ISNA TRIO

Siarhey Douhushau, Alexey Varsoba and Andrey Evdokimov founded their group in unusual circumstances in the village of Gorajec. They combine contemporary poetry with fairytale sounds and Belarusian folklore.

The band consists of three experienced Belarusian musicians – Siarhey Douhushau (Vuraj), Alexey Varsoba (Port Mone, RozdIlovI) and Andrey Evdokimov (Diafilm Live), who emigrated from their country in 2019-2021.

In June 2021, inspired by the atmosphere of misty meadows and Central European poetry, they created the Isna Trio. Artistic meetings Rozstaje took place then in Gorajec, a village on the Polish-Ukrainian border. In addition to musicians, a dozen writers and literary translators and visual artists from Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary and Latvia have entered into the creative crucible. For eight days they have cooperated, exchanged ideas, talked about art.
One of the key results of these workshops is the Isna Trio. Their fairytale music echoes the works of contemporary poets from Central and Eastern Europe. The band’s compositions were inspired by Tamás Jónás (Hungary), Agata Jabłońska (Poland), Dainius Dirgėla (Lithuania) poems.
It is important that the songs are presented in their original sound – the melody of different languages affects the musical layer. Polish and Belarusian folk music is also an important motive behind the band’s sounding.
The premiere concert of the band took place on July 10, 2021 at the Folkowisko Festival in the village of Gorajec and was broadcast on social networks by the Belsat Television. The Isna Trio performed together with vocalists from the legendary group of the Polish ethno scene Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa.

Siarhey Douhushau

Siarhey Douhushau is the organizer of many music festivals, Speuny Shod meetings, the leader of the Vuraj group, the founder of the EtnaTradytsya Organization.
Siarhey is a musician, singer, ethnographer, teacher, creator of many cultural projects. He has co-organized a number of festivals representing Belarusian traditions such as Viaselle Fest (Wedding Culture), MovaFest (Belarusian language event) Rajok or Litvak Klezmer Fest (Jewish music festival).
In January 2020, he founded the EtnaTradytsya organization, which deals with Belarusian music and art. He was one of the organizers of the Polish-Belarusian expeditions to Polesie, collaborated with Polish folklore groups, publishers and ethnographers. He is the initiator of the song meetings Speuny Shod, the publisher of songbooks with folk and historical songs important for Belarusians. He has released five studio albums with the group Vuraj, whose music refers to an innovative interpretation of Belarusian folklore. Siarhey is also a member of the American-Ukrainian-Belarusian project Slavalachia.
After leaving Belarus in 2021, he continues his mission in Poland – he leads the Warsaw Free Orchestra, collaborates with the legendary Volny Chor (Free Choir), publishes collections of songs with Belarusian songs and, finally, created Isna Trio togethet with the translation group Rozstaje.

Alexey Varsoba

A few days before the occupation of Crimea, he played in front of a group of surrounded Ukrainian soldiers, while Russian patrols were already stationed outside the walls of a blocked military unit. He emigrated from Belarus in 2019.
Alexey Varsoba has been playing the accordion for over 40 years, which is almost all of his life.
Isna Trio is his new life adventure. Earlier, when he lived in Minsk, he created an improvisational orchestra – Minsk Improvisers Orchestra and a school of improvised music. He also founded the bands PortMone and Warsoba. He is often involved in projects that combine arts – such as Rozstaje.
Alexey co-created the poetic, musical and graphic project RozdIlovI with texts by Serhiy Zhadan, the Belarusian-Ukrainian Khmeleva Project (cooperation of his group PortMone with the famous Ukrainian band DakhaBrakha). He composed music for films, animations, theatrical performances and performances.
He also collaborated with Krzysztof Knittel, Warsaw Improvisers Orchestra, Karbido, Julia Doszna, Michał Jacaszek, Ryszard Latecki, Marek Tokar, Juri Andruchowych, Lemkovyna-Lem, and performed with Szábolcs Esztényi, Marek Chołoniewski, Hubert Zemler.

Andrey Evdokimov

Andrey Evdokimov is a musician, composer, sound engineer and sound designer from Minsk. Had to leave his homeland and currently resides in Warsaw.
Plays the guitar, writes music for theatrical performances and computer games. Takes part in musical and theatrical projects as a musician. He studied classical guitar and electric guitar as part of his Bachelor’s degree and received his Master’s degree in Art History.
He is a co-author of many music albums. He also worked with Diafilm Live, a theatrical and musical project based on old slides showing fairy tales from Soviet times. Here Pan Tralalinsky or Elephant and Moskia are combined with high-quality acting and music at the intersection of ambient, electronics, rock and pop music.
Andrey actively participated in peaceful protests against violence and fraud during the 2020 elections in Minsk, and also acted as a musician. He was beaten and detained by the Belarusian security forces. Hiding from persecution for political reasons, he was made to leave Belarus.
Since 2021, he has been a co-founder of the Isna Trio group.

Contact: isnabelarus@gmail.com

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