Russia-Ukraine War
"Music is our weapon": an interview with Ukraine's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest
The members who died in battle ("it must stop"), the disappointment from the EBU ("it took time to boycott Russia"), the criticism of Israel ("should help") and the struggle through art ("weapons are music").
First interview since the war with Kalush Orchestra, Ukraine's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest to appear on "Israel Calling"
Sagi Ben Nun
05/04/2022
Tuesday, April 05, 2022, 5:00 p.m.
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Kalush, Ukraine's representative for Eurovision 2022, back in Tel Aviv ahead of her participation in the "Israel Calling" event, April 2022 (Guy Yechieli)
"I volunteered in the war for the protection of the suburbs of Kyiv, we were attacked by Russian enemy weapons, the vehicle was destroyed and people died," says Walla!
Culture Mykola Kocharyabi, director of the Kalush Orchestra, Ukraine's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, in the band's first interview with the Israeli media since their arrival in Israel.
"It is still unclear how many died in this battle because the list is not final. It is important to stop this and prevent it from happening again in Ukraine and the rest of the world. The human race must protect us and our children from such things."
What is the more important role of musicians in wartime: to sing or to fight?
Kalush Orchestra's double bass player Ihur Didenchuk: "We can fight through music. We do not fight with guns. Our weapon is music. I do what I can do. Although I do not stand with weapons in front, but my mission is to do "Music and talking about Ukraine, that's what I can do."
Ivan Klimenko, the band's musical producer: "If any of the band members were now holding weapons and fighting the war, how long could they last? But the music they make will last much longer and they can do much more. It's a serious thing, the performance on stage, "Encourage the spirit of people and support them through music. If we fight through music it will be more effective and bring more results. In any case, there were some in the band's team who fought in the field."
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The music will last longer.
Kalush Orchestra (Photo: Guy Yechieli)
Members of the Ukrainian rap band Kalush Orchestra met with each other for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine - here in Israel, as they could not do so before in their war-torn country.
Shortly before representing their country in next month's competition in Turin, Italy, with the song "Stefania", they came to an Israeli to perform at the "Israel Calling" event.
The Mini Eurovision event, initiated and produced by Tali Eshkoli, will take place the next day (April 7) at Menora Mivtachim Hall in Tel Aviv, along with 23 representatives from countries from all over Europe participating in the Eurovision Song Contest.
I met with the band members last night at a hotel in Tel Aviv, after holding their first rehearsal in the city since their election as Ukraine's representatives for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Today (Tuesday) the traditional postcard for the competition was photographed in the Agency building in Jerusalem (because of the corona, this part, which was once photographed against a landscape, moved to a green screen), and a backup photo for part of the flag parade in the competition.
The reason it was all filmed in Israel and not in Ukraine is that in their country the band members, who live far apart from each other, could not meet for the last month and a half because of the war.
After these photos, the band met with young Ukrainians who immigrated or were expelled from Ukraine and live in the Jewish Agency's Absorption Center, in order to strengthen their morale in these difficult times.
"The first time we met since the war started was on a flight to Israel, before that we held rehearsals online, when we were not physically next to each other," says Walla!
The culture of rapper Ola Pasiuk, the founder of the Kalush band, in the first interview we had with the band last night at the hotel in Tel Aviv where they are staying.
"We were excited to meet each other again after not meeting for so long, and to start rehearsals. It was not easy to bring us to Israel but we got permission to fly and return for a while."
The whole world is shocked to see the massacre committed by the Russians in the city of Bocha, a suburb of Kyiv, in your country.
According to Ukrainian authorities, more than 300 residents died during, Russia was charged with the execution of civilians, and bodies were dumped on the street.
How do you feel about this?
"We feel the worst in the world. It came very close to us. When you take care of those close to you, when you can not be sure if in the morning they will still be alive, it's really terrible. In my city (the city of Kalush, after which the band is named) Times a day alarms.
A lot of people close to me are in the military or busy defending.
No one is on full defense at the moment.
We very much want to call on everyone who knows the situation and also on everyone who does not know to start helping us.
We really need this help.
We need people to make their voices heard, and to make a concerted effort to bring this war to an end as soon as possible. "
Kalush Orchestra, Ukraine's representative for Eurovision 2022, after landing at Ben Gurion Airport ahead of her participation in the "Israel Calling" event (Photo: Guy Yechieli)
It took the European Broadcasting Union time to respond to calls and pressure to boycott Russia from the Eurovision Song Contest.
Initially, as has been the practice since its inception, the union that produced the competition declared it to be a non-political music competition.
Have you waited too long for the deportation of Russia in your opinion?
Is it really possible to separate music from politics in such cases?
"It may have taken too long for the European Broadcasting Union to boycott Russia from the Eurovision Song Contest, but I'm glad it happened. I think art and politics are related. And I call on various international organizations to boycott Russia because it can show Russian citizens that what is happening is a mistake, and "They do not agree with what their country is doing - they will be affected by such sanctions."
