Iryna Muha is a versatile singer-songwriter and a player of the hurdy-gurdy and guitar. From Ukraine to the UK and lots of places in between, her story is one of movement across borders, languages, and inner landscapes.
“ Exceptionally emotional music“ Mark Humphrey, radio host at KPFK
Iryna has performed at Eurovision, Latitude and Boomtown festivals, played live on BBC radio 3 and BBC radio 4. Her international appearances include Folk Alliance International in USA, Rupununi Music and Arts Festival in South America and concerts in Ukraine. Her music was played on local and national radio in the UK and public broadcasting radios in Los Angeles and Washington.
“ Outstanding musician“ Sid Peacock- composer, artistic director
Growing up in Ukraine, Iryna’s earliest memories are filled with traditional folk songs sung at family gatherings and the quirky music of Soviet-era cartoons, which blended pieces of Eastern European folk with 80s synths, jazz, and cinematic orchestration.
In her teens, she moved to Mongolia and learned to play guitar, drawn to rock music that carried both poetry and rebellion.Hearing Mongolian folk songs and how different they were from those she grew up with in Ukraine awakened in Iryna a profound new understanding of how sound and landscape shape identity.
After moving between Ukraine and the United States, Iryna has settled in the UK where she formed her band MUHA and began writing her own songs, shaped by loss, migration and memories of home.
“Her songs express very directly and poignantly our awareness of mortality and vulnerability”-Roots Music & Beyond
In recent years, Iryna has balanced her time between the band, her solo career, recording and collaborating with musicians from other genres, including jazz, to explore how folk roots can be reshaped and heard in new musical contexts. She also the creative director of the youth Ukrainian School Band, and alongside her live work, she experiments with multimedia and electronic music.