Ukrainian composer Heinali shares ‘Kyiv Eternal’, a tribute to his home city

Music

Kyiv-based composer Heinali has revealed details of his new album Kyiv Eternal, which pays homage to his home city.

The first track to be shared from the release is the title track which is awash with moving chords and a strong, powerful sense of hope. In its entirety the album features fragments of field recordings taken from different locations around the city and matched with ambient soundscapes from his archives.

Having spent 37 years living in the city, Heinali sees it as an ‘inseparable part’ of his identity, and he wanted to give something back to it after it had given so much to him.

Heinali expands on this point: “After the Battle of Kyiv was over, many Kyivites noticed this strange feeling, it was as if the city was alive, breathing. We wanted to hug it, to protect every inch of it from harm. I didn’t know how to do it back then. It took time and distance to figure it out, but Kyiv Eternal is my hug.”

Heinali is composer and sound designer Oleh Shpudeiko. He has a longstanding relationship with Sine Buyuka’s Injazero Records, and has released three albums for the imprint. Over the years, as a solo artist, he’s also released multiple offerings on Paradigm Recordings, NEN and Fluttery, while his work also takes in interdisciplinary, multi-media art projects and soundtracks.

Listen to Eternal Kyiv.