On Nov. 4, 2008, Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, the vocalist of the rock band Okean Elzy, presented his project titled Vnochi (At Night) in the Ivan Franko Theater.
It sometimes happens that leaders of successful music bands feel an acute need to step out of the limits, i.e., change their music trend, sound, and their very image, thereby changing the established standards of their music style. This is a risky step because there is no guaranty that the artist’s new image will be embraced by his or her admirers. It is quite evident that by taking this kind of step an artist tries to bring his audience to a new level of music evolution. The most successful examples of similar “side projects” include Taras Chubai’s solo programs “Our Christmas,” “Our Partisans,” and “Our Ivasiuk”, as well as the cooperation of Oleh Skrypka and Le Grand Orchestra and the solo programs of Foma, the frontman of Mandry.
Vakarchuk gathered a talented group of jazz and classical musicians and offered them to arrange a number of songs that didn’t go into the repertoire of Okean Elzy. Saxophonist Bohdan Humeniuk, pianist Oleksii Saranchyn, guitarist Oleksii Morozov, and the first violin of the Collegium String Orchestra Kyrylo Sharapov added freshness to the sound and, in fact, interpretation of the material. The National Symphonic Orchestra of Ukraine also took part in the recording of the compositions. The main producer and arranger of the album was Milos Jelic, the pianist of Okean Elzy.
Interestingly, Vakarchuk composed all the songs at night in different corners of the world: in Switzerland near Lake Geneva, on the fortieth floor of a New York hotel, and in other exotic places. The disk was created in three countries. It was recorded in Kyiv, put together in Belgium, and master copy was produced in Los Angeles.
The general style of this Night album corresponds to the aesthetics of the world music which is very popular and common in the world but has nothing in common with Ukrainian standards of pop music.
“Frankly, I have become bored with some glamorous characters, who are flickering in broadcasts all the time but have nothing in common with modern music culture. This was the main reason why the project ‘At Night’ emerged,” Vakarchuk confessed. “The program emerged from a creative studio where we were able to compose the kind of music that had never been composed before. As a result, eleven songs appeared and each of them is very close and dear to me. None of them can be assigned to any concrete music style. They combine features of all music genres — from jazz to reggae. The album ‘At Night’ is meant not only for the admirers of Okean Elzy, but also for those who are not interested in rock music at all.”
The disk will be released in late November. Time will tell whether we can speak about a new stage in the music evolution of Sviatoslav Vakarchuk.
IMPRESSIONS
Roman BALAIAN, film director:
“‘At Night’ is a very intimate and confiding album for those who contemplate and hesitate in their actions.”
Denys IVANOV, general producer of the Arthouse Traffic:
“Sviatoslav Vakarchuk’s music is, in a certain sense, universal for Ukraine. It finds response in both schoolchildren and people with two university degrees. I think that the Ukrainian audience that is capable of accepting music of such level of complexity as ‘At Night’ is numbered by millions. The main thing is that the album has purity of emotions and personal presentation.”
Liubko DERESH, writer:
“This album includes compositions that make you breathe harder and give you the shivers. I am sure that ‘At Night’ has an opportunity to form a certain cultural context for new compositions of the same caliber in the nearest future.”
Savik SHUSTER, host of the Shuster TV show:
“I very much liked the album’s emotionality, warmth, search, and willingness to do something different and look at the world in a slightly different way. You know, when you move a satellite antenna only by two degrees, everything changes radically. You see a different TV channel in a different language and something that belongs to a completely different culture. In his album Vakarchuk has managed to achieve a similar effect.”
Oleksii KOHAN, reviewer of jazz music:
“‘At Night’ is a very personal record. When I listened to it for the first time, there were several moments when I was almost crying. If music helps a person give free rein to his or her feelings, it is good music.”
