The Festival of Alternative Music, the Ukrainian finale of the international musical project, Global Battle of the Bands, recently took place in Mukachiv. The right to represent Ukraine in London and the chance to win $100,000 was won by the Kyiv band Etwas Unders.
This global musical project is simply referred to as the GBOB. Today it unites 34 countries and offers beginners a chance to declare themselves on the world level. Besides the cash prize, the winner nets a world tour of member countries. Ukraine joined the battle in 2004 and instantly showed that alternative music is on a high level in our country. That year Yanka Kozyr’s Orchestra put on a real show in London.
The number of bands eager to take part in the Ukrainian selection round is increasing. A key reason for this is the ease of becoming a participant. There are also no style limitations, casting, or auditions. There are only two main rules: first, you have to play live, without electronic samples and computer adaptations, and second, bands that want to participate have to pay a registration fee of $25, regardless of the country where the competition is held.
DEMOCRACY IN A FESTIVAL WAY
This was the third Ukrainian festival, but it was the first time that the organizers decided to move it to the “provinces.” The new place was Mukachiv, or rather, the ancient Palanky Castle that dominates the town. In the opinion of the organizers and the Mukachiv Municipal Council, the festival taking place within the castles walls created an unforgettable atmosphere.
The young talents were judged by 10 jury members, among them the program director of Radio Roks 103.6 FM, Ruslan Piven; the head of FDR news, Yurko Zeleny; the executive director of MusTorg, Petroshop, and Trade, Maxym Podyn; musician and producer Serhii Chanturiia, the editor-in-chief of the musical portal www.antipop.com.ua Zen; and other people from the music business. Every jury member had his own criteria. What counts for Yurko Zeleny is “the band’s originality, good singing, teamwork, and timeliness.” For Zen it is “image, energy, and sound.”
The festival proved to be a model of democracy. Everyone voted and expressed their opinions. At first, guests at the festival site could vote for the jury candidates (more than 70 people were on the list). Then the members of the jury and the audience voted for the bands during the regional selection round (the same system was used during the finale). After each of the festival rounds jury members’ marks were displayed for everyone to see and analyze and, if necessary, question jury members about the way they assigned their standings. Rumors about a “bought” jury were inevitable.
THE BATTLE OF ALL BATTLES
This year’s festival was on a higher level than last year’s: better sound, a beautiful venue, and stronger bands. As the PR director of the festival, Vladyslav Liashenko, told The Day, even bands that perform only pop music can try out for this musical battle. But there was no hint of pop music in Mukachiv, not to mention girls with sugary voices or boys a la Dima Bilan. Perhaps pop musicians are afraid of the word combination “alternative music” or maybe the main festival rule to play live is too complicated for them, or perhaps they didn’t pass the regional selection rounds.
The audience consisted of progressive youth interested in Ukrainian alternative music. They got a five-hour “cocktail” consisting of ingredients to suit every musical taste: ska (Eyes Widely Shut, Chernihiv), new metal (Anna, Lviv), rockabilly (OT VINTA, Rivne), punk (Abzdolts, Kyiv), dez (Hellion, Zaporizhia) and even folk (AtmAsphera, Kyiv), folk/new metal (Merva, Kyiv) and trip hop (Tango Tempo, Uzhhorod).
A total of 14 bands that won the regional selection round competed for the right to represent Ukraine at the yearly finale of the Global Battle of the Bands that will be held on Dec. 10 at the Astoria concert hall in London. Besides the above-mentioned bands, also competing for Ukraine were Andersen (Chernihiv), SSSR (the Crimea), DorogiMeniaiutTsvet (Poltava), Bes Golovy (Odesa), and N.E.T (Donetsk).
From the very beginning there were two possible winners: the Lviv band ANNA and the Kyiv-based Etwas Unders. Both bands play new metal and are quite popular in alternative music circles. But the jury members and the audience were impressed by the Kyiv band’s lead singer whose voice is strong and has a broad range. Although Etwas Unders won, the Lviv band was at its best too, lagging behind the winner by only one point.
Compared to last year, the festival has grown and the national media took some notice, so maybe sponsors will be found soon. Surprisingly, for all three years the festival has taken place without any assistance from sponsors. As for their future plans, besides acquiring sponsors, the ambitious and creative organizers plan to create a TV version of the festival.
