Natalia Tsupryk - When We Return to the Sun (2022) [Hi-Res]

‘When We Return To The Sun’ is the latest collection of music by Natalia Tsupryk and, following her contribution to the first Piano Day compilation in March 2022, her second release with LEITER. Over the course of the EP’s four tracks, the Ukrainian composer, who’s currently based in London, shares a very personal experience: the witnessing from afar of a war in one's homeland, processing and addressing what comes along with a suddenly – and painfully – changed reality.

Recorded at LEITER’s Berlin studio, ‘When We Return To The Sun’ is a contemplative and intimately beautiful set combining classical instrumentation with electronic and electro-mechanical elements. From the atmospheric, piano-led chamber music of ‘Son Kolo Vikon’ and ‘The Sun Was Low’ – inspired by a Ukrainian folk song about two people and the pain of being apart – to the rather more optimistic ‘We Are Born’ and the deep and dark low synths of ‘Mariupol’, the EP summons Tsupryk’s feelings of grief and desperation, but also reflects upon the power of will and love in the era of a long and brutal war.

Defined by a distinctive use of strings and piano, Natalia Tsupryk’s music draws on her classical background to combine elements of folk, electronica, and classical music. As well as working with artists and composers such as Lorne Balfe, Jessica Jones and Angus MacRae, she released a solo album, ‘Choven’, in 2020 and an EP, ‘Vaara’, in 2021. She’s also written for choir and theatre, and has scored award-winning films across fiction, documentary, and animation that have not only been screened internationally at multiple festivals but have also been short-listed for BAFTAs. As a violinist, too, she’s performed all around the world, both as a soloist and as a member of chamber groups and orchestras.