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