Belaruskaya Brama
Press kit
Press kit
The band «Беларуская Брама» (Belaruskaya Brama) was founded in 2006. The native city of musicians is Minsk, Belarus. Some young people have gathered to play national folk music remade into a contemporary style. The impulse for the creating of a new band was the participation of the musicians in different concerts devoted to the victims of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. A rich list of songs, melody, philosophical contents of folk songs and great interest of the audience in song remakes have encouraged a guitarist Ruslan Hlebarodaw to create a folk band. The idea was that traditional vocal trio-singing is combined originally with modern guitar rhythms and computer instruments.
In 2009 the band finally became a trio with a permanent membership, purchased their rehearsal site and other stuff, and defined their style as folk-rock. All musicians got higher education and make music professionally. During the period from 2008 till 2014 the musicians were successfully taking part in different State contents in Belarus, and also organized some big solo concerts by themselves, among which there were some concerts on such concert venue as the Concert Hall “Minsk” and the Upper Town of Minsk. The songs of the band started to be played on the National radio stations.
The recording of the debut album “Скарб” (“Treasure”) was dragged on for 5 years. But despite this the album is 100% self-made. All musical parts and sound recording works are done by the band’s members only. Marina Sjardzjuk, Svjatlana Kardash – vocal, Ruslan Hlebarodaw – guitars, computer instruments, vocal, sound arrangements, recording, matching and mastering, etc. But this did not stop him from being recognized as the best in March 2016 according to the Akademia Music Awards.
From 2015 to 2018, the group had concert performances and big tour in France, Germany and Poland.
The band's new album, entitled "Усход-Захад" (East-West), was released in November 2019.
So, it’s time that more people learn about the band not only within Belarus but also abroad.
Stream of Life
27.12.2011 - News of Culture | Narodnaya Gazeta
Belaruskaya Brama, a neo-folk band, makes the songs of Belarusian Polesie sound modern.
Authentic folklore is a "museum", and the museum is a rather conventional institution. In order to call people’s attention to folk art, all that was created and preserved by our ancestors for centuries, many local bands embarked on the path of its revival. Ruslan Hleborodov, the founder of Belaruskaya Brama, also wants to breathe a new life into more than a hundred Belarusian folk songs.
When I first heard Belaruskaya Brama’s song on the radio, I could not hold back my tears due to joyous meeting with the past of our grandmas and granddads, immersion in the way they loved, parted ... They passed on to the great beyond, but the songs they sung remain with us. Our ancestors lived in a less tech-saturated world, but it seems to me that they experienced more profound and sincere feelings. Instead of sms, they wrote letters to each other and were looking forward to hearing back. When Ruslan Hleborodov, a musician, went on an expedition to Polesie, an old woman told him about the old ritual which performed the girls waiting for their beloved coming back from faraway lands. To have hope that her betrothed would return and their love would become stronger, the girl had to plant something in her garden. This symbol of their feelings grew as if powered by the energy of the girl and kept her betrothed out of danger while he was in faraway lands. However, worse things happened. This was the time when the song "Gurochki” was written. A girl waiting for her betrothed "for four years planted four rows of cucumbers”. And when her betrothed came back, she "did not dare even to say "hello", as the mother was staying nearby”: “I didn’t say a word to him, he didn’t say a word to me, just waved at me with a little white handkerchief, as if saying goodbye.” Ruslan Hleborodov wrote music for the songs heard from old ladies of Polesie, and then recorded them at Contact, the center of additional education, where he teaches playing the guitar. Now "Gurochki", which was created to promote Belarusian folk songs, is performed at concerts of Belaruskaya Brama. At first, the musician searched for the band’s distinct style, unique image. Finally, he gave preference to folk-modern, i.e. folk songs in new arrangements with the use of electronic musical instruments. "Creating the band, we wanted to make our Belarusian folklore more understandable, especially for young people,” says Hleborodov. “Many schoolchildren visit Minsk Center for Additional Education to learn to play musical instruments. And when they are taught to play, very few of them give preference to Belarusian music. It is a pity, because our culture is something to be proud of."
