Raphael Rogiński – Qırım - Live Recording

Raphael Rogiński – Qırım

“Qırım” is the new musical project by Raphael Rogiński – a journey into sound, memory, and spirituality. It is a meditative treatise on the culture of the Crimean Tatars and, more broadly, on the entire lost world of Crimea.

This concert tour is the premiere presentation of the album “Qırım”. The record was captured on analogue tape by anthropologist István Sántha, who has spent decades documenting and recording traditional music across Central Asia using this distinctive method. The recording process itself forms an important part of the album’s connection to memory, preservation, and cultural transmission.

Rogiński, a guitarist and ethnomusicologist, combines his years of research into Eastern music with a deeply personal, autobiographical thread. “Qırım” is both a musical voyage and a travel diary – a record of an inner journey in pursuit of sound, toward a world that has long served as a kind of compass for the artist. His frequent travels to Ukraine have been an endless source of inspiration – both artistic and human.

In his interpretation, the music of Crimea is not a reconstruction of folklore, but a living organism – the breath of a culture that has survived despite exile and attempts at erasure. The mysticism of Crimean Tatar tradition, the echoes of ancient Sufism, the sound of mourning songs, and the meditative pulse of the steppe intertwine with improvisation, creating a spiritual and emotional landscape. By reaching for songs rediscovered in archives, Rogiński brings them to life here and now through his arrangements.

“Qırım” is a story about longing and hope – a meditative narrative that allows us to approach the experience of Crimean Tatar culture.