This spring, one of the most famous bands of Ukraine, Vopli Vidopliassova, turned 30. This summer they will perform at the Soyuzivka Heritage Center at the 10th annual Ukrainian Cultural Festival on July 8, 9 and 10. The band, which is known as VV, consists of Oleh Skrypka, composer and lead singer; Yevhen Rohachevsky, guitarist; Oleksiy Melchenko, bassist; and Serhiy Sakhno – drummer.
Lyudmila Rabij interviewed Mr. Skrypka about VV’s history and creativity, and its recent anniversary tour of North America.
Ms. Rabij, an art curator living in New York, works with projects to represent Ukraine in the U.S. through culture and art, such as the recent exhibit of Ukrainian artist Ganna Kryvolap at the Ukrainian Institute of America.
How was Vopli Vidopliassova formed?
My first band was at school in Murmansk (Russia). My classmates and I were playing rock in the eighth grade, and the first songs I wrote were in English. The 1980s were marked by the dominance of pop, and we wanted to do something great, excellent, new – our own. We played at the school’s graduation evening. The group was called the Imposters.
Then I moved to Kyiv, where for six years I studied at the Polytechnic University. I formed a band at my university department, but it didn’t make it past rehearsals. After the conclusion of my studies, I met a couple of musicians: bassist Sasha, whom I had met earlier at university, and then he introduced me to guitarist Yuri. We got together and came up with a repertoire of songs.
It was 1986, a month after the tragic events in Chornobyl. It was the beginning of May and we could not go outside on the street. We sat and wrote songs. We recorded our first album and chose a title. And in 1987 we had our first concert. So, in our first year we were only a studio band. That’s the way it was: you recorded a tape, gave it to a friend and in a week you heard your music being played everywhere from the windows. When we had our first performance, we were already known.
Where was the band’s first concert?
It was at the Molodist (Youth) Film Festival in early autumn 1987. The stage was set up in the lobby of the cinema house, and during the breaks between films we played our first punk concert.
Our second concert was at the big festival called First Kyiv Rock-Parade in November 1987. They gathered rock groups from all over Ukraine. We played and won first place. Immediately, we found a producer, Vladimir Ivanov, who started promoting the band. We travelled with performances among the countries of the Soviet Union. Soon we were invited abroad. In 1988 the band had a concert in Poland. In 1990 we toured France, and in 1991-1992, in fact, moved to France.
How did staying in France influence the development of your work?
I sang in Ukrainian. But over time, the musicians in the band changed – Frenchmen joined. And the band became French-Ukrainian. The repertoire was retained – the Ukrainian language, Ukrainian folk-punk.
In France [at that time], there was strong government support; there was a program called “Red Wave.” It was a warming of relations with the Soviet Union. And the band immediately went to the top of French show business. We participated in the best festivals and performed on big stages; stories appeared in the press, particularly in Le Monde.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the situation changed. It became more difficult to organize a concert in France. And in Ukraine, by contrast, music began to be played more on radio and television. We recorded our album in Paris, filmed a video for the song “Spring,” and 1997 brought the revival of our band and our return.
In France, the professional level is extremely high and this has affected our creative approach to work and helped the group make a serious career here in Ukraine.
What album was your most difficult – when the process of improvement was possible to complete and you just had to move on?
It’s that way with all our albums – whether it’s my solo album, or a group album by VV. But perhaps our last album, “Wonderful World,” was easier. Of course, I am often dissatisfied with the sound, though this is more a technical issue of work in a recording studio. In Ukraine, this is still not at a sufficiently professional level.
Working in the studio is difficult because technically you cannot get the right sound level. At the same time, the songwriting comes easily.
You started with folk-rock, then jazz-rock, now you have a new electro-ethno style. Is this a search for the perfect musical form or a desire to create a wide range of music?
The sages say that you cannot enter the same river twice. Everything changes. If you do not change, you are not developing, you are deteriorating. It is the need of every artist to renew oneself, to change, to grow professionally. You cannot play the same thing over and over. Even those famous songs that we’ve played for many years should be performed each time anew, and we must look inside ourselves to seek a new presentation of the song – then it will always sound fresh.
This is an inner need. It’s is not a search for perfection, which cannot be found. I believe that from the outset our style was correct, but we had to move forward to change. This is as inevitable as water flowing and fire burning.
Which songs in your repertoire are the most popular in Ukraine and abroad? What are you often asked to perform for an encore?
All of the songs are my personal favorites. But audiences ask us to perform the songs that are most often heard on the radio and on television. The best known are our songs that are also on video. Although I am a creative person, I know the attitude towards a song that becomes known is a purely technical issue. There is much work on a song; this is a complex and expensive technology, but it works. Songs that were worked on become hits. On the other hand, in a song or video there has to be a moment that touches people. Typically, that’s a simple chorus.
Sometimes people think that Vopli Vidopliassova are such simple guys. In fact, the music here is very difficult, not easy. Such songs as “Spring” have simple refrains, so they became hits. But, for example, the song “Conversation with Mahatma” has a rather complicated structure – it’s not something you can whistle.
This spring, VV held a concert tour in North America. Where were the concerts? What was the program?
Concerts took place in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle and San Francisco. This was a program of three parts, with 30 songs that essentially reflect certain periods in the work of the group. There were old songs of the 1990s and there were current songs.
And what are your impressions from this tour?
The most vibrant impression of our American tour is the optimism in society. We had the opportunity to interact with Americans, and I felt that the people have become more optimistic and self-assured. The U.S.A. is the economic driver of the world and the impression was that it is working ever more intensively. We spoke with many of our Ukrainians, and the people told us there are more customers in their restaurants and stores.
We ourselves felt this upbeat spirit at VV concerts in America. The halls, which could hold up to 1,000 people, were filled to capacity. People from various cities came to our concerts in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and invited us to appear in their cities also.
We are thankful to the thousands of VV fans for the unbelievable meetings and emotions we experienced. We’re already working on our next American tour.
What are your plans for this summer?
We’re now preparing for our performance at the festival at Soyuzivka. This is the major Ukrainian festival in the United States. Soyuzivka, located in the Catskill mountain region about a two-hour drive from New York, is more than 60 years old.
Several years ago, I performed there with my friend, the excellent Ukrainian virtuoso violinist Vasyl Popadiuk. But VV’s performance at Soyuzivka will be our first. The audience there is very energizing. VV is already looking forward to this new Ukrainian American stage performance.