Paulina and Jess speak with Konstantin Shaw-Polyakov, who recently released his album, Where Are We Headed? Konstantin is a Roma/Ashkenazi multi-instrumentalist and songwriting transracial adoptee. He was born in Volkhov Russia in June of 1996, moved to an orphanage and adopted in 1997 by Quakers from America. Konstantin grew up with an adoptive name, Matthew, and few clues of his Roma heritage. Identity is a key driving factor in Konstantin's music, it is often about exploration through imagination and wonder, evoking thoughts of travel and connectivity. You can find his music on all streaming services. He has been writing songs since he was nine and was given his first guitar, a classical guitar.

You can listen to Where Are We Headed? anywhere, including Spotify and Sound Cloud. Follow Konstantin @polykostya17 on Instagram to keep up on what he’s doing.

Romani crushes this episode are Esma Redzepova, Muharem Serbezovski, Elijah Vardo, & the artist Sylvia @sy.cl0ps_

Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.

You can find us on Instagram @romanistanpodcast, and on Facebook under the same name, and on Twitter @romanistanpod

We started a Ko-fi fundraiser to help us expand. Our goal is to continue releasing 2 episodes a month, including our advice column, and we would eventually like to expand so we can produce content by other Romani & Sinti creators. We are hoping to cover production costs, like paying for our hosting site, website, editing and producing, and all the rest. We would love it if you could contribute and spread the word. The link, Ko-fi.com/romanistan, is in our bio on Instagram, and will be in the show notes

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If you would like to advertise with us, email us at [email protected]. We offer sliding-scale for Romani, Sinti & related businesses, so reach out!

You can find Jess on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele, and you can find Jess’ vintage and curiosities shop Evil Eye Edit on Instagram @evileyeedit & Etsy.

You can find Paulina Verminski on Instagram @_paulina_v_ and at https://romaniholistic.com/. Follow Paulina’s store, Romani Holistic, in Corona Del Mar, CA, on Instagram @romaniholistic 

Romanistan is hosted by Jessica Reidy and Paulina Verminski

Conceived of by Paulina Verminski

Edited by Cherub

With Music by Viktor Pachas

And Artwork by Elijah Vardo

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