Yuriy Gnatkovsky, Ulia Lord. Snizhnist'. Muzyka zymovyh svjat. (Snowiness. Music of Winter Holidays)

(item from the "Rare Discs" section)
Personally I have been looking forward to this music starting from the past winter. Actually, I did not know what exactly I should expect – I only knew that it must be something light, bright, beautiful. And – that there must be an aftertaste of jazz. From the very beginning, the issue was not just music – but the action, performance, space. All of that has not yet been implemented in one, thus now we are in the position to obtain music only. I all the same hope that the rest will appear very soon as well – let’s wait, and for a while let’s go back to music. In addition to all the rest, it was interesting for me to hear how Yulia Lord would show herself here – after the bright, loud debut appearance on the large scene, she disappeared for a few years. Thus, this project is her first appearance after the very long period of silence. I think she will not disappoint us – and she will for sure surprise, because Yuri Gnatkovsky does something quite different, not in line with the general massive of Ukrainian pop and rock music. But – yes, it is light, and bright, and beautiful, and with a taste of jazz. The taste is, actually, not weak – because half of compositions of the album are based on old, known, classic jazz plays. And the other half are well stylized to match with this atmosphere. And – Ukrainian poetry. Yes, this music accompanies original Ukrainian poems, not translations. In fact, one of the primary objectives of the project declared by Yuri Gnatkovsky is – "to enchant people with the Ukrainian language, and to fill winter holidays with new aesthetics". I am not a critic, therefore I will not assess it critically. But I will say that the disk has appeared not just interesting, but – successful. It has the fragrance of, simultaneously, freshness – and warmth, and lightness – and saturation. And, the main thing, – goodwill. I think that it will become a beautiful decoration of any days – not only festive, not only winter ones.

Anton Yozhyk Leyba (Hedgehog)