Why a French fan decided to create a blog devoted to Okean Elzy...

People are frequently asking me about how I have discovered Okean Elzy and why I decided to create this personal blog... It seems that the time has come for me to give you some explanation!

© Okean of Emotions - 2014

In fact, all of this is another step in this old love story I have with Ukraine - but, honestly, I realized this only a few years ago... :)

Everything started when I was about 8:  There was a record at home of traditional Ukrainian & Russian folk songs and I was used to listening to it for hours! It was clear for me: I didn't understand what was said, but I had the feeling that there was so much emotion, so much life in these songs that they touched my heart. Everything was so beautiful! Music, melodies, voices... But, on top of this, I fell madly in love with Slavic languages! The sounds in Ukrainian or Russian are so different from French ones! (and from all of those of the other European languages I was used to listening to on TV or on the radio...)
As I love to sing since I can speak - that's what my mother says ;-) - I suppose that I tried to sing in Ukrainian & Russian when I was listening to this record... But it was difficult. I realized that I had to take Ukrainian and Russian courses... And that's what I told my parents! :)

Photogr. Ukn.

The thing is that it was the Cold War... And that learning these languages would have been of no use for a French girl! My parents are open-minded people but they explained to me that I'd better learn English first - a very good option at that time! Regarding Russian and Ukrainian languages, I would have time to learn them later...

As I grew up, I was looking for any kind of information I could get about Ukraine and Russia. I was reading books, watching films, etc. I've discovered the cultures of these countries and... I fell deeper and deeper in love with them!

Once I've finished University, I was looking for a job... And it was quite depressing. :) So, to keep my mind active, I bought a book to learn Russian by myself - I had to start somewhere! What would be the use of doing this? I didn't know. I only wanted to understand a bit that language: it helps understanding the soul of a country! 

This was about 20 years ago!
I today too rarely use my knowledge of Russian language... I've almost forgotten everything! So the question for me was "What would be the use to learn Ukrainian?"... I didn't know... And didn't try to... until January! :)

Photogr. Unkn.

In 2011, Ukraine started to occupy a greater place in my heart.

The thing is that I've given a Ukrainian name to my daughter, Oxana. Her teacher asked her where this beautiful name was coming from and, as she was only 6 years old, she couldn't answer. I exchanged later with her on my interest about Slavic cultures and she told me: "Mum! I want to learn Ukrainian!" :)) My God! What's going on with us?! :))

It was also the time when everybody was speaking about the European Football Cup to take place in Poland and in Ukraine... It was as if Europeans were discovering that Ukraine was existing! There was information about that country everyday.

This is also the moment I started to write poetry in French, my mother tongue... This is what brings me to Vakarchuk's world!
One of the first poems I wrote was about the Ocean. I was looking for a nice music to illustrate my post on my blog and I've discovered by chance that video:

It was love at first listen! I didn't understand a word but... I found it amazing! This music, the melody, the voice... and the sounds of that Slavic language - that was for sure not Russian! The question was "Who was singing such a hypnotic song? Who's got such a warm voice? Who composed this?... and what language was this?" I quickly get some information (in Russian!) on the Web and started to buy Okean Elzy's albums.

Last year, in December, I created this video for my daughter, Oxana:

Sorry for my strange accent... but at that moment I didn't know a word of Ukrainian! :)) But, luckily, because I had found a good English translation of this song, I knew what I was singing! :)

Well... I received so many messages from Central, Eastern and Western Europe about it - saying that it was beautiful! :) - that I've decided to learn a bit of Ukrainian language to improve my accent...

I bought books to learn it by myself in January and, as expected, I fell deeper and deeper in love with this language! I also started to translate Vakarchuk's lyrics into French... What I've discovered was (again!) so amazing! I couldn't keep such a poetry for myself and started to share these translations here or there on the web...  The feedback I get is so enthusiastic! Yes, these words are beautiful and must be shared worldwide!

Since February, I'm in touch with the members of the Official Fan-Club. I found there a real family! Virtual friends can warm up your soul... I'm receiving so much love from Ukraine, Russia & Belarus that I wanted to show a fraction of the love that these friends showed me. That's why I decided to create this blog. 

Like Vakarchuk himself, his fans have beautiful souls... They all deserve a relay to change the point of view that Westerners usually have about Central & Eastern Europe! :) I hope this blog can be helpful to break down the walls between us! Vakarchuk's music is the best ambassador to promote Slavic cultures worldwide...

AleXa

Vakarchuk at LSE: Ukraine today and the challenges of tomorrow (19.11.2014)

“I’m here not to lecture, but to talk about things I think are important” said OE bandleader… and thus began his lecture. Over 300 people in the audience, most of whom probably had been to his concert the day before at the Hammersmith Eventim Apollo. Vakarchuk didn’t show any sign of being exhausted or sleepy; he spoke in English although it seemed that at least 80% of the listeners could understand Ukrainian.

