26 June 2015

Okean Elzy: Ukrainian TV Channel 1+1 won a price at the US International Film & Video Festival!

The Ukrainian TV channel "1 + 1" won 1st prize in "US International Film & Video Festival" for its online broadcast of the Okean Elzy concert of the 24th of August 2014, for the Ukraine Independence Day

 
© Victoria Kvitka
Congratulations! Вітаємо! :)

If you missed this amazing event, you can watch this video:


I remember that I was watching this concert online... And even from my French point of view, it really moved me! Okean of Emotions?... Yes, for sure! :))
Enjoy!

Sources:
- US International Film & Video Festival
- Telekanal 1+1
 

23 June 2015

Okean Elzy: "З тобою - Z toboyu" - English translation!

Looking for an English translation of the song "З тобою - Z toboyu"by Okean Elzy? Here it is! :)



Okean Elzy, With you, English translation, photo collage
© Okean of Emotions / AleXa - 2015


By your side 
З тобою 
(Literal translation: 'With you')

Going through my window, moon
Offered me a cup of tenderness...
By your side, by your side!
High wind is getting even stronger;
Rock-n-roll is always alive...
By your side, by your side!

Chorus:
By your side, by your side
Even winter turns into spring…
And how my soul resonates?
You could say that something trembles deep in it...
When I'm by your side!

Exotic isles
Are always in my mind...
By your side, by your side!
Living each night as though it was the last
And feeling in every word a clamor...
By your side, by your side!

Chorus

And it doesn't matter
To know what the world looked like before us...
And it's of no interest
To know what it'll be after us...
And it doesn't matter
To know what the world looked like before us...
And it's of no interest
To know what it'll be after us...
When I'm by your side!

Chorus

And how my soul resonates?
You could say that something trembles deep in it...
When I'm by your side!
And how my soul resonates?
You could say that God made something trembles deep in it...
When I'm by your side!

Songwriter: Svyatoslav Vakarchuk  
Translation: AleXa / Okean of Emotions 

З Тобою (Z toboyu) /  Album : Dolce Vita © 2010

 Any comment on how to improve this poetic translation is welcome!

For French translation, click here


As I explained in an older post, this song is special to me because it reflects me and the way I am... These lyrics are, as usual, amazing... I'm fascinated by Vakarchuk's talent to describe in a few words our emotions! Don't ask me why I am fond of his works... :)

18 June 2015

Okean Elzy: Fan-art - June 2015

Okean Elzy's fans have talent... Drawings, portraits, collages or videos: there are so many ways to say 'I love Okean Elzy!' Which one do you prefer? :)


© Olya Litvinchik


© Alexandra Kazak


© Elena Tsukanova


© Maria Didenko


© AleXa - Okean of Emotions
Collage for my poem "Le coeur de l'Ocean - Ocean's heart"


© Vitaliy Dmytruk
 
 

16 June 2015

Okean Elzy: Warsaw concert - 13 June 2015

Our favorite rock-band performed a concert in Warsaw last Saturday... Here are some pictures & videos of this amazing evening!


Okean Elzy - Warsaw, 13 June 2015
Photo: © Sergey Hipskyy

Some ask me if Okean Elzy is a famous rock band... And they want to know how many people are attending to their concerts. Well, here is a clue to understand what was the atmosphere in Warsaw on Saturday evening! :)


Okean Elzy - Warsaw, 13 June 2015
Photogr. Unkn.
Okean Elzy - Warsaw, 13 June 2015
Photo: ©
Embassy of Ukraine in Poland

Okean Elzy - Warsaw, 13 June 2015
Photo: © Jan Gopko


































And here are some photos of the show...

Okean Elzy - Warsaw, 13 June 2015
Photo: © Jan Gopko

Okean Elzy - Warsaw, 13 June 2015
Photo: ©
Nikolay Oleynik

Okean Elzy - Warsaw, 13 June 2015
Photogr. Unkn.

Okean Elzy - Warsaw, 13 June 2015
Photogr. Unkn.

Okean Elzy - Warsaw, 13 June 2015
Photo: © Jan Gopko

Okean Elzy - Warsaw, 13 June 2015
Photo: ©
Nikolay Oleynik

Okean Elzy - Warsaw, 13 June 2015
Photo: ©
Nikolay Oleynik

Okean Elzy - Warsaw, 13 June 2015
Photo: © Okean Elzy Official


And here are the videos...  

