In Conversation With Sounds Of Ukraine

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. A lot of lives have never been the same since, and Sounds of Ukraine want to tell their story. The collective behind TheLena, J.ZeF, Tonika Funkmasters, with support from new joiners and leading producers from Ukraine, is spreading the word through music, events. Recently they released a movie about their experiences. 

With TheLena and J.ZeF in London, Tonika still based in Lviv, new members such as Trinetic in Amsterdam, and others in Europe, they’re organising parties, connecting with labels and giving Ukrainian drum & bass artists the chance to push their music. At the same time, they’re providing a real community for each other, which is amazing to see. “It all started with Tonika talking to London Elektricity,” TheLena says. “We didn’t know where to start when we arrived in London, because the city is so huge. But then we found out that the drum & bass scene here is full of nice, kind, and warm people. It’s like coming home.”

After watching their documentary “Resonance Beyond Borders: Sounds of Ukraine”, we thought it was time for a chat with the collective to talk about where they come from, and where they are heading. 

Let’s take it back to the start, like the very start of Sounds of Ukraine. Why did you start the collective?

TheLena: Because we want to be heard. We want to show and prove ourselves. When we moved to London, we learnt that you can’t do anything just by yourself. There are only a few of us Ukraine artists out here, and we share the same idea. We really want to create and do something more, especially for Ukraine and Ukrainian drum & bass. That’s why we created a collective. It’s not just about people who moved here, it’s also about the people in Ukraine, those who stayed there. They also wanted to support and do something. This is what keeps us together, and the love for drum & bass ofcourse. 

We’re still busy creating a space. It’s not just about finding a spot on the line-up, we also want to support Ukrainian producers. Some of them have tried to knock on the doors of big labels, but it’s very hard to get through and get their music heard. So then those artists contact us and they’re like, you know someone from Soulvent Records, can you tell them to listen to the track? And we can. We will do that. That’s the way we can help artists from Ukraine. Another example is bringing artists like BCee and Hugh Hardie over to play in Ukraine. It’s such a great event for everyone there, it’s a huge celebration of life and community. In short, Sounds of Ukraine is not only raising funds for charity, it is also about forming a platform and providing a network for artists, about organising events for the community and most importantly, creating awareness for Ukraine.

Tonika: I’m proud to be a co-founder and part of the Sounds of Ukraine team. We came together

during one of the most difficult and uncertain times — for ourselves and for our country. Yet from the very beginning, we received genuine and powerful support all over the world and in the UK. This inspires us to keep moving forward, to create new tracks, projects, and bring them to life.

You had to leave Ukraine, and you came to London. How has this changed you as an artist and as a person? 

TheLena: Everything’s changed. It’s a different life, a different city, different vibes. At first, it was really hard, because I knew nobody here, but it’s also a big chance to improve myself, the big opportunities to show my music, to show my soul. Every time I  play, I try to create some history. The hardest thing might be to stay together, sharing the good and the bad times. Although we support each other, this has been going on for two years already. J.ZeF has been my best friend for a long time already, but being together, maybe because of the war, we became a small family. Part of us is here, part of us is there. We need each other.

You recently released a documentary, and at one point we see you, J.ZeF, talking about your late friend Neuromonkey – Roman. It is extremely emotional. Thelena, you talked about how you tell a part of history during your sets. J.ZeF, do you take a part of your friend with you in your sets when you play?

J.ZeF: Yes, because he is one of the biggest reasons I fell in love with drum & bass. My first drum & bass event was with Derrick and Tonika, with live instruments. I had never heard this kind of music before, and it all just came to me. I was home. I started to get more into it, and started researching more parties, because I wanted to start organising some myself. From there, I met Neuromonkey, who is not with us anymore, and we started organising events together. I still play his favourite tunes in my sets, and that’s the way I honour him. 

TheLena: We wanted to make a movie one day, which we now did. The next step is organising a festival. A festival in his honour and his name, Neuromonkey festival. In Ukraine or not in Ukraine, we don’t know yet, but what we do know is that we want to put up an amazing festival for him. We know this very nice place in the Carpathian mountains that we want to show people, so maybe we’ll have a festival there one day. 

We already heard the story of why J.ZeF fell in love with drum & bass. Thelena, how was it for you? 

TheLena: When I was 16, everyone was constantly listening to trance, hip-hop, and rock, but I didn’t like it. I liked drum & bass. There was DJ Tapolsky, who is one of the oldest drum & bass DJs in Ukraine and had been playing for 30 years already. I thought he was amazing. Then, because I started my studies, I moved to Lviv. I started to go to parties by myself, because none of my friends liked the genre. But I still enjoyed it a lot. I remember dancing for the whole night and then walking home as if I had just finished the hugest session in the gym. It was amazing. After a while, I started to make more friends within the drum & bass community, and that’s how I found my spot within the scene. 

