её

If there’s one Ukrainian album this year you should pay attention to, that’s the debut effort of the Kyiv-based duo duo её titled “Чоловік-Муза“.

For them, the most important thing is to remember who you are and where you are from. That’s why they often wear vintage clothes and use 80-90s entourage in their videos. At the same time, their lyrics are very feministic and somewhat aggressive.

The duo from Kyiv consists of Katya Ofliyan (Катерина Офлиян) and Igor Biryuchenko (Игорь Бирюченко). Katya writes the songs and Igor is responsible for the music and the final sound of their compositions. They formed over a year ago, and their first single “Хавьер” (“Javier”), with the title inspired by the famous actor Javier Bardem, brought them a quite wide recognition.

Both musicians had earlier played in a band called DeliKate, with a soft jazzy sound. But they were looking for self-realization and were not satisfied with what they were doing. That’s why they have started “её” (her), where they are free to be themselves and experiment with pop-music.

After a series of impressive singles, on April 10th they finally released their debut album “Чоловік-Муза” (“Cholovik-Muza”), which means “Man-Muse”. It’s a collection of nine songs that embrace various aspects of experimental pop, with a dark, a bit bitter atmosphere being a common feature contrasted with Katya’s airy vocals.

The opening track “Enjoy” is very catchy piece and after the first listen it makes you want to hit the repeat button. It’s light and you can feel the summer vibes in it. Another early single, other, “Не надо” (“Do Not”), is way more heavy. The lyrics – half in Russian, half in Ukrainian – are very pessimistic, as the song is about the war in Ukraine.

Such combination of two contrasting elements reveals the dual state of mind that prevails now among young people. On the one hand, it is spring and there are a lot of events, festivals, parties and other ways to have fun. On the other hand the war is still going on.

её’s latest (ironic) video comes for the closing track of the album, also its eponymous song, “Чоловік-Муза”. It features a guest singer Zhenya Galich, known as the frontman of the group O.Torvald, which will also represent Ukraine at this year’s Eurovision that the country will host in May.

Stream “Чоловік-Муза” LP on Soundcloud.

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