Kapela Kotra - Zialony Haj (2026)

In early 2025, three musicians from different musical and geographic backgrounds converged in Vilnius, giving rise to Kapela Kotra, a Belarusian-Australian folk trio named after the river Kotra, which separates Belarus and Lithuania. The trio marks its first year together with the debut album ZIALONY HAJ, weaving Belarusian folk and Litvak klezmer together with warm, contemporary readings of ethnographic field recordings.

At the heart of the project lies painstaking work with Litvak music drawn from the archives of present-day Belarus and Lithuania, preserved in the collections of ethnomusicologists Sofia Magid, Susman Kiselgof, and Ina Nazina; from this material come the tracks "Redele 16," "Retale - Nozhni - Nozhni," and "Kurtse Polka." Alongside this archival layer sit original compositions by Alena Kandyba, grown from folk melodies but revealing a more personal, introspective side of the band — "Zialony Haj," "Na Mory Vutka," "Viasna - Bura," "Oj Pozhenu Na Jar Tovar."

A notable presence on the European folk dance scene, Kapela Kotra also draws on early 20th-century field recordings from Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania, arranging these old melodies to preserve their historical authenticity while giving them fresh, vibrant life — "Alter Zhok," "Dziauchynonka Shumits Haj," "Padushachka - Hamanul."

In the end, ZIALONY HAJ becomes both a tale of discovery and of exile, but above all an ode to spring and new beginnings.

Tracklist:
1-1 Kapela Kotra - Alter Zhok [1:52]
1-2 Kapela Kotra - Zialony Haj [4:58]
1-3 Kapela Kotra - Redele 16 [3:24]
1-4 Kapela Kotra - Retale - Nozhni - Nozhni [4:32]
1-5 Kapela Kotra - Dziauchynonka Shumits Haj [2:48]
1-6 Kapela Kotra - Padushachka - Hamanul [2:58]
1-7 Kapela Kotra - Na Mory Vutka [3:50]
1-8 Kapela Kotra - Viasna - Bura [3:38]
1-9 Kapela Kotra - Oj Pozhenu Na Jar Tovar [1:16]
1-10 Kapela Kotra - Kurtse Polka [2:16]