The TNMK band (Dance on Kongo Square) is a cult band founded in 1996, whose popularity has only grown over the years.
The patriarchs of Ukrainian hip-hop, who for more than a quarter of a century have gone from cassettes to modern media. Thousands of concerts, hundreds of festivals, more than thirty music videos, dozens of films and records, all this is just the beginning of the journey.
The band members:
Oleg Mykhailiuta “Fagot”, lead vocalist, arranger;
Olexandr Sydorenko “Fozzi-boy”, lead vocalist, poet-playwright;
Konstantin Zhuikov “Spets Kotya”, bass guitarist;
Yaroslav Veriovkin “Mudry”, guitarist;
Oleksiy Saranchyn “Lyopa”, keyboardist;
Viktor Korzhenko “Vitold”, drummer;
Anton Baturyn “TonIk”, disc jockey;
Ukraine Forever met with the band’s leaders to discuss creativity and values during the war.
During the war, you had a rather difficult path. You know firsthand about the realities of what happens on the front line, because with the beginning of the war you yourself changed your tools into weapons. We are very glad that you returned to creativity and organized a tour of Ukraine.
Do you have any global goals?
Fozzie: The main goal of the tour was formed by a remix of our song “Granuly”. There are probably words by Oleksandr Povoroznyuk that are known to every Ukrainian. So these words are not just the goal of the tour, but the goal of every Ukrainian, so that this federation comes to an end.
Fagot: We are forced to add weapons to the tools. They want to destroy us, destroy our Ukraine, but we want to live and flourish. Therefore, we will destroy them. They will destroy themselves, we will simply help them with this.
A cruel war has changed many lives, changed the values of many of us. How did it change you?
Fagot: I would never have thought before that I would want to kill people. Although what kind of people they are, they are garbage. Rusnya positions herself that way.
Fozzie: Probably, there is no going back to that “past life”. The range of emotions that we experienced during this time is incomparable. We remained true to ourselves, our goals and aspirations. The war only proved that we were on the right path.
When you first went on stage during the war – what emotions did you have from meeting the audience? Have they changed now, how do people react?
Fozzie: Now we appreciate every concert. Our first concert was in Paris, so we had to remember “musical reflexes”. We do not look to the future, but experience each concert as the ultimate. After all, you realize that it could come at any moment. There are no safe places in Ukraine right now, so we hold concerts in shelters. To be honest, it adds spice to every second.
Is there a place for creativity in wartime? How do you tune yourself to creativity? What motivates and encourages you to create?
Fagot: Of course there is, we are proof of this. Our new track is coming out in early September. We are announcing it in Ternopil, and it is called “Our Shore”.
This is one of those tracks that we recorded during the war.
Fozzi: In the first months of the war, we were not at all into music. But we cannot do without creativity. We are used to the fact that in music we realize what we feel. Today, songs are a challenge. A tour is a challenge. But who are we to give up. (laughs)
Musicians today are fighters of the cultural front. What should the music of resistance be like?
Fagot: If you create songs that have a core of invincibility, then this is the music of resistance. It doesn’t matter what the “form” of the music is, the main thing is the meaning you put into it. When you broadcast such music, you are a fighter on the cultural front.
What do you strive to broadcast in your compositions today?
What do you see as your creative mission in these difficult times for Ukraine?
Fagot: We started back when you brought a Ukrainian-language song to the radio, and they told you to do it “in Russian.” We remember those times, so we can say that our cultural war has been going on since 1996.
Do you feel the revival of Ukrainian culture?
What would you like to see it in the future?
Fozzie: The number of people who are now focused only on Ukrainian culture has definitely increased. But I am still surprised that there are people who continue to listen to Russian music, because money from these songs is flying into our homes. Now we need to create our own, despite everything. Then we will win this war on all fronts, and in particular on the cultural front.
What is difficult for you to accept today, and what can make you smile?
Fagot: Everything good makes us smile, and now we smile at your question. And we get disappointed every day when we get into the information vortex. It is difficult to be stable now, you see the news and time stops. Music pulls us out and abstracts us from the world.
What path do you see for the development of your musical activity? Share your creative plans.
Fozzie: We recorded a lot, we were going to release a new album in May, but we decided not to now. It’s hard to plan anything, we don’t know where we’ll be tomorrow, or even if we’ll be there at all.
You’re currently performing on small stages, in shelters and bomb shelters, thanks to this you’ve become closer to people, has there been more attention from the girls, who are now much closer to you, can even touch you?
Fagot: I think this question is for Fozzie (laughs).
Fozzie: No.
Fagot: There haven’t been more girls. But the fact that we’re performing in shelters has made life easier for them. Come to the concert and watch the girls’ behavior (laughs).
We took the advice and attended the band’s concert. Indeed, the new program and atmosphere created an incredible impression. The music of TNMK unites different generations, whole families go to their concerts. People sang in unison and danced wildly. Despite the fact that everyone had their own chair, no one could sit down. We were bored, what can I say!
Spoke – Tetiana Panchenko
