Svyatoslav Vakarchuk “Brussels”

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk waited for 3 years after the release of his first solo album “At night”, gathered the best Ukrainian musicians and decided to release another disc under the mysterious title “Brussels”.
The musician has not squandered his talents on trifles this time either. The album was recorded in two weeks in one of the best studios of the Belgian capital (the solo album “At night” was also recorded there). The music and vocal were recorded at the same time. An online presentation of the album was organized on YouTube for the first time in Ukrainian history.
Vakarchuk lacked space in “Okean Elzy” and solo projects are an additional opportunity to realize his ideas and ambitions. Svyatoslav created “a dream band’ for “Brussels” and invited his ex-colleagues from “OE” and the best Ukrainian musicians:  Dmitri Zhurov – keyboard, Sergei Babkin –flute, guitar and vocal, Maksim Malyshev – drums, Pyotr Chernyavski (“OE” guitarist) – bass-guitar. The guys matched each other really well. 
 
The first song that appeared on the Internet was the English “Airplane”. We had just started dreaming about Vakarchuk and Co’s funk when we understood that that  there was only one Ukrainian funk song with lively back vocal and flute in “Brussels”.

Vakarchuk decided to use habitual and clear melodies in the album. That is why the disc has already received more positive remarks from listeners in comparison with its predecessor. You can hear blues and soul, people’s motives and traditional melodies of “Okean Elzy” there.
Slava is becoming fond of said melodies. For example – reflective “Plait”. Sergei Babkin’s flute and Dzmitri Shurov’s keyboard are competing for the solo there.  
The culmination of the album is “Green Tea” written and performed by Sergei Babkin. Many people will say that is deviates from the album’s style a lot. And that it is the best song in “Brussels”.

Listening to the disc one keeps thinking that it is a film about the album’s protagonist where all the tracks are connected and every song depicts a certain scene. There is the beginning, development, culmination and final – the composition “Where am I” written for the last album of “OE” that was not included in it.

Vakarchuk tries to take a different look at life and himself. However, something lacks there:  the impeccable “Brussels” in not that intimate, emotions do not brim over it and the heart does not ache, you do not feel like crying. This album is meant for long winter evenings. 12 songs – 12 stories told by 5 sad and talented men.

However, you should not doubt the album’s success– the golden group of musicians cannot be left unnoticed. And people will go to their concerts. But everyone may do it to listen to their own favourite musician – Babkin, Vakarchuk or Shurov.