Another February, another year of the fiercest fight in the name of freedom. Just like Ukraine itself, Ukrainian music industry is alive and kicking! Here’s a brief recap of things that made us proud, moved and vastly excited:
- The choice is made! Despite the Diia app break down, the country chose its 2024 Eurovision Song Contest act. Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil will represent Ukraine in Stockholm with “Teresa & Maria”, a statement song about invincibility and sisterhood. Getting unprecedented 723 000 televotes, Jerry and Alyona instantly became bookmakers’ favorites and conquered TikTok trends.
- Marking the 2nd anniversary of russia’s full-scale invasion, Voice of America premiered a 50-minutes long documentary about Jamala, a singer and a citizen. Sincere talks are beautifully intertwined with breathtaking performances, showing the most vulnerable, yet the most powerful side of Ukrainian diva.
- Epic soundtrack alert! Ukrainian electronic musician NFNR recorded a theme song for Intercepted documentary that has just premiered at Berlinale. It is an unconventional road movie through the wounded cities of Ukraine, consisting of intercepted conversations between russian soldiers and their families. Don’t sleep on this hair-raising, yet eye-opening art piece about russia’s warmongering.
- Charity Compilation “ЗЕРНО” [grain] by Klikerklub is bringing together Ukrainian musicians from 3 decades of independence. This unique joint project showcases our vibrant underground music scene. Oh, and 100% of the proceeds will go to local anti-war charities.
MEU’S ON A MISSION!
- On February 2-4, our project manager Marianna Tanska rocked the second annual Swedish-Ukrainian forum UkraineVision 2024 (Sweden), joining the “Musical shifts: Ukrainian Musicians and Audience Evolution” panel. Marianna proudly shared stories of Ukrainian musicians, highlighting their impactful engagement with fans and dedicated efforts in cultural diplomacy.
- The main focus at Baltic AID 3.0 (MEU's capacity building project for music managers with partners across the Baltic region, with recent offline meeting in Poland) was creating a community with peer-to-peer practice-based knowledge sharing. MEU’s co-founder Alona Dmukhovska and project manager Diana Dadonova couldn’t help but hold an insightful presentation about networking. Special attention was devoted to updates on the Ukrainian music industry and security questions as the pillars of long-lasting and effective partnerships with our foreign colleagues for years to come.
- IDIOTEQ magazine made a wholesome Ukrainian electronic scene overview. It’s an all-in-one guide to the best longplays, clubs, festivals, labels and media. MEU’s project manager Diana Dadonova was quoted in the article as well, sharing her thoughts on the warнякання music project: “I felt like all the audience and the musicians on the scene were the single entity. It was a collective psychotherapy session, two and a half hours of reflection on the events after February 24”. Read more Link!
We are excited to share the progress of our educational project tailored for emerging European musicians and managers. On February 21-24, the top 10 alumni of the fall edition of the Eastern European Music Academy embarked on a journey to MENT Lubljana (Slovenia), one of the leading showcase festivals and music conferences in Central and Eastern Europe.
For many attendees, this was their initial face-to-face gathering, a time brimming with enthusiasm and bonding. They engaged in meaningful speed networking sessions, attentive listening opportunities, and panel discussions led by industry leaders. During the conference, our alumni honed their elevator pitches. They learned invaluable networking tips from industry experts Chris Cooke from Complete Music Update, Carina Sava from Mastering the Music Business, and Katja Talerova from Sharpe Festival. We’ve got a hunch that these networking sessions will result in something HUGE!
And there's more to come! Our EEMA Team launched a brand new Winter 2024 Academy edition, offering students from more than 10 countries 12 weeks of intensive lectures and consultations of the industry’s very bests!
Since winter is officially over, we kindly advise you to come out and play… Or listen to someone else playing. Here’s a bunch of performances that’ll definitely awaken you:
- Akine (gig in UK) Link
- Alyona Alyona (gigs in Sweden) Link
- Artem Pivovarov (tour) Link
- Dakh Daughters (gigs in France) Link
- Fo Sho (gig in Germany) Link
- GANNA (gigs in Germany) Link
- Gapochka (gig in Czechia) Link
- Postman (gigs in Poland) Link
- Sophistication (gig in Poland) Link
- Space Of Variations (tour) Link
- The Hardkiss (tour) Link
- The Lazy Jesus (gig in UK) Link
No matter how much we enjoy talking about music and keeping it on the bright side (AMAP), there is still a war going on in Ukraine. Consider supporting charity organizations that you can find below and spread a word if that’s not too much trouble. May the force of music be with you!
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Music Saves UA - NGO delivering prompt humanitarian help to those currently in urgent need in Ukraine.
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Musicians Defend Ukraine - NGO supporting Ukrainian artists and industry representatives involved in the Ukrainian army or volunteering.
