Ukrainians SPACE OF VARIATIONS were going to release their new album „IMAGO“ in March 2022. As we all know, Putin had already invaded Russia at that time and was waging war against Ukraine. Of course, an album release was out of the question for the time being. Singer Dima Kozhuhar tells us how he experienced the beginning of the war and how the band has been since then. We also talk about the upcoming tours in Europe and the USA and the exciting, diverse album.
Hello Dima, thank you for taking the time to do this interview. How are you out there?
Hello! Ahh it’s actually hard to say. On one hand, we have this amazing opportunity to play shows in Europe, UK and USA thanks to Ukrainian ministry of culture, but on the other hand all our families are still in Ukraine. Our friends are still fighting at the front. Every day Russia is bombing our cities and killing our people. Physically, we’re ok but mentally we’re not.
„IMAGO“ was set to be released already in March, then Putin brought war over your homeland. How did you experience the beginning of the war and how much did it throw you and the band off track?
Two days before the war begun we shot the „IMAGO“ music video. We knew that something was about to happen. We even assumed that the full-scale war might break out. But noone did really want to believe it.
On February 24 at 5 am, we were awoken by the air alarm and explosions. It has begun. I cannot put all these into words. Adrenaline rush and nothing feels real. Before, I knew about war only from movies, games, and books. A not so long ago peaceful city hears air alarms almost every hour. People panic. Someone tries to leave the city, someone withdraws all their funds from an ATM. Queues, traffic jams. The survival instinct is on full blast.
I instantly realized that I had to do at least something. I recorded a video message to our listeners and started a fundraiser to help the army. The first month was the hardest. We had concerts, shootings, album release planned out. It no longer mattered then. And we gave up our plans.
We didn’t know what would happen next. It seemed that the band might come to an end. It seemed that no one needed music during the war. It was no longer about us. It was the question whether we would survive as people, as the nation. Later on, I realized that in the darkest times music is even more important. It gives people hope for the future, which they are trying to take away from us. Music and creativity saves our souls, gives strength and unites. So we are still doing it. We are where we need to be now. We are talking about Ukraine from the stage. We broadcast the pain of our people.
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How is the situation for you personal now, how do you deal with the war and the conditions in Ukraine?
The war continues. It has not ended yet. And we still need the help of the world. If you keep standing with us till the end – we will win. Our soldiers excel everyone’s expectations. And we trust in them.
Ukraine will wipe out the invaders from our land. The human mind is very adaptive. We can get used to any reality. We keep living, working, loving even while being bombed.
„IMAGO“ has been finished for so long now, including all the production processes surely at least a year. How do you look after the long time on the album? Are you still completely satisfied with it, or do you also develop change requests with more distance?
Oh, it’s classic. You finish the project, release it. As the time goes, you start to notice imperfections. And it’s ok. It happens every time we release stuff. But the beauty of it is that you can no longer change anything. Art does not have to be perfect and never will. What’s perfect art any way? I have no idea. Art is a reflection of your world perception at this very moment. It’s wonderful to be able to capture this moment. By the way, „IMAGO“ is the album with the least of things I’d like to change.
True to your band name, „IMAGO“ has become a very varied, multi-faceted album. Is it always your goal to be as varied as possible?
Аs you noted in the question, everything is embedded in our name. I understood our concept several years ago. We are a space of options. And we want to use all the options that appear in our heads. we paint different worlds with different colors. We like to surprise people, to experiment. Expand the boundaries of our creativity. We are not interested in doing the same thing. In this case, you do not develop and do not open up as an artist from other sides. In new releases, we will delve even deeper into the compatibility of incompatible things, but we will do it in such a way that people understand it and it is not perceived as important. We like to make interesting music, to experiment, but at the same time we don’t want to make things too complicated. We will look for a balance.
You have a lot of electronic elements and spacey stuff in your music, like with the very trance-cory “ NON-HUMAN CLUB 2.0″. Do you think this could be a deterrent for many metalheads or do you just not care about genre boundaries and the like?
Actually, we’ve always followed our taste. We need to like how it sounds. And if we do – we are sure there are people out there who’d like it too. We enjoy blending genres and breaking the genre stereotypes. It’s more interesting for us as artists.
Your music is very different from general Metalcore, and I think you are you are unique and have a high recognition value How would you describe and categorize your own style yourself?
