Druzhkivka is still the place of Dmytro’s registration, but he has been living for a long time in Kyiv. He has studied and worked in Donetsk, together with his friend Oleksii Dontsov he staged the first Ukrainian musical Mermaid in the miners’ capital. “Why would I not know Ukrainian? I’m living in Ukraine,” the singer says and adds that he wants to see his country united, not just an empty slogan. He considers it an honor to bring the voice of his land throughout the country. A true voice of the Donbas.
Why did you decide to take part in the project “Voice of the Country” and why have you chosen namely this song for blind auditioning, “Woe to that Seagull”? What did it mean for you?
“I decided to take part in the project, because I felt that I needed to reset my creative life. When I moved (was forced to do that) to Kyiv, and few people knew me, I understood that I had to sing for the whole country in order to be noticed. Otherwise it is not going to work. And where could I do this, if not at the best show of our modern television? And the song ‘Woe to that Seagull’ has been in my repertoire for about nine years.”
Where did you learn the song?
“I sang it when I was studying at the conservatoire, and I sang it at the competitions in my hometown Druzhkivka. I very much love the song and its depth. I can say that I have been growing with it both vocally, and spiritually. I performed it at the International Festival in Moscow, where I represented Ukraine. That seemed to be the right choice for me.”
What was the reaction to this song in Moscow?
“Wonderful. A Ukrainian song from Ukraine couldn’t but be performed. Besides, the Russian-Ukrainian relations were not so tense at that time. I have had an opposite experience. Once I was performing at Lviv Theater of Opera and Ballet during a cultural exchange Donetsk – Lviv. When they announced from the stage that we are a Donetsk team, the reception was not quite friendly. But after we sang, they started to applaud, tell us that we are brothers, and that it was good that we came, and they thanked us for the Ukrainian song. Stereotypes exist everywhere. I don’t understand why we are asked how we learned the Ukrainian language. By the way, when you study at an opera department in conservatoire you must learn Italian, and when you study at a jazz department, you must learn English.”
How painful was the break with music and personal life in Donetsk? What do you feel when you hear the phrase “forced migrants”?
“I cannot feel anything except for the pain for the people who like me have left everything against their will and went to look for a peaceful life. We have hundreds thousands of such people. I have understood that you cannot be ready for this. We build our life for years – creative, personal, social life – and it is hard to imagine that suddenly everything will disappear, be ruined, etc. And no one says where the energy should be taken from to start everything all over again. Yes, I had lots of interesting projects in Donetsk, I was taking a niche in its music life. What to do when you have to leave this life? But it is even more difficult for me, because the war has separated me with the family. And my family is the most precious thing I have.”
Why did it happen so to your family?
“My family has nothing to do in Kyiv. And I had to move to the capital to continue my artistic work and my development. There was no sense in going to an oblast center – I have reached my ‘regional level.’ The situation in the country leaves its imprint on any sphere, moreover the show business. Of course, a song will always find a place during the war. But the development of the event sphere in the oblast centers has stopped – it is not a good time for celebrations. My family was choosing instead the place where they could find job and dwelling. They went to stay with the relatives who agreed to accommodate them. Now they are living in Sochi. But my family, the close relatives like uncles, aunts, parents have stayed in Druzhkivka. Actually, these are the people who gave us shelter when we moved to Ukraine in 1989, fleeing from the war in Azerbaijan. We could not stay in the place where Armenians were killed – my family is Ukrainian-Armenian.”
So, you are experiencing a second war at the age of 32.
“This is awful. I was seven, and I remember everything. But I was a child and didn’t quite understand the whole horror my parents were going through. They had to start everything over – at a new place and a new country. Our relatives surrounded us with care, they helped us to repair an old house which we bought here. Now I understand how difficult it was for my parents. And I am very thankful for them for protecting us, so that we did not feel it.”
“THIS IS AN HONOR TO BRING THE VOICE OF THE LAND THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY”
How were you received by the music and show business community of the capital? What projects are you working on these days?
“Actually, it has not received me, to be frank. And I have only one project right now – my cover band FRANKIE, with which I would like to continue to perform. So, I have performed at the ‘Voice of the Country’ show, but it happened only two weeks ago. There will be a result if I work, not be sitting and waiting for something.”
What are your relations with the coach Sviatoslav Vakarchuk?
“We have understood that he is an interesting and deep personality, but he is keeping the distance. Of course, he cannot be a friend to everyone. And, by the way, about friends. At the first meeting of our team he told us, ‘It is a matter of principle for me that you should become friends. I want very much the finalist to be supported by his team.’ And we have become friends.
“One more thing – even when Sviatoslav is hurrying somewhere, but he feels that we need one more rehearsal, he always says, ‘Let’s do this again.’ He wants to bring everything to a perfect condition. We have no ‘okay,’ he is a perfectionist.”
What about you?
“Me too. I can rehearse even when the subway is closed – but what can I do? We have gathered for this – to create a high-quality television-vocal product. This is Sviatoslav’s duty and my big desire.”
What is your goal at the project?
“I have told Sviatoslav once that I want to win. He said that I shouldn’t be ashamed. I don’t have a star disease, just a creative ambition. I know that I can win. But I also know how many more bright voices you will hear at the project. So, many townsmen have written to me that they have watched the ‘Voice of the Country’ with me. This is an honor for me, an honor to bring the voice of my land throughout the country, ruining the stereotypes.”
THE DONBAS IS BEAUTIFUL, STRONG, AND A VERY IMPORTANT REGION
What stereotypes connected with your native town have you faced? How have you managed to shatter the stereotypes?
“The first stereotype is that we cannot speak Ukrainian. The second stereotype is that we all want our region to be part of Russia. And several more, I don’t want even to recall. Because this is painful for all of us. We don’t deserve to be treated like this. And with my actions I want to bring this message to Ukrainians – the Donbas is beautiful, strong, and a very important region. And it will be an irreparable loss if Ukraine loses it.”
Do today’s performances of Ukrainian singers in the east help to reach understanding and reconciliation? You have performed in Kramatorsk back in 2011. How do residents of small towns react to these events?
“For an artist there should be no difference whether this is big stage or a small house of culture. The audience everywhere has the right to feel the live emotion of the performance – why should I sing for some and not sing for someone else? I have performed in Kramatorsk tens of times, because I come from the neighboring town of Druzhkivka. Small towns are not spoiled by civilization. And small towns in the east are used to hard work, and if there is no work – to go look for it in a different place. Especially now, when because of the war even the towns where there are no combats can still feel the war.”
What actions should be behind the words “united country,” so that it was not just a slogan?
“When we, the migrants, started to move to Kyiv, we immediately faced the fact that nobody wanted to rent apartments for us, or the rent was higher for us when people learned where we came from. And when you are called a separatist, it is really hard. I don’t want anything of this kind to happen to any other region, I only want people to come to terms. Enough suffering. We must be tolerant and sympathetic to the grief of our neighbors, fellow countrymen, and Ukrainians – then we will have a united country. Only may the war finish as soon as possible.
“Now it is the time to make cardinal changes in your life. A lot of my acquaintances leave the country, because they don’t believe that Ukraine has a future. I want my fellow countrymen to understand – there can be lots of destructive changes in our life, but this cannot be a reason to ruin the country. And I see my future and development namely here, because no country of the post-Soviet camp has had the prospects Ukraine has had. And I will be happy to do something for my country.”