The Band does not aim to win the hearts of listeners by yelling. The singers believe that it is not necessary to sing loud to be heard or for your voice orotundity to be assessed. One can win the hearts of listeners with the soul and arrangements, by showing the culture of folk songs performance.
Together with Marina Serdyuk and Svetlana Kardash, Ruslan Hleborodov gives concerts not only in Belarus. "When we were on a tour in Germany, we saw that people were listening to our songs with great pleasure, and we’ve understood that the Belarusian songs haven’t got geographical boarders,” says Ruslan. “It is difficult for our entertainers to find their own audience in Europe, because there is nothing to demonstrate in this genre. But Europe lacks or losts folklore. Therefore, they could listen to our folk songs day and night. Belarusian music is our wealth, and one can tackle head on different interpretations of folk melodies. You know what makes a folk song different from any other? A folk song has been nurtured for centuries, so it cuts to the heart. "Folk songs sound different in different regions of Belarus,” says Ruslan Hleborodov. “And different versions can be found in Polesie. There people in every village sing in their own way." It is difficult to find a Belarusian who has never heard the song "Kladachka" (Log Bridge). People often sing this song loudly, but in Dubravy, a Polesie village, people sing it gently, slowly, quietly. Belaruskaya Brama performed in this way Kladachka, a song from their repertoire. All in all the repertoire of Belaruskaya Brama includes more than a hundred songs. Many of them haven’t previously been heard by anyone, for example, the song "Strumochak" (Stream of life), which has already become the identity of the neo-folk band. "The word "strumochak" was invented in Polesie,” says Ruslan Hleborodov. “It means a spring, a small river. Recently, we’ve made a music video of the song. The video was taken at the place where the river Narachanka disembogues itself into Viliya. In our opinion, this is that very “strumochak” we are singing about."
Marina Kuzmich
Feast for the good ears of music lovers by Belaruskaya Brama.
Modern Belarusian musicians have released a new album «Усход-Захад» (East-West). The band presented a unique formula for love and friendship in a style merging folk rock and world, mixing guitar with vocals and electronic instruments. New music album is a celebration of individuality in music performance, national color, style and distinct arrangements.
Each person will find in the compositions of Belaruskaya Brama, something that is near and dear personally to him or her. The track list includes the new arrangements of Belarusian folk songs, instrumental versions, and works of authorship. The title song, which has the same name as the album, tells a barely veiled but distinct story about the difficulty the country in general and a young girl in particular experience in determining which path to follow. Singles and the album will be uploaded for release to ONErpm music distribution service and from November 17, 2019 they will be available in major online stores for listening, downloading and purchasing.
The main music genre of the band has not changed since its formation, remaining above the styles. A Slavic vocal blend of two or three voices and solos are intertwined with acoustic guitar cadences or tight, juicy Stratocaster riffs, which creates a unique timbre. Relaxing short ballads coexist with explosive, fast, saturated instruments and compositions. One of the fans described the band's music as follows: "It's like sailing a comfortable boat through waves of musical styles and directions, when the listener mounts the storm, then runs into still water, enjoying wind and weather."
The author and the performers believe that their work is designed to unite different people and promote cultural contacts and exchange with different countries. The group of musicians who participated in the creation of the album «Усход-Захад» (East-West) hasn’t changed for many years. Marina Serdyuk and Svetlana Kardash are soloists performing songs in Belarusian. Ruslan Hleborodov is the author of the idea, guitarist, soloist, who independently records, brings and masters voices and instruments, makes arrangements.
The national color and individual style of performance make «Беларуская Брама» (Belaruskaya Brama) different and special. It is quite difficult to find performers in a similar style. That is why listeners always experience new sensations, listening again to already familiar compositions.
Learn more about new singles, how to download, listen and purchase the album by visiting the band's website!
