With a name meaning “exchange rate” in their native Ukrainian in reference to the local economy’s high dependence on daily world currency fluctuations, yet stylistically written in Latin complete with flourished umlaut for added pizazz, the Kurs Valüt project was built of sounds focused on the rethinking of traditional flows of minimalistic wave music. “Kurs Valüt is rather a study of pop (fermentation), a try to invent an unusual musical and textual solution without cliche. Refusal instead of suggestion, coldness instead of carnival.” [wikipedia.org]
Originally formed in 2017 by Eugene Gordeev, now paired with Eugene Kasyan, the duo’s music is self-described as genre Dnipropop with “Dnipro” pertaining to their hometown signature instrumental DJ music and “pop” added due to the less common infusion of vocals. “It was a search and exploration of a local musical identity, dwelling somewhere in a post-industrial eastern Ukraine.”
“You say no,
To me”
Ni, meaning No, is taken from their debut 2018 release Veselo (It’s Fun) containing finalized versions of originally released demos they describe as, “spiritual aerobics (and) industrial mysticism.” Their songs often contain mentions of cultural phenomena, patterns and memes often discussed in Ukrainian media and social networks, and even add color by incorporating local sounds. “For example, the song 4533 uses the sound of voting in Verkhovna Rada and the song Love Inspektor (cleverly) uses the green light sound of Kyiv traffic lights.“
“Lyrical themes fix certain difficult phases of personal life with the permanent social-political crisis background. Kurs Valüt aesthetically transforms internal and external crisis into the dancefloor energy.” Ni, in particular, seems to bounce percussively, near-colorlessly along while simply and eloquently (perchance darkly) declaring a lover’s penchant for denial while a dancing monochromatic puppet-like apparition razes and dazes in near-euphoric ardor.
“I love it so much when you say no,
I love it when you say no”
- Kurs Valüt’s: Bandcamp // Apple // Spotify // Facebook
- Note that Kurs Valüt is preparing to go on European tour this Autumn, 2022: Sept. 9th in Vienna, Sept. 23rd-24th in Berlin, Sept. 30th and Oct 1st in Paris, Sept. 29th and Oct. 2nd in Belgium, and October 8th in Barcelona