Following the war in Ukraine, you won from the no man's land to a certain extent and your rank came in first place in the chances of winning the betting agency rankings.
Do you like that some of the audience will vote for you just because of the attack on Russia or would you prefer that they only vote for the song they like best without other considerations?
"I can not say for sure what affected the betting agencies. True, right now we are at the top. But even before the war we were in the top 5, which means our song is good regardless of the war. We are currently working on it being a good song and having a good performance in the competition. "We are confident in our music, and we want Ukrainian music of this kind to be heard at the Eurovision Song Contest."
"We need help."
The destruction of Russia's invasion of Ukraine (Photo: Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zlansky expressed his dissatisfaction with the Israeli government's response to the war in Ukraine two weeks ago in an online speech to Israel, saying, among other things: "Why can we not get weapons from you? Why did Israel not impose serious sanctions on Russia? pressure?".
"I agree with that. Israel can help us to make this war come to an end. What is happening now in Ukraine should not happen in 2022. If Israelis speak and write, for example on social media, things that will affect decision makers, the war will stop."
Will it be difficult for you to stand on the Eurovision stage and perform at a glittering, light-hearted event full of joy, while your country has a war and a lot of sadness?
Psyuk: "Our song is not a happy song. We come to the competition to get our message across. So we think it's the right thing to do."
If you win the Eurovision, as currently betting, do you believe that in 2023 Ukraine will be in a position to host the competition?
"We have great hope that we can fully rebuild our country, and that we can invite you all to our wonderful country, and that you will all want to come."
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As musicians and artists, how does it feel when you are asked to talk about politics and war more than about your music, given the situation?
Didenchuk: "I want to tell the world about what is happening in Ukraine. We must do it. Because people are killed, and there is a lot of destruction, everything is terrible and horrible. We need to talk."
The Kalush Orchestra's journey to the Eurovision Song Contest was not easy from the first moment, and was tied to politics even before the war.
In the pre-Ukrainian Eurovision Song Contest they won big in the audience vote with almost 45 percent of the vote, ahead of Alina Pash who received a little less than 28 percent.
Despite the significant gap the band only came in second and Pash was declared the winner because of the judges' votes.
It was subsequently heard in Ukraine that Pash supported Russia and visited the Crimea in 2015, on a flight from Moscow after annexation and in violation of Ukrainian law.
Pash claimed to have gotten there by bus through the land border and presented to Ukrainian television documents that allegedly confirm this.
But the credibility of the documents was questioned, and in the end Pash was forced to withdraw from the competition.
"I think the end results were fair after everything that happened to Alina and her Pike claims. She presented a forged document," says Ola Psyuk.
"We, as the winners of the public vote, have become representatives of the state, so it is a fair decision."
The "Israel Calling" event, in which the band will perform in Israel alongside 23 other Eurovision delegations this year, is held in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage and the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality - Department of Performances.
The arrival of the Ukrainian delegation was made possible with the assistance of the Jewish Agency.
"We want to thank everyone who helped us leave Ukraine and come to Israel, helped us unite for the first time since the war broke out, introduced us to other refugees and allowed us to speak and convey our messages through music," says Alexander Slobodinik. "It is important to unite against evil."
The chairman of the World Zionist Organization and the acting chairman of the Jewish Agency, Yaakov Hagoel, said: "The mutual commitment of the Jewish people also goes through the music.
The director general of the Jewish Agency, Amira Aharonovich, said: "Music opens hearts and souls.
"The Jewish Agency is happy to allow you, despite the war and the difficult situation, to bring the proud voice of music from Ukraine to the world stage of the Eurovision Song Contest, and on the way stop here in Israel, and make our thousands of immigrants from the battle areas rescue the Jewish Agency from Ukraine."
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Kalush Orchestra, Ukraine's representative for Eurovision 2022 (Photo: Guy Yechieli)
For Kalush Orchestra's double bass player, musician Ihor Didenchuk, this will be his second consecutive participation in the Eurovision Song Contest as Ukraine's representative, as he is also a member of the Ukrainian electro - folk band "Go_A" sent to compete in the Netherlands last year, with the honorable fifth song "Solovey".
What advice or tip for Eurovision did you get from Ihor, following his participation in the competition last year?
Ola Psyuk: "Ihor is a kind of expert for us because he knows a lot about the competition. We hope this year we can reach an even higher place. The advice he gave us ahead of the competition: take everything seriously."
Ihor Didenchuk: "Apart from the war that is taking place now, another thing that makes my participation in the Eurovision Song Contest this year significantly different from last year, is the fact that this year all the pre-Eurovision parties will take place again. Last year all pre-competition parties were canceled It will be even more interesting than last year. "
Participated in the preparation of the article: Yaniv Dornbush
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