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Ritka

@heyritka

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(REET-kah ~ flip the r)
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dreamy folk pop in English + Russian ~ Asheville
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I make photos too @ritakovtun 📸
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Today is a special day. In honor of what would have been my friend Dave Hamilton’s 40th birthday, I’m releasing a song inspired by his passing. I wrote “Feel It All” in the wake of Dave’s death in the spring of 2025. Prior to losing Dave, I had lost older family members, but his death hit different. I met Dave in @resound.community.choir in the fall of 2024, right after Helene had so intensely rearranged us all in WNC, physically and emotionally, and was instantly smitten. He had a sparkle in his eye, a zeal for making music, and deep care for the people and land he was in community with. Over the next few months, Dave and I grew a budding friendship and brief romance. Although we weren’t in each other’s daily lives, he left a deep impression on me, and my heart was shattered when I received the news that he had taken his life.

This song is a heart offering. Although it is about Dave, it asks the questions that I imagine most people face in a period of deep grief: What is there left to do? What is there left to do, but to weave beauty from it all? But to feel it all? I think most of us know this: Grief is so hard, but it also opens us up to the full spectrum of available emotion. In the weeks after Dave’s death, I felt incredible sadness, and I also felt moments of incredible joy and ove.

Endless gratitude to all those who helped me birth this song into the world. @mlesprg for the Florist show at @ayurpanalisteningroom in those first weeks that cracked me open and gave me the oomph to finish writing this song. @doctor.delia for tracking my guitar and vocals at Humming House exactly a month after Dave’s passing; for lending your violin magic to this tune (an instrument Dave played as well); for seeing me and holding me through the grief and the journey of this song. Eric Schackne for opening your heart to this project despite never meeting Dave; deftly combining my ideas and yours to make it come alive; finessing the song until it felt right and getting it over the finish line with the mix and master. (cont in comments) taken in Asheville, North Carolina by @heyritka

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3 months ago

It’s here!! “Summer Soul” is out on @bandcamp TODAY and will be out on other streaming platforms VERY SOON. Today is #BandcampFriday, meaning that all of your purchases go directly into the pockets of artists on the platform. Show this track some love with your listens or your dollars, both welcome and appreciated. Swipe for a lil preview, but you know where to find the link to the whole thing 😏

I have so much to say but for now, I might just let you listen to it. Recording music has been a dream of mine… forever? And it feels surreal to be sharing this with you. I could not have done this without the incredible team of people who supported me along the way. THANK YOU to everyone who worked on this song:

Banjo: @_alice.bradley_
Piano: @overmanguitars
Cello: @lyledevitry
Engineer/Production: @br.gr.fiddle
Production/Mix: @heavyjean
Master: @huntleymiller

Vocals and guitar recorded at @echomountainrecording

Album art is a @polaroid I took in a special place in France in the summer of 2019.

Other people who deserve a special thank you for their insight, support, and listening ears: @zag_goober, @openfolkavl & @james_lowens.

Now go take a listen and let me know what ya think! 💙
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#northcarolina #asheville #ashevillemusic #singersongwriter #folkmusic #summersoul #summermusic #summersong #folkpop #dreampop #dreamfolk #ashevillenc #ncartist #avl #828isgreat #ashevilleart #ashevilleartist #ashevillelocal #ncmusic #ncmusician #ncartists #ashevillelife #ashevillelove #avltoday #avlmusic #recordingmusic #ashevillemusicians #ashevillemade #bandcampfridays by @heyritka

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4 years ago

Happy last day of summer, friends! Today I’m releasing a music video I put together for 🌅Summer Soul🌅

*Friends with sensitivities: please note there are some flashing images in this video.

This film combines Super 8 footage I shot during my first summer in North Carolina in 2020 with digital shots from the last few summers in both NC and Minnesota. Putting together this song, from conception to recording, was such a collaborative process (with mostly humans, but also a nocturnal animal chorus) and creating the video was no different. I see it as a collaboration with beautiful allies in the plant and elemental realms, and I also acknowledge the Anishinaabe, Cherokee, Dakota, Miccosukee, and Yuchi peoples as the original stewards of these lands.