Photo: LSE

It might have been surprising for the audience, but he didn’t speak immediately of Maidan, the war, recent parliamentary elections or any other ‘burning’ issues. He tried to explain the grounds of Ukrainian crisis and his view of the challenges of the country’s future.
“We’ve become used to hearing that Ukraine is the country that needs change. But do we really know what needs to be done? We might know the goals: to make Ukraine a prosperous country, if not the top in the charts, but at least one of the first 30-40 in the World. But do we know what to do to achieve that goal? Politicians always say – we need reforms. But what kind of reforms? Is there anyone who knows?”

Probably few of Vakarchuk’s fans know that he’s got a PhD in physics. Apart from his pretty successful singing career, he is educated and well-read, with a curious mind. Trying to explain the challenges of Ukrainian future, he started from quite far – from Newton and Einstein.
“Why do we all know and like Newton and Einstein, and don’t know much of other scientists of their era? Why are some considered great scientists and others are not known. Because those few managed to create concrete values for science, on which science was later built. They were not investigating a small problem, they tried to make the horizon broader, looked at everything with a different much more fundamental perspective.”

Following this example, Vakarchuk called on students to think more broadly of the background of the current situation in Ukraine.
“I believe that our main problem is not economics or legislative system. We should start from people’s values. That is our fundamental cause, the space in which we live. There are different sets of values worshiped in different parts of the world. In Ukraine people say they want to be European, but not everyone knows what it actually means. Freedom of choice and dignity of person: you can derive everything from these two things. If you wish, you may add honest labour to the list. Living here in London, you may think these are universal and fundamental. But there are many societies where personal freedom is not the first value. Some prefer safety to freedom of choice. And the same split of values is present in Ukraine.
You can’t choose both freedom and safety as basic values. If you choose safety, you will never get freedom. If you choose freedom, you’ll get safety as a consequence, but it might take some time to achieve it.
Making reforms without changing the values in the people’s minds – is a Sisyphean task. Hence, the most important task is to educate people, show them that there are other, better ways of living, building the country and the society.

My recipe is the following: you need to think about reforms and do it day by day in the economy, policy, finances, and the courts. But while doing that – you have to remember that you need to change the minds of people. Reforms should be a tool. All reforms should be tailored to the values. That’s the only way it could work.

Second issue – time. I don’t believe in fast change. You can’t change minds of adults; you can only work with the kids. So it will take several generations before we can see the result we want. We need patience. A typical feature of Ukrainians is impatience. We always want everything right now and right here. But it doesn’t work that way. If you are interested in doing something for your country, you should see the goal and act toward its achievement for your whole life. Your lifetime won’t be enough to see the goal achieved, but you should be happy to see your country on the right irreversible path. That’ll be already a huge victory.

Ukraine started to rebuild its values. The first step – Maidan. It’s like civil war in the US, revolution in France. We might seem to do this much later than others. But there are many societies not even close to the point where Ukraine is now.
Ukraine has decided to make decisions for its future itself. There is no evidence it’ll succeed. Just hope and belief.

We can’t change our history or geography, but we can change our future”
– these were probably the most important words for me personally. Please also see some reviews shared by those from the audience.

Lev Grybov, Economics student at LSE, LSE SU Ukrainian Society Secretary:
"I was very pleased that Mr. Vakarchuk decided to give his lecture at LSE and it was my pleasure to organise it. Taking into account the current situation back at Home, it was particularly important for us to hear some encouraging and motivating words, as well as suggestions on how we can actually help Ukraine. After all, many of us are constantly thinking about what we can really do in order to change our country’s future. Sometimes, you just lose your faith, seeing how complicated the situation is. That is exactly why we need such ambitious and committed people like Svyatoslav Vakarchuk to inspire us."

Olya Afanasyeva:
"I want to thank the organizers of the meeting with S. Vakarchuk at the LSE. This lecture was a rare opportunity to listen to one of the most inspiring person in the Ukrainian music world. The singer talked about events in Ukraine in a very down-to -earth and open manner, he was doing exactly what he was asking others to do: raise the question about the place of Ukraine in the World, to support brave Ukrainian activists in fight for justice, to inspire minds for changes! I sincerely hope there will be more events like this, and I am very happy I had a chance to attend. Thank you very much to everybody who made it happen!"

Author: LSE

Source: Okean Elzy Official Fan-Club 

Okean Elzy: '20 Years Together' Tour - New date in New York!

The famous Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy will be (again!) on tour in New York on the 28th of February 2015!

Save the date!

 

Let me remind you the next coming shows in Europe:

Please note that the Barcelona concert is already sold-out!...

A concert will take place in Minsk - Belarus on the 21st of November.

To buy tickets, click here... and enjoy the show! :)