"Okean Elzy" (Okean Elzy) is a cult Ukrainian band that has held the musical Olympus for 25 years. They are called the best live band in the CIS and Eastern Europe. They are known far abroad and perform all over the world. There is always an incredible atmosphere of drive and expression at O.E. concerts. They have brought their own style to the genre of alternative rock and indie-pop. And the original vocals and manner of performance of the frontman Svyatoslav Vakarchuk gathered a whole army of fans from two generations.
Formation of the band
The history of the band dates back to 1992 in Lviv. Four talented music students Andriy Golyak, Denis Glynin, Pavel Gudimov and Yuriy Hustochka decided to play together. Between studies they organized rehearsals and wrote songs. The name of the band was "Clan of Silence". Their first performances were on small stages of their hometown. A little later they started to be invited to student festivals and apartment parties.
In a few years they became quite famous in Lviv, but in 1994 there was a split in the band. Glynin, Gudimov and Hustochka left Golyak and started to develop the concept of their own project. Just at that time Svyatoslav Vakarchuk came to rehearse with them. Having listened to one of the songs, he suggested to make changes in the chorus. The team accepted them and included the novice composer in the main line-up. Soon he became the soloist of the band.
October 12, 1994 is considered the official date of birth of the collective "Ocean Elzy". The guys did not ponder over the name for a long time: the fascination with Jacques Cousteau's "Odyssey" brought them the first part - "Ocean". And the international name Elsa combined with it quite beautifully.
Since that day, the musicians actively engaged in creative activity, putting aside their personal lives for later.
The period of origin
Svyatoslav Vakarchuk came to the collective not with empty hands. At that time he already had a lot of prepared songs and poems. It remained to write the music, and that's what the band members did. During the year they worked hard to create the first concert program. And in winter 1995, in ten-degree frost, they debuted on stage in front of 7-thousand audience. But despite the cold, "Ocean Elzy" managed to ignite the audience.
After the successful debut, the band recorded a demo cassette called "Demo 94-95". It was not an album, but just a collection of all creative material, which they distributed among friends, sent to radio and producers.
The young and promising musicians did not go unnoticed. They were invited to the TV program "Deca", they started to repeat their performance on TV, so they got their first fans. And then followed a series of all-Ukrainian festivals: "Chervona Ruta", "Sribna Pidkova", "Alternative 2", "Melodiya", "Perlini Sezonu". Then they began to be invited to foreign ones - in Germany, Poland and France. They reached the famous "Tavrian Games".
The audience welcomed the songs of "Okean Elzy" on a hurrah. In 1996 they sang on the same stage with the legendary Blue Eyes and Deep Purple. Soon they began to give solo concerts - first in their native Lviv, and then in other cities of Ukraine. At the same time their first tour started.
Having gained experience and professionalism, the band members made a serious step - they moved to Kiev, signed a contract with a recording studio and started to create their first album. A new page in the biography of "O.E." began.
The "Ocean" era
The debut record "Tam, de us nem" turned the idea of Ukrainian music upside down. They caused a real furor. The clip for this single was more than successful. Positive reviews of critics, admiration of the audience, appearance on Russian "MTV" and even on French "MSM" was only the beginning.
In 1998 they collected all kinds of awards and prizes. "Discovery of the Year", "Best Debut", "Breakthrough of the Year" were supported by the title of "Best Pop Group". And we can safely say that this status they hold to this day.
A year later "O.E" performed at the Russian festival "Maxidrom". The audience surprised even the artists themselves - everyone sang in one voice "Tilki there, where we are not...". The creativity of Okean Elzy has forever settled in the hearts of Russians.
At the beginning of the new century they released their second album "Yananebibuv". At the same time they had their first line-up change: a talented musician Dmitry Shurov took the place of keyboardist. In 2000 two of their compositions sounded in the cult movie "Brat-2".
Having released the next album "Model" (critics call it the best in the discography of the group), they went on a large-scale tour, giving a number of free concerts. In parallel with this, the work on writing new compositions did not stop. Two years later another not less successful record "Supersymmetry" was released. And the musicians went on tour again. During the peak of their fame they gave themselves to creativity. Concerts, moves and work on new songs - all they lived.
In 2004 two members left the band at once: Shurov and Khustochka. They were replaced by bassist Denis Dudko and keyboardist Milos Jelic. In another year guitarist Gudimov was replaced by Peter Chernyavsky.
100 thousand copies of the album "Gloria" were sold in six hours. It was an undoubted record. "Gloria" twice went platinum.
The huge success, nationwide love and recognition that accompanied "O.E.", a little subsided in 2010. Then Svyatoslav Vakarchuk started his solo career. But three years later they reunited and presented a new album "Earth". They returned to the stage to the delight of fans who still loved Ocean
In the last decade, the band's activity has slightly decreased. They continue to release new songs, which immediately fly to the top of the charts. But they don't do it as often. At the same time, most of their songs after many years do not lose relevance and love of fans. And what will please us oceanovtsy in the near future, you will find out, following the updates in the catalog of artists on the website kontramarka.de.
Discography:
1998 - "There, where we are not"
2000 - "Jananebibuv".
2001 - "Model"
2003 - "Supersymmetry"
2005 - "Gloria"
2007 - "Mira"
2010 - "Dolce Vita"
2013 - "Earth"
2016 - "Without Intersection"