This song was inspired by the collective experience of all the summers of my life, but namely the last few that I’ve spent in North Carolina. I feel that it’s a song both very much of that place as well as a song not bound by place at all. I feel grateful to be cultivating relationships with the land in both of these states. It becomes more magical and mysterious the deeper I go ✨

Watch the video here or thru the link in my bio!

Song credits:
Banjo: @_alice.bradley_
Piano: @overmanguitars
Cello: @lyledevitry
Engineer/Production: @br.gr.fiddle
Production/Mix: @heavyjean
Master: @huntleymiller
Vocals and guitar recorded at @echomountainrecording
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#super8 #kodakfilm #shotonkodak northcarolina #asheville #ashevillemusic #singersongwriter #folkmusic #summersoul #summermusic #summersong #folkpop #dreampop #dreamfolk #ashevillenc #ncartist #avl #828isgreat #ashevilleart #ashevilleartist #ashevillelocal #ncmusic #super8film #ncartist #recordingmusic #ashevillemusicians #ashevillemade by @heyritka

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4 years ago

Very excited to be playing a show with @paulspring and @evan_veasey next week at ShareHouse (Evan and @toriessex’s cozy spot). Unfortunately (for you) / fortunately (for us), this show sold out quick—understandably so, as Paul is a truly spectacular and prolific musician. I met Paul (and his incredible partner @sophiaheymans, who is one of most talented and hardest-working visual artists) back when we all lived in Minnesota at @artistsofamill. The first time I heard Paul play a show was in fall 2015 at Groundswell Coffee in St. Paul (rip 💔) and I remember being thoroughly enchanted by his songs and stories. Honored to have collaborated on a few small things over the years and to be playing alongside him for this Asheville show! And if you didn’t get a ticket/live elsewhere, definitely check out his music + catch him on tour this fall (see other slides) 🎶 Photo by me from a past ShareHouse show! by @heyritka

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12 days ago

I’ve curated a new playlist I’m calling “shoot from the heart”—a title taken from one of the included songs. I’ve been spinning these tunes throughout the summer, and this playlist feels like an encapsulation of this time, with all of its heart expansions and heartbreaks, big and small ❤️‍🔥 It includes some songs that are pretty old, pretty new, and somewhere in between—including those by local faves @lowsideavl and @natalie.jane.hill (and of course one by Dolly 🦋). Follow the link in my bio to listen in these remaining summer days 🌻 Film double exposure from a walk in my new West Asheville neighborhood toward the start of summer, shot on my favorite @kodak #ektar100 film. Develop + scan by @ballphotosupply. by @heyritka

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a month ago

The last time I shared a full set of my Russian songs might have been at this @goldenfolk.avl (then Open Folk) performance in 2023 (😳). I’ll be sharing a short set of them today at 5 at the Tea Tent Fete, on the island in Marshall ~ a whimsical festival of music, puppetry, and tea, lovingly organized in support of @primrosecoke. These songs are a way for me to stay connected to the core of who I am, to my first language, to the spirit of my ancestors. Thank you in advance for witnessing me. Hope to see you there 🎪 Photo by @sweeetgrit. taken in Asheville, North Carolina by @heyritka

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2 months ago

It’s hard to put into words (and today, I don’t have a lot of them) what @primrosecoke’s Tea Tent means to me, so here are some photos. Hopefully you can feel my love through them. If they spark something in you, I invite you to the Tea Tent Fête this Saturday. A day of tea, live music, and puppetry on the island in Marshall. A way to support this incredible offering that Primrose brings to our community. So many artists will be sharing their magic. I’ll play a short set of Russian songs around 5 and sing with @mothermarrow as they perform some incredible crankies at 5:30. Come gather with us as we put Leo to bed 🎪☕️🎶🦁 taken in Marshall High Studios by @heyritka

