Mark and Marichka Marczyk have thriving music careers, leading the rollicking Lemon Bucket Orkestra and performing as folk-noir duo Balaklava Blues. Here, Mark shares five must-hear tracks from GTA artists making a statement. StarTogether
and performing as folk-noir duo Balaklava Blues. “We sing the ancient blues of the Ukrainian steppe, filtered through our experiences,” Mark says.
They also have a wildly successful side project: fundraising for Ukraine. Since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity – protests that led to ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych and the overthrow of the government – they’ve raised a half-million dollars to aid folks in Ukraine: donating proceeds from their concerts, collecting $25,000 through their 2015 public Dufferin Grove Park wedding, and amassing $75,000 from sales of Kyiv-themed merch through their collaboration with photographer Peter Lusztyk.
Inspired by a 1,000-year-old Ukrainian folk song, their brand-new single “Swallow” — off Balaklava Blues’ upcoming second album, “Let Me Out” — continues the band’s efforts to share the story of Ukraine’s fight. “It’s about love and death, describing in a very poetic way what our people already went through. And we find it very timely,” says Marichka. “It’s about people in a war who lose all their plans and have to move to other places in the world to be safe.
Toronto has long been a haven for performers seeking somewhere safer to raise their voices. “It magnetises artists who want to change the cultural environment for the better, who want to collaborate with other cultures,” Marichka says.Moneka Arabic Jazz “Bandleader Ahmed Moneka is an Iraqi singer and actor who was exiled from his country due to his political activism. He started to make waves in Kensington Market with his other project, Moskitto Bar, and has brought his whole family over to Canada, including his sister Tara Moneka: check the pipes on her.”“Ever since I presented him as part of our URGNT pandemic livestream series, I have been in love with this producer’s work.
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