In The Shadows Of Ukraine

The winners of Eurovision 2022, the Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra sang together with the legendary Finnish rock band The Rasmus, who also represented their country at the song contest this year.

After successful experiments in music during the competition, the bands had the idea to record a joint collaboration on the track "In The Shadows", which was named "In The Shadows Of Ukraine" in the new version.

"The first time we met with the Kalush Orchestra was at the ESC pre-party in Amsterdam. It was already emotional, because we knew that there was a war going on in Ukraine and it is horrible, so meeting these musicians was like meeting friends who risked losing their lives. Then in Turin Kalush Orchestra approached us with the idea of a mashup version of Stefania, The Shadows, Jezebel. We performed the mashup at a street concert and it felt like magic was happening. I was impressed by the music of the Kalush Orchestra. Playing the flute combined with beatboxing gave me goosebumps. I have never seen anything like this in my life. This is something incredible. My mates collectively say it's brilliant. So we were all inspired to create something new to record so we could share it with everyone," said The Rasmus bassist Eero Heinonen.

In turn, for the members of the Kalush Orchestra, the song "In The Shadows" can be considered cult.

"Probably all Ukrainians of my age and a little older remember this track by The Rasmus very well. I was 17 years old when I heard it for the first time and often listened to it several times. What can I say for sure, I could never even imagine that I would not only meet the members of The Rasmus in person, but we would also sing a cover of this iconic track together," says the leader of the Kalush Orchestra, Oleg Psyuk.

In "In The Shadows Of Ukraine" - a combination of traditional Ukrainian folk, hip-hop and rock. The Rasmus sings along with the Kalush Orchestra in Ukrainian in the melodic choral part of the track. The song has a dance rhythm and a sublime atmosphere, although, unlike it, the lyrics are quite dark and have deep emotions that all Ukrainians are experiencing right now.

"We immediately liked the original sound of Kalush Orchestra, the original sound of Ukrainian folk, singing, pipe, rap, it was inspiring to hear that this song can sound like that! We are glad that this song is given a new birth in this way, and the lyrics seem modern to what is happening in Ukraine and the world", - shared his impressions of the joint work, Lauri Ylönen, co-founder and frontman of the rock band The Rasmus.

After hearing the final version of the track, the bands decided to visualize it with the help of a joint video work. When they met on the set of the clip, they admit, it looked like a meeting of old good friends. And the most important thing is that this collaboration is not only musical, but also conveys what is happening in Ukraine today.
"We were glad to meet again with The Rasmus and work together with these cool world musicians, whom we appreciate not only for their music, but also for their support of Ukraine, for the fact that they are not only professional musicians, but also sincere and open people. Together, we decided to immediately make a music video for the song "In The Shadows Of Ukraine" so that people could not only hear, but also see everything that we want to convey to the world with our new work", says Oleg Psyuk, leader of the Kalush Orchestra.

Sound producer Anton Chilibi and Ivan Klymenko worked on the new sound of "In The Shadows Of Ukraine", and director Leonid Kolosovsky worked on the video.

"There were many Ukrainians in the creative team, and the director had a great vision of a black and white video. It contains many metaphors of the history of Ukraine and modern Ukraine. There was a feeling that everyone wanted to make a maximum effort for a common goal", said Lauri Ylönen, frontman of the band The Rasmus.

The cooperation between Kalush Orchestra and The Rasmus certainly does not end there. Many surprises are planned ahead, which the bands will definitely inform you about on their social networks.

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