, Michael Springer, Guido Erfen, Soloveyka, Yewgeny Taran and Wolfram Burgtorf.

Back in 1993, a bizarre 20-track compilation appeared from Cologne's musical fringe. The idea for the set had come from artist and producer Erfen and sound engineer and percussionist Springer, two close friends who, taking advantage of cheap rent and disused buildings, put on regular events and established a recording studio in their neighborhood, off the beaten track. Erfen was a dedicated tape trader and had received a transmission from Kharkiv's Novaya Scena rock club that arrived with an essay and music from three local bands. At this time, Ukraine was still under Soviet rule and the music fascinated the two friends, shining a spotlight on a part of the world they were completely unfamiliar with. When singer and keyboardist Soloveyka visited cologne a year later, she handed Erfan more tantalizing music, inspiring him to make his own pilgrimage to Ukraine to investigate further. The research resulted in the 'Novaya Scene' CD, a set of tracks recorded between 1986 and 1992 that muddled prog with new wave, punk, folk and avant-garde rock. It was released on Hamburg's What's So Funny About label and was supposed to have a sequel.

That's where 'Aftermath and Transitions' comes in. Following the release of 'Novaya Scena', Erfen and Springer set up a series of sessions at their studio, inviting some of the Ukrainian artists to record with them. It's this period that resulted in Svitlana Nianio's 'Transilvania Smile' soundtrack that was properly released for the first time on Muscat sublabel Shukai in 2023. Nianio had been a member of Cukor Bila Smerť (the band who'd provided the stylistic anchor for 'Novaya Scena') and took the opportunity to launch her solo career, with Springer working as engineer. And there was more material from those sessions that Springer held back: the compilation's first four tracks are collaborations between Nianio, Springer, Taran and Springer's good friend Burgtorf. Opener 'Fake' was almost finished when Nianio showed up at the studio with her Casio in tow, so Springer plugged her in and she ended up lavishing the beat with vocals in Ukrainian and oddball keyboard vamps. The other three tracks were a little more organic, improvised in the studio while the artists got familiar with one another - there's the decelerated reggae experiment 'ManySpace', the instrumental groover 'Quiet Place' and best of all 'Політ Світляки', a wiry percussive jam that's not aged a day.

Erfen joins in on the ace exotica-tinged 'Whispering Walls' and 'Tired River', tracks from the group's final session in 1995. Nianio and Taran were planning to renew their visas and return to Cologne to record more, but it never happened - the recordings were shelved and the artists went about their lives independently. Then there's the three Solar tracks recorded by Soloveyka and Burgtorf who struck up a friendship after meeting at Springer's studio. Singing in Russian and English, Soloveyka breathes cabaret energy over Burgtorf's jerky, sample-heavy ethno-groove productions. And it's left to Taran to finish things off, with a "1996 Version" of his 'Death and the Bachelor' track that features none other than Nianio on keys. Phew. It's a brilliant set, really - not just one for STROOM obsessives, it'll speak to anyone whose interest in the Ukrainian underground was piqued by 'Transilvania Smile' or Muscut's ace Cukor Bila Smerť anthology.