Thanks a lot to my friends who shared with me these documents... and their feeling! It seems that this was a fantastic Saturday night. :)

































11 June 2015

Vakarchuk's guitar sold to support sick children

On the 1st of June, Ukrainian musicians raised more than 50.000 UAH in a charity auction to support sick children. 


Svyatoslav Vakarchuk
Photogr. Unkn.

This charity auction took place in Kiev for the International Children's Day.

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk's acoustic guitar (Fender) was sold for 40 thousand UAH - 10 times more than the entry price -, which represents the sales record of this event.

In the end, 51 700 UAH have been collected: Funds raised will go to support oncology patients and bone marrow transplantation.

Source: http://gazeta.ua

09 June 2015

Vakarchuk quote: 'When I sit at the piano...'


Svyatoslav Vakarchuk - 30 April 2015
"The Voice" Ukraine - © Telekanal 1+1


'Коли сідаю до піаніно і більше десяти секунд думаю, 
що ж мені зіграти, значить, 
це просто вправа, а не нова музика.'
Святослав Вакарчук


*****
'When I sit at the piano and for about 10 seconds, 
I have the feeling that the piano is not played by me 
but that "it is playing me"…  

I mean that it's like an exercise 
and not a new musical composition.'
Svyatoslav Vakarchuk


Svyatoslav Vakarchuk - May 2015
Photo: © cultprostir.ua


Even if I don't play piano, I have to say that these words could describe what is, according to me, artistic inspiration... It's a kind of mysterious process and, even if I've learned Cognitive Sciences for years at the University, I don't want to understand exactly what's going on when I'm writing a poem. :)

It's a strange feeling: it is as if everything was already there, inside of your brain/soul, waiting for the good moment so that things/ideas become reality. 

But do not imagine that artistic work is easy! Sometimes, it is... but most of the time, it's the result of a long, a very long process. A first draft is... a first draft! :) 



06 June 2015

Okean Elzy - Kiev concert - 30 May 2015

Last Saturday, at the invitation of the Football Club 'Dynamo Kiev', Okean Elzy took part in a concert at the 'Olympic National Sports Complex' in Kiev. 

 

Here are some pictures & the video of the show!


Okean Elzy - 30 May 2015
Photo: S. Yaroshevskiy


If this concert was, of course, the opportunity to congratulate the team for their victory in the National Championship, it should be noted that the revenue from the sale of tickets will go to Kiev Pediatric Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery Center. I love the idea of this generous and wonderfull initiative!


And now, let's talk about football... :)
Did you know that Svyatoslav Vakarchuk is a great football fan? On Wednesday, you could have meet him in the stadium for the Finale of the UEFA Europa League...

S. Vakarchuk - 27 May 2015
Photogr. S.Vakarchuk

S. Vakarchuk - 27 May 2015
Photogr. Unkn.







S. Vakarchuk - 27 May 2015
Photogr. Unkn.







































Unfortunately, Sevilla won the match... but the Dnipro team played good football and spectators shared a great moment of conviviality.


I won't comment football matches on this blog, but I would like to add a few words on that topic. :) On Thursday, Dynamo Kiev won the Ukraine Cup Final against Shakhtar Donetsk, completing a league and cup double. Svyatoslav attended to this match too!

Kiev - 4 June 2015
Dynamo Kiev won the Ukraine Cup Final
Photogr. Unkn.
























Kiev - 4 June 2015
Dynamo Kiev won the Ukraine Cup Final
Photo: © V. Rasner

Kiev - 4 June 2015
Dynamo Kiev won the Ukraine Cup Final
Photo: © A. Lukatsky


















Warm smiles on everyone's face... A moment of happiness!

But let's go back to the concert of last Saturday...
It seems that work atmosphere was relaxed before the show! :) Milos, Vladimir & Denis had a good time...

Okean Elzy - 30 May 2015
Photogr. Unkn.


Okean Elzy - 30 May 2015
Photogr. Unkn.



















But during the concert, as usual, Okean Elzy members dedicated their energy to music and showed their talent...

