A song with power: Ukraine's Eurovision entry unites nation
Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra's upbeat, melodic entry for next week's Eurovision Song Contest was written as a tribute to the frontman's mother.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has become an anthem to the war-ravaged motherland. Stefania is the most-watched song on YouTube among the 35 national entries that are due to compete in the contest, which will take place from May 10 to 14 in Turin, an industrial city in northern Italy.
While some data analysts have predicted other contestants will win, the song by Kalush Orchestra is quickly becoming a sentimental favorite. "I'll always find my way home, even if all roads are destroyed," Kalush Orchestra frontman Oleh Psiuk wrote in the lyrics for Stefania.Read More : A West End musical on Umm Kulthum's life is coming to Dubai Opera His words have become more poignant as missiles pound Ukrainian cities and villages, forcing more than 11 million to flee since Russia invaded the country. "Indeed, some stuff in here was written long before the war, and it was dedicated to my mother," Psiuk told the Associated Press at his hotel in Turin.
“After it all started with the war and the hostilities, it took on additional meaning, and many people started seeing it as their mother, Ukraine, in the meaning of the country. It has become really close to the hearts of so many people in Ukraine."
Kalush Orchestra’s Eurovision performance will have an added political message, representing the uniqueness of Ukrainian culture against Russian President Vladimir Putin's bellicose claim that the former Soviet republic was always part of Russia.
Stefania incorporates old Ukrainian melodies and unique musical pitches from a primitive, difficult-to-play woodwind instrument called a telenka, played by lead singer Tymofii Muzychuk.
The band members mix breakdancing with hopak, a Ukrainian folk dance, in an energetic performance punctuated by Psiuk’s rap interludes. Costumes feature embroidered Cossack shirts and vests mixed with contemporary streetwear.
"We ourselves show that Ukrainian culture and Ukrainian ethnic code exists," Psuik said. "Our purpose is to make Ukrainian music popular, not only in Ukraine but all over Europe. And Eurovision is the best platform for that."
Psiuk, 27, and his five bandmates, all men aged 21 to 35, received special permission from Ukrainian authorities to travel to Turin to participate in Eurovision, travelling by land to Poland and then flying to Italy. One original band member stayed behind to fight.
Psiuk left behind a network of volunteers he organised two days into the war to help mete out logistical help to people across Ukraine seeking shelter or transport.
All will return to Ukraine when the song contest finishes. "We feel a big responsibility," Psiuk said. "It’s very important for us to be as useful to the country as possible. We want to represent our country decently."
Kalush Orchestra is more than just a musical group. It is a cultural project that includes folklore scholars and purposefully combines hip-hop with traditional Ukrainian music, dance and costumes, some long-forgotten, said Psiuk.
The six-month-old project takes its name from Psiuk’s home town of Kalush, which is tucked in the Carpathian Mountains, south of the western city of Lviv. It's an evolution from the original Kalush hip-hop group that Psiuk also fronted.
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russia’s entry to Eurovision was kicked out of the contest in a move organisers said aimed to keep politics out of the hugely popular event, which was viewed last year by 183 million people.
Psiuk said Russia’s exclusion from Eurovision, along with other cultural and sporting events, could send a message to Russians "who may say they do not understand the situation in full ... that there is a reason that the whole world and Europe is banning them".
Ukraine joined the Eurovision Song Contest 19 years ago. It has won twice since, both times with songs performed primarily in Ukrainian: by Ruslana in 2004 and Jamala in 2016. Psuik attributes Ukraine’s success to “the peculiar character that our music has”. "I really hope that after we perform it at the Eurovision Song Contest, Ukrainian music will be even more popular and heard," he said.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has become an anthem to the war-ravaged motherland. Stefania is the most-watched song on YouTube among the 35 national entries that are due to compete in the contest, which will take place from May 10 to 14 in Turin, an industrial city in northern Italy.
While some data analysts have predicted other contestants will win, the song by Kalush Orchestra is quickly becoming a sentimental favorite. "I'll always find my way home, even if all roads are destroyed," Kalush Orchestra frontman Oleh Psiuk wrote in the lyrics for Stefania.
“After it all started with the war and the hostilities, it took on additional meaning, and many people started seeing it as their mother, Ukraine, in the meaning of the country. It has become really close to the hearts of so many people in Ukraine."
Kalush Orchestra’s Eurovision performance will have an added political message, representing the uniqueness of Ukrainian culture against Russian President Vladimir Putin's bellicose claim that the former Soviet republic was always part of Russia.
Stefania incorporates old Ukrainian melodies and unique musical pitches from a primitive, difficult-to-play woodwind instrument called a telenka, played by lead singer Tymofii Muzychuk.
The band members mix breakdancing with hopak, a Ukrainian folk dance, in an energetic performance punctuated by Psiuk’s rap interludes. Costumes feature embroidered Cossack shirts and vests mixed with contemporary streetwear.
"We ourselves show that Ukrainian culture and Ukrainian ethnic code exists," Psuik said. "Our purpose is to make Ukrainian music popular, not only in Ukraine but all over Europe. And Eurovision is the best platform for that."
Psiuk, 27, and his five bandmates, all men aged 21 to 35, received special permission from Ukrainian authorities to travel to Turin to participate in Eurovision, travelling by land to Poland and then flying to Italy. One original band member stayed behind to fight.
Psiuk left behind a network of volunteers he organised two days into the war to help mete out logistical help to people across Ukraine seeking shelter or transport.
All will return to Ukraine when the song contest finishes. "We feel a big responsibility," Psiuk said. "It’s very important for us to be as useful to the country as possible. We want to represent our country decently."
Kalush Orchestra is more than just a musical group. It is a cultural project that includes folklore scholars and purposefully combines hip-hop with traditional Ukrainian music, dance and costumes, some long-forgotten, said Psiuk.
The six-month-old project takes its name from Psiuk’s home town of Kalush, which is tucked in the Carpathian Mountains, south of the western city of Lviv. It's an evolution from the original Kalush hip-hop group that Psiuk also fronted.
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russia’s entry to Eurovision was kicked out of the contest in a move organisers said aimed to keep politics out of the hugely popular event, which was viewed last year by 183 million people.
Psiuk said Russia’s exclusion from Eurovision, along with other cultural and sporting events, could send a message to Russians "who may say they do not understand the situation in full ... that there is a reason that the whole world and Europe is banning them".
Ukraine joined the Eurovision Song Contest 19 years ago. It has won twice since, both times with songs performed primarily in Ukrainian: by Ruslana in 2004 and Jamala in 2016. Psuik attributes Ukraine’s success to “the peculiar character that our music has”. "I really hope that after we perform it at the Eurovision Song Contest, Ukrainian music will be even more popular and heard," he said.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com
