Morwan

Morwan

Vse po Kolu, Znovu

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***Vse po Kolu, Znovu (All in a circle, again) is the fourth studio album by Morwan, marking the culmination of years of creative exploration. The collection features eight tracks recorded between 2023 and 2024, except for the title track, "Vse po Kolu, Znovu", which was written back in 2020.The new album delivers a heavier, more aggressive sound, representing a noticeable departure from the band’s earlier works. Genre-wise, it drifts from post-punk to avangard rock and even shoegaze. Combined with deeper and more personal lyrics, this makes it Alex AShTAUI’s most emotional and honest work to date.Vse po Kolu, Znovu is a story about fears tearing you apart from within and conflicts that give you no peace. It’s about the endless cycle of existence, pulling you into the vortex of inevitable dread. It tells of the moment when control over yourself slips away, and you become a helpless observer, forced to watch your life crumble before your very eyes. It’s about the rejection of oneself, about the desperate desire to escape your own essence and return to the beginning, just to feel something real once again.

Morwan

Svitaye, Palaye

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***Svitaye, Palaye is the third album from the Kyiv, Ukraine post-punk project, Morwan. The album was supposed to be the logical continuation of the previous album Zola-Zemlya, which was released in 2020. Initially, when conceiving the album in 2021, it was intended to be lighter, melancholic and somewhat danceable while maintaining the basic sonic style and aesthetics of the previous albums. However, the Russian invasion in Ukraine slowed down the work and made serious changes to the general idea of the album. The main theme of the album is the war. There are no specific stories or descriptions of the events of the war. It's more of an abstract and emotional thing. First impressions, moods or emotions experienced during certain events. Pain of loss, sadness, fear, hatred, anger, and aggression are all part of Svitaye, Palaye.

Morwan

Zola-Zemlya

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The flourishing Eastern European post-punk scene has given way to a boom of dark, rhythmic, and powerful new activity. One of the most original and captivating artists to recently emerge from this scene is Kiev, Ukraine's Morwan. The solo project of Alex Ashtaui, Morwan evolved from an earlier post-punk project, 563 (Pyat'shest'tri). Searching for a new direction, Ashtaui circled back to his half-Ukrainian, half-Arab roots, arriving at the perfect crossroads - a sonic aesthetic informed by both ethic tradition and the familiar territory of dark, driving post-punk. Ashtaui cites additional influence from contemporary Russian groups Utro and Shortparis, as well as the industrial/experimental sounds of Swans. Zola-Zemlya, Morwan's second release, is an exceptionally original piece of work. It is an album that reaches to the furthest corners of post-punk, further revealing a deep connection to the ethnic sounds of both Arabic and Slavic tradition. There is a profound reverence for nature in Morwan's lyrics - as Ashtaui best explains, "The nature in songs acts as a fundamental force, a given from which you cannot escape. With the help of metaphors associated specifically with nature I tell about some of my personal experiences and stories." Zola-Zemlya is equal parts primitive and contemporary, as traditional Middle Eastern instrumentation and structures are woven through driving, modern post-punk rhythms. Morwan's genius shines across all five tracks, a sound both genre-expansive and futuristic.