The band Sun Cats came to our place in Odessa on a Sunday afternoon. Four young guys in their early twenties. Sharing someone’s litter bottles of cider and smoking cigarettes they told us about how it is to be an independent band in Ukraine. They meet in their teens in 2014 when two of them lived in the same small town. Soon they found out that they shared a passion for music and wanted to start a band. So they looked for a drummer and in the process they ended up being a band of four. After one year they had their first concert in the village’s local culture house playing cover numbers. Then they began making their music.
“We are independent,” the Sun Cats tells proudly. “One hundred percent of what we do are paid for by our own money. In that way, everything is under our control.”
Today independent musicians in Ukraine have a much better possibility of recording their albums because they can do it in their home studios and then use social media and concerts to promote. It gives them as artists much more freedom to experiment. Sun Cats’ second album was made like this.
“Most importantly, what we’re trying to do is to create this special atmosphere that gives the feeling of being friendly and open with the people who listing to us, being down to earth.”
Now that they have begun to get a bigger audience, more recognition, and people giving more feedback they are going deeper into the project.
“All this gives us energy and enthusiasm to go further. Not that we have any big dreams or goals. We just want to hang out together, and can’t stop playing music. We feel there are no limits for us, all possibilities are open.”
Advice from Sun Cats
1. Choose a good name. It has to be original!
2. Record Record Record!
3. Reflect on what you did, how you did it, and how you should do it!
Sun Cats are …
Volvakov Valentine – lead-vocal, rhythm-guitar
George Sorokin – drums, backing-vocal
Yarysh Slava – bass-guitar
Ostapuk Maksym – lead-guitar
Photos: Sila Yalazan
Text: Steen Andersen
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