„Metalcore“ is just a word. It does not embrace the whole spectrum of our music. We aim to create heavy music that stands out. Usually, we tag ourselves as metal/electronics. Still, it’s not descriptive enough. There was a comment below our latest single saying that „DNA in a million of dimensions“ and that we’re a „transcendence metal“. I fancy this definition of our music
With so much variety and different influences, is there a danger that the music becomes too multi-layered and thus loses the common thread and coherence?
I do not take it as something bad. It is a natural evolution of music. We have so much of it that anyone can choose something to their taste. The mix of genres draws attention of new listeners. I believe it rather unites than divides. That’s why I am all for it.
On „ULTRABEAT“ you have a female rapper as a guest vocalist, Alyona Alyona. How did that come about and why did you decide to use rap elements?
We met Alyona a few years ago. She commented our video „Moonlight“ on Facebook. We invited her to our concert. She came. And we found out she is just amazing. Then, we met her at some festival and it occured to me that our collaboration would be super unusual. I called her and suggested doing something together.
Her listeners did not expect to see her in such a genre. It was the first time we collaborated with someone. Eventually, it turned out a great experiment.
Why rap elements? I have to confess. I’m a bit of a rapper. (laughs) When I was a kid, there was Eminem before any heavy music. It influenced me. I‘m enjoying some hip-hop artists with great rhytmic and interesting flow. Alyona is one of them.
Lyrically, the album seems to be a lot about self-discovery, reflection and inner conflicts. What are the main themes of the album and how important are meaningful statements in the lyrics to you?
You are right. Lyrically it’s about self-discovery. I’ve always flirted with my darker side. I’ve been trying to figure out who I am. Who are all these personalities inside me? I am sure that a lot of people are looking for the same answers. In this album, every word is in its place. There are no words just in sake of words. Self-discovery is a crucial component behind all of our lyrics. All we do in music builds up and shapes into a single concept.
The cover artwork reminded me of the rabbit from the movie “Donnie Darko”. What’s the inspiration behind the artwork and what is this creature?
So there is something similar to „Donnie Darko“, but it wasn’t a reference. The cover reflects the concept of the album. „IMAGO“ is the final stage of an insect development. This particular insect is on the cover. His entire life experience is carved on his chest with the word „IMAGO“.
Our guitarist/vocalist Alex made this cover by taking a picture of himself. The name of the album means that we have grown up as people and as artists. We feel these changes. They are fundamental.
Your music videos are very artistic and also somewhat disturbing. How important are the videos and the visual presentation for SPACE OF VARIATIONS and what do you like most when creating the videos?
Thank you! We did 90% of our videos by ourselves. All the concepts, locations, looks, editing, vfx were done by ourselves. So, videos are an extremely important emphasis of our music. Our videos extend the worlds our music creates.
Your videos usually feel like dystopian science fiction shorts that tell their own little story, which I think is very cool. Are you a movie fan yourself and which sci-fi movies are your favorites and may have influenced the band?
Thank you! I am a huge movie fan. You have to know movies if you deal with video and acting. When it comes to our videos, I treat each as a short movie with its history, dynamics and atmosphere. Surely, you can find references to Matrix, Blade 2 and Bladerunner in our videos.
Starting the end of September, you will embark on tour in Europe and almost directly after that on your first US tour as support for Jinjer. How excited are you after all this time to finally go on tour again?
Oddly, our career breakthrough happens during such a horrendous situation at our home. We are more than excited about these shows. We’re going to play 53 concerts in two and a half months. Our big dream to go on the USA tour is about to come true. It’s unbelievable.
How do you perceive the portrayal of war outside Ukraine and what can you do as artists to make people aware of it and possibly correct misrepresentations?
The countries were divided into those who are with us and those who are against us. Russia and their few allies are broadcasting a totally distorted image. Here is how they go: They take a grain of truth and exaggerate it immensely. There is only one truth: Russia is a terrorist state who is carriying out an invasive war against Ukraine. You have to be stupid and heartless to ignore who the villian is.
SPACE OF VARIATIONS was allowed to cross the boarder by the Ministry of Culture. It’s a chance for us to tell the truth from and beyond the stage. We work at the cultural front and do what we do best.
Thank you once again for your time! The last words are all yours.
Friends, stand with Ukraine. We are on the right side of history. Support Ukraine, support Ukrainian music. Help those in need. Try to be the best human being you can. It’s hard, and it’s the way. We all live with this inner conflict between good and evil parts of us. Don’t let the dark side win.
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26. September 2022 Stefan Popp
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