Sobaky v Kosmosi [ Ukraine ]

Sobaky v kosmosi (tr: Dogs in Outer Space) are: the band's founder, singer and songwriter Oleksandr Boldyriev, drummer Victor Kondratov, bass guitarist Andrii Pywowarow, trombonist Ivan Pyrozhok, sound producer Sergii Kulaienko and trumpet player Artem Dmytrychenkov. The Ukrainian band draws their inspiration from the ska and reggae music of Jamaican immigrants and mixes that with elements of Ukrainian folk music. Their latest project »Sportyvnyj klub armiji« (2008; tr: Army Sports Club) is the result of many years working together with the Ukrainian writer and translator Serhij Zhadan, the »boldest voice of the young Ukrainian literary scene« (NZZ). The band has put his lyrics to music: using impudent slang – wild, sometimes brutal, dark and comic at the same time – Zhadan's rhythmic poems tell us about sex, love and hate, morals and hypocrisy, travels and home.