My name is Mikko Keinonen. I’m a Finnish film director and culture enthusiast and I represent a group of people who want to help our friends in Ukraine in their artistic work.
Twelve years ago I got in my hands a demo by the Ukrainian rock group Myortvye Grushi (Dead Pears) and I was impressed and delighted by its quality and fresh creativity. After some unlikely incidents I ended up releasing their first album year 2004, because they weren’t mainstream enough to get a contract in their home country.
Now, eleven years later, Myortvye Grushi needs help again and I’ve gathered some of my fellow artists to support them.
Myortvye Grushi is preparing a new release but this time they have more obstacles than just a lack of a record company. Both their home town, Luhansk, and the location of their recording studio, Gorlovka, have become a warzone. Last summer two members of the trio, bassist-singer Vadim Zharikov and the guitar player Eduard Ivanov spent both six weeks in a cellar because of the bombings. They left Luhansk as soon as it was safe to move outside. The drummer Igor Mishenko didn’t wait for the bombs to fall but he left the country to protect his family.
Now Vadim and Ed are back home and they are continuing their art work with a new drummer. They are determined to finish their new album – or at least an EP – but it’s not an easy thing to do when you live in an area which is a constant target of bombs and granades.
We’ve started this campaign in order to support Myortvye Grushi to finish their newest release, Komiks tshesti. We are collecting money for the band so that they can pay for the studio in Ukraine, make their living through the recording process and have their new songs mixed in a Finnish studio.
In order to turn Myortvye Grushi’s art into cash we are making a re-release of their first album, Vily v bok! (2004) and their two latter albums Triobodrenza (2006) and Pod Vesyolim Rogerom kulturi (2011). We are arranging also a tour in Finland in May (dates and venues will be released in a few weeks).
Please help Mjortvye Grushi make their new album. Let’s make Ukraine also something else than just bad news.
If you want to get more taste of the music, please visit:
http://myortvyegrushi.kroogi.com/music?locale=ru