Okean Elzy - 30 May 2015
Photo: © tochka.net

















Okean Elzy - 30 May 2015
Photo: © S. Yaroshevskiy

Okean Elzy - 30 May 2015
Photo: © S. Yaroshevskiy























Okean Elzy - 30 May 2015
Photo: © S. Yaroshevskiy

This was a great evening... Why not see for yourself? :)




Sources:
* Svyatoslav Vakarchuk - Personal Twitter Account
* Dynamo Kiev France - Twitter Account  Thanks for pictures, guys! :)
* Okean Elzy Official Fan-club

02 June 2015

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk: Facts & figures

For Vakarchuk's birthday, Alexander Vasilyev posted on the web a few facts & figures about the leader of the Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy. 

Here are some of them... 


Photo: © Victoria Kvitka

I added my own comments in italics because I suppose that my readers do not truly know 
who is Svyatoslav Vakarchuk. :) 


Name: Svyatoslav Ivanovych Vakarchuk
Nickname: Slava - for friends and for Westerners... ;) his name is definitively too long for most of us!
Date & place of birth: 14 May 1975 - Mukacheve / Ukraine

Height: 1m76 - 5,77 ft
Weight: 75 kg - 165,35 lb

Distinctive sign: Ambidextrous
Personal characteristics - according to Slava: Persistence and perseverance
Weakness - according to Slava: Stubbornness

Photo: © Victoria Kvitka

Favorite musical groups:  The Beatles, Queen, The Rolling Stones & Pink Floyd
Favorite TV series: Gregory House
Favorite alcoholic drinks: Dark beer & Bloody Mary

Main fields of interest: Japanese culture and Buddhism
Favorite authors: Yukio Mishima & Haruki Murakami
Hobbies: In his spare time Slava enjoys reading & going to the movies. 

Slava speaks fluently 4 languages: Ukrainian, Russian, English & Polish.
Last summer, he said in an interview  that, if he had more free time, he'd like to learn Spanish or French language - there is for sure something I can do regarding this last point! :) 

Slava has a PHD in Physics and a degree in International Economics.

Photo: © Victoria Kvitka
Her mother says that, when he was about 2 years old, Slava sang for the 1st time for an audience... It was in Lviv, at the bus-stop (he was going to visit his grand-mother). Slava was standing on the bench and was asking people to sing along with him. :)
 
In 1994, he became the vocalist & frontman of the rock band Okean Elzy.
He composed the music and wrote the lyrics of most of the songs of the group.

Okean Elzy released 8 studio albums, recorded 96 songs and created 33 musical videos.
In 1995, the first video was an amateur video for the song "Long Time Ago".

Okean Elzy performed 12 Tours.  
Longest concert: 3.5 hours 
Biggest audience for a concert: 75,000 spectators

Up to date, Okean Elzy sold more than 1,000,000 CDs.
In 2003, the album "Supersymmetry" became double platinum.

In 2005, Vakarchuk won 1 million hryvnia in the TV show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" for a charitable organization - nobody won such a large amount of money before he did in this TV show.

In 2013, Esquire Ukraine awarded Vakarchuk "Musician of the Year".

Esquire Ukraine - Jan. 2014

In 2005, he became a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme.

From Oct. 2007 to Sept. 2008, he was a member of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) and was a member of the parliamentary committee for freedom of speech questions.

In 2013, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk took 7th place in the Forbes' ranking of richest and most popular stars in Ukraine.

Vakarchuk is known as a man of compassion and conviction: He uses his fame to help causes that are dear to his heart. As an engaged citizen, Slava is the founder of the Charity Fund “Lyudi Maybutnyogo” (People of the Future). 
The purpose was at first to promote Ukrainian language among younger generations. But due to the current situation in the country, the objectives of the foundation have changed a bit since several months: On top of promoting Ukrainian language, the NGO supports people in the Eastern part of Ukraine and Slava raises fonds to buy medical equipement. To do so, he performed some concerts in Ukraine in 2014 & 2015 with his "Vnochi project".

© Juryi Stefanyak

On May 1st 2015, he became "Honorary Citizen of the city of Lviv."

From August to December 2015, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk will study at Yale University as a World Fellow.
 
Sources: 
Alexander Vasilyev - http://gazeta.ua
Okean Elzy Official Fan-Club