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A Prague group by the address of its rehearsal studio, Korjen is international by its training: a Polish singer, Ewa Żurakowska, a Slovak of Moravian and Armenian origin, Svetlana Sarkisjan, a Bosnian musician and singer, Aida Mujačić, these three women currently accompanied by two Czech musicians, Marek Novotný and Honza Šikl.
Video of Korjen – Chem Krna (ft. Łukasz Sabat)
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The repertoire of the group Korjen does not seem to know any borders either, because it does not stop at the musical richness of the Slavic lands but it also explores the traditional music of Armenia, Estonia and Finland. A perfectly subjective and never irrevocable choice: the songs of the group are those that are close to the heart of its members, and that whether they bring them back from travel or other musical explorations, or that they know them since their childhood . Their compositions, which they call “ritual fusion”, are contemporary and very personal arrangements of popular and traditional songs, in compositions that combine world music, funk, jazz and more.
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A desire for authenticity without trying to please at all costs
Korjen’s approach aims to preserve the spirit of each song, its emotional charge, by freeing itself from all musical limits. These experiments give rise to striking contrasts, whether between the different pieces of the group or even within a piece. Let’s listen to the Slovak song Konopa, in which we will appreciate the contrast between the singers’ voices and the musical accompaniment, dark and deep.
Video of Konopa
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Good things come to those who wait for
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Recorded in a few days in a country house, the album Sabur – which features the song we just heard – was finally released at the end of 2019, after a long period of maturation. Moreover, the title of the album is not trivial: in Bosnian, “sabur” means not only patience, but also the fruits that persistence allows to reap. In the case of the album “Sabur”, this expectation also allowed a cooperation with the artist Łukasz Sabat. Let’s listen to the track Ervum em / Mehmeda majka budila, which creates an unexpected bridge between an Armenian song and a Bosnian song, and to which the sound of the Polish musician’s duduk gives mystical vibrations.
Video of Korjen – Sabur (video release)
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At present, Korjen therefore has five members of four different nationalities, but also of very diverse personalities, interests, experiences and musical backgrounds. A cultural diversity as enriching as it can be complex to channel. Let’s listen to their rock and superbly polyphonic interpretation of Zorjushka. With Korjen, this Russian-speaking song goes in all directions while always ending up finding its marks.
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During its ten years of existence, the Korjen group has experienced periods of intense activity, but also of hiatus, as is currently the case. The members however confess a little mysteriously to have at the moment “several ideas for traditional songs” to work on, but also “something new” which “started new sounds”. Let us be patient, therefore, and wish them that this forced hibernation allows, once again, their projects to mature in order to flourish better… when the time is right.
Video of Korjen – Vyhanaj Maty (live in Vila Stanice, ft. Jan Melichar)
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