INFO
Olena Shykina
olenashykina@gmail.com
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Olena Shykina is a Kyiv-based composer and sound artist whose practice grows from a research-driven, conceptual approach shaped by her background in linguistics, product and experience design; and a deep love for cinema, literature, theater, and fine art. Aiming for a bold, holistic, and highly expressive sonic language, she approaches sound as a cohesive system defined by the correspondence of spirit and matter. Her work investigates the physical sensation of sound — how it expands, resonates, interacts with the body, and takes on a sculptural multidimensionality in space.
Using electroacoustic methods, noise, high-frequency oscillations, granular processes, and real-time manipulation, she builds sonic environments that are expressive, bright, and physically present. The result is a practice that bridges design thinking with musical experimentation: structured yet visceral, concept-driven yet intensely emotional, expanding the listener’s sense of sonic volume, energy, and tactility.
CV
SONGS OF UNBORN DESCRIPTION
SONGS OF UNBORN
PERFORMANCES
Ukraine Recovery Conference, Berlin, 2024
Blenheim Palace, Gala Dinner for Ukraine, Oxford
Voices of Dignity: Defending Ukraine, Copenhagen
Bouket Kyiv Stage, Kyiv
DESCRIPTION
"Songs of Unborn" is a performative ritual by Ukrainian composer Roman Grygoriv that uses a repurposed Russian BM-27 Uragan MLRS missile as a musical instrument. The work has been presented in Berlin and other cities as part of the album and project Irrenaissance, which focuses on the decolonization of Ukrainian culture amidst the ongoing war.
IRRENAISSANCE is the album that contains all 11 tracks, including choir, electronics, and orchestra sounding together with the missile.
Album Credits:
Roman Grygoriv (concept, composer, missile performer), Olena Shykina (electronics composer and performer), Antonii Baryshevskyi (piano), Andrii Koshman (voice), Marichka Shtyrbulova (voice), Andrii Shakhadynets (sound recording and mixing), and Viktor Vintoniak (producer).