Folk rockers Zrada look beyond Ukrainian roots

We're taking what people think Ukrainian music is and we're smashing it on the floor and that could be seen as a type of treason.

—Andriy Michalchyshyn, member of Zrada

SCENE rings in the new year with a new generation of musicians. Like Zrada.

Zrada is a group that isn't afraid to do new things with old music. They join SCENE on Air host Ismaila Alfa on Saturday, January 5 to reveal how they turn traditional Ukrainian folk tunes into rebelliously raucous ska songs.

Alfa asked band member Andriy Michalchyshyn what Zrada means. "The word literally means treason or betrayal...we first thought it sounded cool. We started the band to play original Ukrainian folk music, with punk and rock and metal elements in it."

"We were all in wedding bands before...So we picked this name which I now see as treason or betrayal against what the established stereotypes of Ukrainian music are. We're taking what people think Ukrainian music is and we're smashing it on the floor and that could be seen as a type of treason" he explains.

A year or so ago Zrada was at the pinnacle of their career. Then with various members going off to school and being less available, they paused for a bit. But they are back at it again now. According to Dobryan Tracz, "We played New York, Toronto - at huge festivals, with 15 to 20,000 people. So now we're thinking about moving on. We've got shows coming up in Chicago, Toronto and of course, Winnipeg."

Zrada plays at the King's Head Pub in Winnipeg on Thursday January 10. Hear their conversation with host Ismaila Alfa on SCENE On Air on January 5. The show airs every Saturday from 5 - 6 p.m. on CBC Radio One, 89.3 FM/990 AM/97.9 FM in Brandon.