Soulful debut: How Sylvaine’s first concert in Ukraine was held
Last Friday, March 17, there was the first Ukrainian concert of Sylvaine — a solo project of the Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Kathrine Shepard. The debut performance of the singer, which took place in Kyiv, was held as a part of the European tour, which also features upcoming gigs in Greece (March 31) and Germany (June 3 and July 1).
Sylvaine’s performance was preceded by sets of three Ukrainian post-rock bands, each of which lasted no more than 30 minutes. The event was opened by Sleeping Bear — a well-knit band, but, in my opinion, a quite typical representatives of the genre, as yet without a recognizable feature. The second act was the Kyiv-based group Seaeye, who a little gingered up the evening and remembered by its vocalist who played with a bow on the guitar. The last of the three special guests were The Best Pessimist from Odesa, whose performance received the best response from the public. The band playing post-rock with the predominant ambient sound, thanks to an interesting material with a good performance, grabbed the attention of the visitors, who clearly did not mind listening to the "pessimists" for a bit longer.
At the end of the supporting part of the concert and a short break, a trio of the French musicians, accompanying Sylvaine on the tour, appeared behind the audience, a few moments — and the main guest of the evening appeared — tender and charming Kathrine Shepard — came on stage. The singer presented a one-hour program, uniformly consisting of the songs from the first and second albums.
The debut performance of the project in Ukraine was rather chamber-like: a muffled light with bright accents on the musicians, a small but "being in-the-know" audience, melodic and intimate compositions... Sylvaine's music, full of dreamy sadness and supplemented by Kathrine's soulful voice, even though set the listeners to a pacifying mood, but forced them to react vividly to what was happening on stage with cheerful applause and cheers of approval.
The final chords of the concert were the compositions "Silent Chamber, Noisy Heart" and "Lullaby" (cover for the song of the American indie rockers Low), which the musician performed alone, accompanying herself on the guitar.
Sylvaine's setlist:
- It Rains In My Heart
- A Ghost Trapped in Limbo
- I Drink In Every Sob Like Wine
- Dysphoria
- Earthbound
- Wistful
- Delusions
Encore:
- Silent Chamber, Noisy Heart
- Lullaby (Low cover)
Despite the rather late hour, Kathrine left after the concert to chat with the public, give some autographs, and take pictures with all comers.
Text by Anastezia
Photos by Yuri Somov
Noizr Zine thanks Konstantin V. Surin, C&S Music, for the accreditation