A Short History of Rock Music in Ukrainian

SH RT H ST RY F R CK SC IN krain a

a short history of rock music in ukrainian Side A Знову в СРСР 2:38 Back in the USSR Бунт Передбачаю 4:19 I Predict a Riot Добрі Вібрації 3:03 Good Vibrations Про Каліфорнії Мрію / California Dreaming / 4:01 Вона Втратила Контроль She’s Lost Control Венера в Хутрі 4:42 Venus in Furs Side B Психо-Вбивець 3.02 Psycho Killer Діти Революції 3.27 Children of the Revolution Са План Пур Муа 2.49 Ça Plane Pour Moi Телстар 4.28 Telstar Модель 4.44 The Model Children of the Revolution was previously released on the Diaspora album (Zirka Records 038CD14). Telstar was previously released on Istoriya – The Best of the Ukrainians 1991-2002 (Zirka Records ZRKCD4). Ça Plane Pour Moi and Venus In Furs (light mix) are previously unreleased out-takes from the 1992 Vorony album recording sessions.

All other tracks recorded and mixed by Will Jackson at Soundworks, Leeds 7-10 August 2014. www.the-ukrainians.com www.youtube.com/ukrainianszirka www.myspace.com/theukrainians

The songs on this album were originally recorded by The Beatles, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Beach Boys, The Mamas and the Papas, Joy Division, The Velvet Underground, Talking Heads, T Rex, Plastic Bertrand, The Tornados and Kraftwerk. Ça Plane Pour Moi and Venus in Furs licensed from Cooking Vinyl Records.

© 2015 Zirka Records ℗ 2015 Zirka Records except Side B track 2 ℗ 2009 Zirka Records Side B track 4 ℗ 2004 Zirka Records

Woody – drums Peter Solowka – guitar, backing vocals ‘The Legendary Len’ Liggins – lead vocals, violin, backing vocals Paul Weatherhead – mandolin, kolyuka, theremin, backing vocals James Booth-Howe – bass guitar Steve ‘Mr Steff’ Tymruk – accordion (120 bass and 48 bass)

Cover art Rob Bowker

…except Venus in Furs, Ça Plane Pour Moi and Telstar Peter Solowka – guitar, mandolin, accordion (Telstar), backing vocals ‘The Legendary Len’ Liggins – lead vocals, violin Roman Remeynes – mandolin, lead vocal (Venus in Furs), spoken vocal (Telstar) Stepan Pasicznyk – accordion and backing vocals Paul Briggs – bass guitar Dave Lee – drums Alaric Neville – bandura (Telstar) LC 14770

In memory of Roman Revkniv (aka Roman Remeynes) 1962-2014

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a short history of rock music in ukrainian Back in the USSR

Psycho Killer

The title of this song has a serious contemporary resonance considering recent political events in Ukraine, but on a more frivolous level we just had to record this classic song from the 1968 ‘The Beatles’ album (better known as ‘the White Album’) because it includes the line “Ukraine girls really knock me out”.

A chilling tale from art school New York new wavers, Talking Heads, that is said to have been inspired by the character Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film Psycho. The track originally appeared on their debut album, ‘Talking Heads ‘77’. We’ve given it a different feel musically by incorporating the melody of traditional Ukrainian song Rospryahaite Khloptsi Koni (Harness Up Your Horses, Boys) into the verses.

I Predict a Riot I Predict a Riot by The Kaiser Chiefs is a true British indie anthem. It was originally released as a single in 2004 and appeared on the band’s debut album ‘Employment’ the following year. Our version is a tribute to our fellow Leodensians.

Good Vibrations Good Vibrations is a Beach Boys’ multi-layered psychedelic masterpiece. It was released as a stand-alone single in 1966 having cost more to produce than any other single before it. The track was constructed in stages and took eight months to perfect. By contrast our version is a fair bit less complicated and took just an afternoon.

California Dreaming / She’s Lost Control Question: What happens when you take a dreamy, idealistic Mamas and Papas song from sunny California in 1965, mix it up with some gritty Margaret Thatcher’s northern England Joy Division from 1980 and then stir in some 21st century Ukrainian indie folk and world music elements? Answer: you get this.

Venus in Furs Venus in Furs is the title of a book written in Lviv (formerly part of the Austrian Empire but now in Ukraine) in 1870 by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. The book inspired Lou Reed to write the song of the same name, which appeared on the classic ‘The Velvet Underground and Nico’ album in 1967. We have transformed the mood and lyric of the song to express optimism and hope for the future.

Children of the Revolution A T-Rex ‘glam rock’ tune from 1972 written by Marc Bolan, but reinterpreted by us with a lyric that reflects the determination of the Ukrainian people at the time of the Orange Revolution in 2004/5: “You can poison us, you can make our lives hell, you can cut off our gas supply, but you cannot stop us – we are the children of the revolution”.

Ça Plane Pour Moi Not a lot to say about this Plastic Bertrand single other than it was a three-chord Belgian new wave punk-pop record with nonsense lyrics that took the whole of Europe by storm in 1977. Almost unknown in Ukraine, so we’ve given it a makeover.

Telstar The Tornados’ ‘Telstar’ was the first record by a British group to top the singles charts in the USA, when it hit the No.1 spot there, and here in the UK, in 1962. The track was written, recorded and produced in a small flat above a shop in Holloway Road, north London by the maverick independent record producer Joe Meek. Telstar is the name of the telecommunications satellite that first relayed TV pictures across the Atlantic, which it had done earlier the same year.

The Model ‘Das Model’ by pioneering and revolutionary-sounding German ‘electro-pop’ band Kraftwerk was released as a single in 1978. Kraftwerk (it means ‘power station’) had a huge influence on the development of pop music throughout the 1980s and beyond. The band’s lyrics speak of the de-humanising effect of technology and urban life, all delivered deadpan over minimalistic but driving electronic rhythms. Our version segues into a choral-style arrangement of the folk marching song ‘Polushko-Pole’, more commonly known in the West as ‘Cossack Patrol’.

Anyway, enjoy!

Love from Len, Peter, Woody, Paul, Jim and Steff

Paul Peter Len

Jim

Steff Woody

The Ukrainians’ discography ALBUMS & SINGLES/EPs * **

currently unavailable deleted

A Short History of Rock Music in Ukrainian (vinyl, 2015)

Never Mind The Cossacks (vinyl / CD, 2014)

20 Years – The Best of The Ukrainians 1991-2011 (CD, 2011)

Diaspora (CD, 2009)

Live in Czeremcha (CD, 2005)

Istoriya – The Best of the Ukrainians 1991-2002 (CD, 2004) **

Respublika (CD, 2002)

Drink To My Horse!

(CD, 2000) **

Kultura (CD, 1994)

Live in Germany (10” vinyl, 1993) **

Vorony (CD, 1993) *

The Ukrainians (vinyl**/ CD / cassette**, 1991)

Revolutsiya (CD, 2014)

Pisni Iz The Smiths (12” vinyl, 2013)

Hungarian Dance (CD, 2009)

Anarchy in the UK (CD, 2002) **

Nothing Compares 2 U (CD, 1998) **

Radioactivity (CD, 1996) **

Pisni Iz The Smiths (CD, 1992) **

Oi Divchino (12” vinyl, 1991) **

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