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

特約記者：杜京

跨越子午線的民族之聲

被譽為 “東歐民謠大使”的妲歌妲娜，曾與中國民間音樂人有過多次合作。“像一場對話，像一個故事”，是橫跨東西半球的民謠人在碰撞后的感慨。

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，秋風乍起。位于北京市東城區美術館后街的山老胡同14號黃昏黎明俱樂部卻人頭攢動，熱鬧非凡。來自波蘭、烏克蘭的雙姝組合妲歌妲娜亮相北京。

演出還未開始，小小的俱樂部里已經擠滿了來自中國、法國、美國、印度等國的音樂愛好者們。

仿佛專為老朋友們演唱一樣，看到熱情的觀眾已經坐滿，妲歌引吭高歌，唱響波蘭風情民樂，將人們引向如畫的波羅的海之濱。接著妲娜用悠揚的烏克蘭小調，與妲歌聲色合璧。音樂會沒有開幕式和主持人，民族音樂卻將小小的舞臺與觀眾聯結在了一起——仿佛這是一次毫無阻攔的心靈對話。

妲歌妲娜以將爵士樂、電子樂，以及世界音樂與東歐音樂糅合在一起所見長。其多元化的音樂特色來自長期與國外音樂家的合作，使她們從中汲取更具活力的音樂靈魂。2013年，妲歌妲娜有幸結識了來自中國的兩位音樂人。語言的障礙并沒有成為彼此溝通的屏障，她們在音樂上的理念一拍即合，不但一同演出了更加多元的音樂，還發布了一張在樂界廣受好評的唱片——《子午線68》。名字的由來是紀念彼此國家之間的中間點，即子午線68。68不單單是一個坐標數字，更代表了民族之間迥異音樂間的水乳交融。專輯的靈感不但來自斯拉夫民族的傳統音樂，更包含了《康定情歌》等中國傳統民樂和內蒙古族的傳統音樂。《子午線68》這張唱片一經推出便打出了《歐洲世界音樂榜》第8位及《跨全球音樂榜》第14位的驕人成績。

妲歌妲娜經常深入東歐各地的鄉村和坊間進行民謠采風，還走訪世界各地嘗試與當地的民間音樂人進行交流。與異國的藝術家互唱民謠，就好像跟對方講家里的故事那樣，每一段旋律的背后都有一個故事。比如此次妲歌妲娜特意給中國聽眾演唱的一首歌，講述了少女在婚姻之前的各種忐忑情感，她在田間的高亢呼聲，跟中國內陸地區的山歌有著十分相似的情愫。她們，將東歐與中國用音樂這種無國界的語言緊密聯結在了一起。