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2 months ago

As this Strawberry Moon wanes, I’ve been reflecting on the Strawberry Moon tour @_alice.bradley_ and I did together two years ago across the Midwest—and I wanted to share this little Super 8 recap of that special time! Thank you to all the venues who hosted us (@willowroomcollective, @lakesidestcoffee, @zestinferna), musicians who played with us (@woodrow_vine_official, @pcharlesallen, @spinestealers, @badpostureclub), friends who offered us a place to rest and helped with logistics, @leahrobot for the beautiful illustration, and of course all the folks who came out to see us play. We truly felt the love and sweetness (and still do) during this season of the heart-berry 🍓 (p.s. Vimeo link for higher-quality film in bio!)
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#super8film #strawberrymoon #tourvideo #musictour #strawberrymoontour by @heyritka

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3 months ago

Inviting all Asheville friends to come to our Crescent and Moon Choir performance this Sunday, June 28, at @masonictempleasheville! Excited that Moon Choir is performing one of my songs (it’s one no one has heard before!), and you’ll also hear pieces from @annalisemakesmusic, @stump.sprouts, @bluerosesband, @jojo.harnish, @leure_blue, @mothermarrow and @soft.talk.only. We’re also performing at the sold-out Lightning Bug Fest at @rare_bird_farm the night before! These performances are going to be truly special, and I’m so grateful to be part of the second season of @crescent_choir, which is the brain/heart child of @phiabird. Tickets are likely to sell out, so grab yours now via the link in my bio! 🧡 taken in The Asheville Masonic Temple by @heyritka

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4 months ago

Happy Solstice 🌞 I’ve made a new playlist I’m calling “alive in june.” It’s pretty self explanatory and was born out of reaching for life and growth in the midst of so many big (and mostly good, but difficult) life transitions at once. Feeling like y’all might relate? Songs new and old, plus some special gems by Asheville friends. Follow the link in my bio to find it! •

@Polaroid taken at the @ymcablueridge during the @yetzirahpoets conference this past week 🌸 •
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#polaroid #polaroidoriginals #ishootfilm #summerplaylist #juneplaylist by @heyritka

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4 months ago

This past Tuesday, April 21, marked one year since my friend Dave Hamilton chose to leave this earth. Making space for grief while everything around you is blooming and coming back to life feels like a cruel juxtaposition, and also a soft reminder that everything comes in cycles, and sometimes they intersect in unexpected ways. I’ve been so grateful to find ways to honor Dave this spring with the other folks who knew and loved him, including performing this song at @goldenfolk.avl about a month ago with @ayyfrye, @chelsolanacea, @saigey___waigey, and @beheld.ritual.arts/@mothermarrow.

“Heron” was inspired by a dream and is an offering not only to Dave but also to all of those who have transitioned to the other world. It’s a reminder about the power of song and how it can bring us together and nourish us. Thank you for listening, witnessing, being here. Cover image by @sallygrayphotography, video by @somaresiliency 💙 taken in The Grey Eagle by @heyritka

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6 months ago

A little snippet of our practice yesterday! These oohs are part of my new song “Heron, Come Back” which I will debuting with this lovely group of humans (@ayyfrye @chelsolanacea @saigey___waigey plus @beheld.ritual.arts) tonight at @goldenfolk.avl. The piece honors our friend Dave who passed almost a year ago, as well as all those who have passed on. These singers are members of @crescent_choir and @resound.community.choir—spaces I have been grateful to be part of that inspired this arrangement. Come hear it, plus a few other solo songs from me, and tunes from 5 other talented local songwriters, tonight at @thegreyeagle! Doors are at 6 (plus there is Justin Townes Earle book reading/signing starting then) and music is at 7. You can get tickets at the door and pay what you can! taken in The Grey Eagle by @heyritka

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7 months ago