With the war still going on in Ukraine, is it possible to visit from time to time?

J.ZeF: I’ve been there twice in the last year and a half. I try to not go too often, because it’s hard. I love my city, I love my country and when I’m traveling there, it’s hard for me to see these people. Not everybody is happy. They’re trying to do normal things, to live a normal life, but people’s mental health is really not good. I do feel the warmth from everyone when I visit, and everyone wants me to play at their events to lift spirits, but it’s hard. 

TheLena: The last time I was there was around Christmas, because my passport was expiring soon. I was in Ukraine trying to arrange all of that, basically. But like J.ZeF says, it’s hard. War makes everything more complicated. People lose their jobs, prices go up, people are dying constantly… It’s so sad, because people will tell you about the violence they see on tv, but we have to see it in real time. I open up my instagram, there is blood, dead people, flowers, kids… It’s sad to say but violence becomes a part of life. I’m still very sensitive to it, but people living in Ukraine, they get used to death. When old people die and it’s time to go, that’s one thing. But 20-30 percent of our raving culture is dead now. Mostly men in their 30’s or 40’s with families… Every time I hear something new, it’s like you get hit with ice in your chest. For a few minutes you can’t accept it, you don’t want to go out anymore, you don’t want your nice life anymore… It’s good to have this life now, and it’s safe, but there are always these negative feelings when I see news from Ukraine. At first, it paralysed me, but now we have arrived at a point, and I know I can speak for the both of us here, where we think, okay, what can we do from here? With Sounds of Ukraine we want to tell the story of all our people, and I think that’s so important. This collective gives us power to do more than we have dreamed about, and do all of this in honour of our friends as well. 

You’re literally the sound of the people there, it’s in your name. You want to tell the story of what’s still going on, right? I think that’s so important. Now, another topic. I’ve seen that Hospital Records is throwing a party in Lviv on June 14 this year…

TheLena: Yes. BCee will be there, and Hugh Hardie, B-Complex, Matt Lally, Joe Goss… Unfortunately, London Elektricity has a show in Ukraine on May 10 already, so he can’t be there a second time. How did this event happen? We asked Chris (Goss) for help a lot of times. The main problem is that not every artist wants to go to Ukraine, and it’s not about money. It’s just a normal human desire to want to be safe. Lviv was attacked by rockets a few times, but we have never had the military come into the city. And Kyiv is well defended now, but they’re still suffering from bombs and drone attacks for example. People don’t want to go to a country in war, and that’s normal… But the idea of this party has been in our heads for over a year now. Some of the artists on this line-up have already visited Ukraine, and they support us. So they are a big motivation for everybody else, and with Chris Goss as our huge support, we’re so glad it worked out. 

It’s a dream come true to bring Hospital Records to Lviv, to Kyiv, and to throw a party together. Everybody will bring good music, good vibrations, producers will meet local producers, and we will set up some workshops for advice about music, making music, about pushing music, because Matt Lally and Joe will be there, Hospital Records label managers. We’re also thinking of organising some open decks for up-and-coming and maybe even established DJs who want to play and prove themselves. We 2,000 people, all craving some good music, and some good vibes. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but I really want to help people grow. I really feel that when I’m growing, everyone in the collective is growing. When the collective is moving, I’m moving. We really push each other to grow and do more.

We’ve almost come full circle with the reason you started the collective in the first place, which was to support each other. Now you’re supporting people back home. It’s beautiful how it’s all a big story of supporting each other. Let’s look to the future even more. What’s next for you? 

J.ZeF: We want to show our collective, and talk about the situation and Ukraine more. The goal now is to remind people what’s going on, and somehow this might affect someone to act. It might be a little piece of sand in a huge desert, but we have to keep talking about it. These horrible things have to stop.

TheLena: It’s much easier to prove yourself when you’re an individual artist, but for me, it’s much more valuable to do this as a collective. It’s our way to spread our culture all over the world. I find it very important because, one, it’s drum & bass. It’s something that you can’t explain or push people to do. I really like being in a space where people care about each other, where they share this passion for music, and share the same ideas and goals in life.  Then, some plans we have coming up… We already have plans for SOU takeovers at stages in Brighton, Bratislava, hopefully in Croatia for Hospital on the Beach…  All of these things that are happening with the collective are amazing, but the happiest day of my life will be when the war ends. We need to find a way to show our movie more. We’re applying for festivals now, and trying to collect money in every possible way for charities in Ukraine. Not all people want to support Ukraine, which is something I can’t change anything about, so right now we’re meeting with artists, communities, and labels, and finding good people. If it’s possible to remind anyone about this situation, even by putting a flag behind the decks, why not? If I can, I will. 

Thank you for telling your story.