ETHNIC VOICES CROSSING THE MERIDIAN LINE

Reputed as “Eastern European Folk Music Ambassadors”, musical group DAGADANA have had many collaborations with folk musicians across China. “Like a dialogue, like a story,” folk musicians across the Eastern and Western Hemispheres have commented after working together.

Text by Du Jing & Josef Ho Photos by Josef Ho Translation by Sonia & Irene

特约记者：杜京

跨越子午线的民族之声

被誉为 “东欧民谣大使”的妲歌妲娜，曾与中国民间音乐人有过多次合作。“像一场对话，像一个故事”，是横跨东西半球的民谣人在碰撞后的感慨。

October 2016, it was late autumn in Beijing, slightly chilly and windy. Dusk Dawn Club located in Shanlao Hutong, Dongcheng District, at the back of National Art Museum of China was bustling and jammed with people. DAGADANA, the duo from Poland and Ukraine, were making their debut in Bejing.

Before the performance began, the small club was already packed with music lovers from countries like China, France, the US, and India.

Like performing for old friends, Daga Gregorowicz started singing a Polish folk song at the sight of the audience fi lling up the seats, luring the audience to the shore of the picturesque Baltic Sea. Then Dana Vynnytska joined Daga with a melodious Ukrainian tune. There was neither introduction nor host for this concert, but the folk music bonded the small stage and the audience – it was like a spiritual dialogue without any fi lter.

DAGADANA is best known for mixing folk, jazz and electronic and music from other nationalities with Eastern European music. By doing this they create a unique language. Their diverse musical features were shaped by years of collaborations with foreign musicians, which enable them to carve a more vibrant musical spirit. In 2013, Daga and Dana met two musicians from China. The language barrier didn't stop them from communicating with one another. When it came to music, the two parties gelled right away. Together they played music that was more diverse and launched an album (Meridian 68) that receiving extensive positive reviews in the musical industry. The origin of the album title was to mark the midpoint of their countries, which is the Meridian Line 68. The fi gure 68 is not merely a coordinate. It represents the fusion of totally different types of folk music. The inspiration for the album was the traditional music of the Slavic, as well as traditional Chinese folk music and Mongolian music, including Ballad of Kang Ding. Since the debut, the album Meridian 68 is ranked as number 8 on the World Music Chart Europe and number 14 on the Transglobal World Music Chart.

DAGADANA travels frequently all over the countryside and to the general public in Eastern Europe to collect folk songs. They also make visits and interact with local folk musicians around the world. Singing folk songs with foreign artists is like telling them your family tales – there is a story behind each melody. Take for example a song DAGADANA chose to sing for the Chinese audience. It talks about the mixed feelings a young girl possesses before marriage: her high voice in the fi eld resembles the folk songs in the inland regions of China. The duo tightly linked Eastern Europe and China together with music: a universal language without frontiers.

2016年10月，深秋的北京，微微寒意，秋风乍起。位于北京市东城区美术馆后街的山老胡同14号黄昏黎明俱乐部却人头攒动，热闹非凡。来自波兰、乌克兰的双姝组合妲歌妲娜亮相北京。

演出还未开始，小小的俱乐部里已经挤满了来自中国、法国、美国、印度等国的音乐爱好者们。

仿佛专为老朋友们演唱一样，看到热情的观众已经坐满，妲歌引吭高歌，唱响波兰风情民乐，将人们引向如画的波罗的海之滨。接着妲娜用悠扬的乌克兰小调，与妲歌声色合璧。音乐会没有开幕式和主持人，民族音乐却将小小的舞台与观众联结在了一起——仿佛这是一次毫无阻拦的心灵对话。

妲歌妲娜以将爵士乐、电子乐，以及世界音乐与东欧音乐糅合在一起所见长。其多元化的音乐特色来自长期与国外音乐家的合作，使她们从中汲取更具活力的音乐灵魂。2013年，妲歌妲娜有幸结识了来自中国的两位音乐人。语言的障碍并没有成为彼此沟通的屏障，她们在音乐上的理念一拍即合，不但一同演出了更加多元的音乐，还发布了一张在乐界广受好评的唱片——《子午线68》。名字的由来是纪念彼此国家之间的中间点，即子午线68。68不单单是一个坐标数字，更代表了民族之间迥异音乐间的水乳交融。专辑的灵感不但来自斯拉夫民族的传统音乐，更包含了《康定情歌》等中国传统民乐和内蒙古族的传统音乐。《子午线68》这张唱片一经推出便打出了《欧洲世界音乐榜》第8位及《跨全球音乐榜》第14位的骄人成绩。

妲歌妲娜经常深入东欧各地的乡村和坊间进行民谣采风，还走访世界各地尝试与当地的民间音乐人进行交流。与异国的艺术家互唱民谣，就好像跟对方讲家里的故事那样，每一段旋律的背后都有一个故事。比如此次妲歌妲娜特意给中国听众演唱的一首歌，讲述了少女在婚姻之前的各种忐忑情感，她在田间的高亢呼声，跟中国内陆地区的山歌有着十分相似的情愫。她们，将东欧与中国用音乐这种无国界的语言紧密联结在了一起。