Poly Chain: from shoegaze to solo synth, meet the Ukrainian artist ruling electronica

Sasha Zakrevska started her musical journey at 15 years old, as a member of shoegaze band, that played at various respectable venues in Kiev including the multidisplinary festival Gogolfest. When Zakrevska moved to Lodz to study Graphic Design, the band had split, and Zakrevska had to decide whether to find another band or go solo. Now based in Warsaw, the 23-year-old is happy to make music with just her synth as companion.

She produces ambient and electronic music under her alias Poly Chain and released her first EP, Music for Candy Shops on electronic label Transatlantyk earlier this year with deliciously sounding tracks like Salty Caramel and Peanut Butter. You’ll likely see her play at the Brutaż techno parties run by DJ RRRKRTA across Poland, and she’s a regular at Unsound festival in Kraków.

Twice a year she returns to play in Kiev. Earlier this year she got to perform at Zair Azgur museum in Minsk, surrounded by statues to Soviet leaders and busts of Ukrainian writer Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko, as part of the Artes Liberales art and music festival. As for baking, Zakrevska says: “I don’t like to cook everyday stuff, but I love to make sweets. I get all kinds of interesting recipes from my mum — everything except the acid bubblegum, that is.” Listen to a delectable selection of sounds in Poly Chain’s exclusive mix for The Calvert Journal.

Text: Liza Premiyak