“War brings many experiences. It is brutal, dirty, random, cold, and overwhelming. War means having no plans for the future; it’s not knowing when and how it will end; it is the ground being knocked out from under your feet. War brings out both the best and the worst in people. War is gritty.
The theme of The Grit is personal musical processing and acceptance of wartime, told from the perspective of a Ukrainian volunteer and veteran. It paints wartime experiences in raw colors without romanticizing them, raising themes of hardship, anger, compassion, love, and loss through a sincere description of reality. It also tries to convey the energy needed to go on, because life always finds its way around.”
– Volodymyr Ponikarovskyi
Credits:
Music by Volodymyr Ponikarovskyi aka Ptastvo:
synths, foley noises, sampling, tongue drum, recorder, drums, percussion, bass, bowed guitars.
(www.ptastvo.com)
Prepared voice on “The Witch” by Svitlana Melnyk.
Choir sample on “the Witch” – “Вся Надія” choir, Kharkiv.
Ballistic rocket flythrough and explosion on “The Witch” recorded by Andrii Ponomarov in Kyiv, 2025.
Trumpet sample on “Inappropriate Content” played by Dilyaver Osman and recorded by Yurii Bulychev for Shum:Qirim project.
Mastering by Cedrik Fermont.
Artwork by Kateryna Karaptan.
Design by Zavoloka.
Special thanks:
Publicyst theater, for whose play She The War “The Witch” was originally composed.
Kateryna Karaptan for the idea of “North Saltivka Noire”.
The 73rd Naval Special Operations Regiment for the inspiration of “Special Force”.
Dmytro Fedorenko and Kateryna Zavoloka for making this release possible.
Inspired by Ukraine.
Details:
Release date: 24.04.2026
Cat.#: SONG 43
Formats: Digital