TVORCHI: “We will impress everyone in Liverpool!” | EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW!

After their sweeping victory last year, the Ukrainians want to win again, in order to cheer the hearts of the war-torn citizens, who have been plagued by the invasion for almost a year. This year they did not hesitate to organize Vidbir 2023 at a metro station in Kiev. In the national final, the winners were TVORCHI, where they captured the Ukrainian audience and the jury with Heart of Steel“.

TVORCHI want to give hope to Ukrainian citizens, so that they can endure the hardships of the war under which they have been living for so long. The “heart of steel“, which they sing about, is their motto this year, so that they can face all the difficulties. And this is what they seek for their fellow citizens. They will travel to Liverpool, representing the country that won the Contest last year. Although Ukraine was not able to host Eurovision 2023, they will be participating, thus conveying a note of optimism for the future ahead.

Despite their busy schedule, TVORCHI took some time out to speak with OGAE Greece in an exclusive interview about this year’s participation in Eurovision 2023, what inspired them to write their song, about their stage presence in Liverpool and their experience at Vidbir 2023!

Interview: Chrysoula Gkana | Editing: Ioannis Daniil


OGAE Greece: Good morning TVORCH, thank you so much for giving us this interview, we are very honored to have you here!

TVORCHI: Thank you as well!

O.G.: Tell us some things about your song, what inspired you to write “Heart of Steel” and what is your favorite lyric from the song?

Jeffery Kenny: My favorite lyrics is probably the name of the song, “Heart of Steel” because it describes the whole song! The song talks about the brave Ukrainians, it is not necessarily about the war but, you know, about the people, it talks about how the Ukrainians carry this positive attitude in a bad situation, so I think it’s something that people can learn from, it’s an attitude that people can adapt, and, yes, it’s just about brave people, people strong at heart.

Andrii Hutsuliak: We wrote the song during the springtime. We did not plan to go to Eurovision but it was a quick decision, we said that we have a very good song, with a very good message, so let’s go with it. It was all about the events in Azovstal, because we saw online videos from the situation there. It was very tough and, when we were watching the videos, we could not imagine how hard the situation is there and, when I was looking at those people, who were defending the city, I only saw strength and confidence in their eyes and they were unbreakable. All Ukrainians passed 11 months fighting for the whole Europe and, no matter how bad it is, we know we are united, we are unbreakable, and we wanted through the song the people to see us as an inspiration to be brave, united and to help us fight evil, in order to have peace tomorrow. And, we don’t want you to pity us, we want you to be inspired from us!

O.G.: How would you describe your experience in Vidbir 2023? How was the feeling of competing under a metro station?

J.K.: It was a unique experience, to be honest, it was pretty cold and windy down there and I was even sick, everyone was sick! I think the technicians and the people who put all the staging together and made everything sound like it was supposed to, did a great job, because even I could not tell that we did it underground when I watched our performance on the video. We used all the means we had and, personally, I had a great time when meeting with the other artists, it was an amazing experience and something you don’t live every day.

A.H.: We actually did not think that we would live in these kinds of times because, during our preparation, there were times that you could be hit by a missile and we were running from shelter to shelter in order to cover ourselves. One time, we were shooting a video of our performance and suddenly the alarm went off and we were all scared. Everyone who was working behind this did a very good job because we were united, and it does not matter how cold and windy it was. When the train goes through while you sing, you listen to it and it distorts you, and it was windy because we were 200 meters below the ground, but it was like something unforgettable.

O.G.: Your stage presence in the national final was very impressive. Are you planning on holding onto this or do you want to change it in Liverpool?

J.K.: To tell you the truth, we did not plan anything, we did not even expect to win, we just picked the song and we just ran with it, and then we tried to visualize it with costumes, the props on the stage or the show itself and the visuals of the back. We definitely need to improve, and we know what we need to improve, and, yeah, we need to change everything!

A.H.: Our goal is to impress, and if we show the same thing, I don’t feel it will be nice, so we want to surprise everyone, we want to give emotions and to impress, because the magic moment starts when the people will see the performance for the first time. We could not do our best, we have some basis and we will improve everything to impress everybody.

O.G.: Speaking about Liverpool, how do you feel that Ukraine is not able to host the Eurovision despite the Kalush Orchestra win? Do you think you can win for a second time in a row, in order for Ukraine to be able to host next year?

A.H.: Every artist has its own path, Kalush had their own path, we have our own path. For safety reasons the contest is not happening in Ukraine but we really appreciate the British people for organizing and hosting the competition.

J.K.: Regarding Kalush, people might expect from us something more outrageous, something bigger, something better, because people might think that we are coming to win. Personally, I don’t feel much pressure, I heard some comments about the song and the war, but in our case, we just want to show our creativity, because we have good visuals, we have a good performance, we have a good song and we have a great team behind us. We just want to show that there is something different coming from Ukraine, not just folk or ethnic music.

A.H.: It will be nice for people to see that Ukraine is a country that hides many aspects, we have already shown that we have very beautiful folk music, but this is a song that people do not expect.

J.K.: I can’t say that we are pushing for the win, but all I can say is that we will do our best!

A.H.: We will do our best and, if people like it, it will be very good!

O.G.: Do you thing that your participation in ESC and, making music in general, has helped you cope with the very difficult circumstances Ukraine is going through right now?

J.K.: I think in a way yes, because we are pushing for something bigger and better in a situation like this. We could choose not to go to Eurovision, obviously, but we have a much bigger mission and we want to show the message we have created through our song and, we just want people to know that there are still good things going on, you know? Just because there is a war going on, does not mean that everything has stopped. We have a mission, we are still pushing, we will do our best and everything will definitely be bigger and better.

A.H.: Besides, Eurovision was created after the World War Two, in order to unite all the countries, and I think this is awesome because every person from every country with different cultures were united by music! It was a place that everyone could hear the rest and spend some time together.

O.G.: Thank you so much for this interview, it was amazing! Can you give us a message to all your fans in OGAE Greece?

TVORCHI: Thank you for the support, that you for your love, thank you for this interview, we would like to meet you in Liverpool, get to know you and have a conversation with you! Thank you and love you!

Who are TVORCHI?

No new band of the past few years has sneaked up on Ukrainian music scene as completely as TVORCHI, who are two young pharmacists from the Ukrainian city Ternopil (which is 400 km from the capital – Kyiv). Sound producer Andrew Hutsuliak and vocalist Jeffery Augustus Kenny, of Nigerian origin, have formed the band in 2018, after they met in their school.  They mix different styles and represent Ukrainian music to the world.

The name of the band TVORCHI is getting louder and louder every day not only in the Ukrainian music industry but also beyond. Ukrainian Music Awards “Zolota Zharptytsia” winners and Ukrainian TOP-chart leaders, their music has lately being praised on social media by notable figures of Ukrainian and European music scene.

Stay tuned to www.ogaegreece.com for more interviews with your favorite Eurostars and artists!

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Photo: TVORCHI

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