Komu Vnyz ( uk, Кому Вниз, ) is a
Ukrainian rock band founded in 1988. Komu Vnyz's music is a blend of gothic and industrial styles, combined with the lyrics of ancient Ukrainian legends.
The band name is a ''
perestroika''-era derogatory pun on the word "
Communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...
". It is literally translated as "Who needs to go down".
History
Komu Vnyz got its start in the year 1988. Unknown young actor
Andriy Sereda and educator
Volodyslav Makarov worked together in the same theater. Sereda and Makarov joined with three more artists (
Serhiy Stepanenko,
Yevhen Razin,
Volodyslav Maliuhin) to make Komu Vnyz. They wound up at their first festival
Chervona Ruta completely by chance. It was too late to submit the sample recording to the panel of judges for the tryout, but
Taras Petrynenko
Taras Petrynenko ( ua, Тара́с Гарина́льдович Петрине́нко, born 10 March 1953) is a Ukrainian musician, People's Artist of Ukraine.
Background
His musical career started in 1969 after his performance on the dance fl ...
, after listening to their work, insisted that they participated in the event. They received second place.
After releasing their first album "
Padaya Vverkh" ("Falling Up"), Komu Vnyz and the rest of the Chervona Ruta winners toured in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, and many Ukrainian cities.
From 1996 onward, Komu Vnyz came out from the precipice of financial difficulties. Playbills started to appear on railings and fences in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
for their 1997 concert, in Kastus, named for one of their
albums
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records col ...
.
In 2000 the band played at Ivan Franko theater, performing a concert dedicated to the memory of 300 young students killed under
Kruty. They also headlined at the first Ukrainian gothic festival, "
Dity Nochi" ("Children of the Night"), organized by
Ukrainian Gothic Portal
Ukrainian Gothic Portal (Український Готичний Портал, UGP) is a printed magazine, web-portal and promotion agency of gothic / dark / electro scene in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. , and started to work with UGP. In 2002 the band played at the European gothic festival,
Wave Gotik Treffen
The Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT; ) is an annual world festival for "dark" music and "dark culture" in Leipzig, Germany. 150+ bands and artists from various backgrounds ( gothic rock, gothic metal, EBM, industrial, noise, darkwave, neo-folk, neo- ...
.
In 2003, Makarov left the band. He died in January 2016. As of 2019, the band still continues their activity. Premier Minister of Ukraine,
Oleksiy Honcharuk
Oleksiy Valeriyovych Honcharuk ( uk, Олексі́й Вале́рійович Гончару́к, ; born 7 July 1984) is a Ukrainian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 29 August 2019 to 4 March 2020 following a landsl ...
, has even visited "Veterans Strong Party" war-veteran charity concert where the band performed along with others.
Serhiy Stepanenko died on 18 November 2022, at the age of 58.
Discography
Albums
* 1989 - ''
Padaya vverkh'' (Падая вверх)
* 1990 - ''
Komu vnyz'' (Кому вниз)
* 1996 - ''
In kastus''
EPs
* 2007 - ''
Ab ovo usque ad mala
}. Name of episode 1 in season 3 of '' Berlin Station''.
, -
, ''aut cum scuto aut in scuto'', , either with shield or on shield, , Or, "do or die" or "no retreat". A Greek expression («Ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς») that Spartan mothers sa ...
''
* 2014 - ''
4''
* 2016 - ''
IDEM 2345
''idem'' is a Latin term meaning "the same". It is commonly abbreviated as ''id.'',
which is particularly used in legal citations to denote the previously cited source (compare ''ibid.''). It is also used in academic citations to replace the n ...
''
Live albums
* 1999 - ''
In kastus in vivo''
* 2018 - ''
Live at FEST!republic Lviv''
* 2018 - ''
Live at the Lviv Opera House''
Compilations
* 2003 - "
Komu Vnyz. Rock legends of Ukraine" ("Best of" collection)
* 2006 - "
Komu Vnyz. MP3 collection"
* 2009 - "
Komu Vnyz. Reformatsiya: 25 punktiv" ("Best of" collection)
* 2011 - "
Ya Vernuvsia Domiv" (Tribute to Braty Hadiukiny)
References
External links
Official Komu Vnyz website*
*
{{Authority control
Musical groups from Kyiv
Soviet rock music groups
Ukrainian rock music groups