Songs for Ukraine X
Farba Kingdom
“You can take my life, but you can't take my will. You can take my life away but you can't take my will. You have the guns, I have the truth, and that is fire!” - Farba Kingdom
What do you do when your world falls apart? When everything you assumed about life - what was normal, right, and predictable - falls suddenly, spectacularly, and horrifically apart? And not just your life, but the lives of everyone around you as well.
This is the question I’ve been asking myself since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began and images of broken bodies, people fleeing with their belongings strapped to their backs and family pets tucked into their overcoats began appearing in my news feeds. It’s also one of the questions I’ve been asking musicians as I reach out to talk to them about their lives before and after the war began.
Today I’m sharing an ongoing conversation I’ve been having with two remarkable performers – Elizaveta and Daniel Farba - a husband and wife team who perform as the band Farba Kingdom. When asked about how they have coped with the war, Daniel told this story: “We woke up early in the morning from explosions outside the window. The sky was filled with black smoke. It was a terrible feeling of insecurity, of not being able to protect my own children. This went on for several days, then we got into the car and drove west.”
Although the Farbas are from the city of Odessa, a lovely city on the Black Sea coast, they’ve moved to western Ukraine where it is relatively safe. “Now we live in a communal community with other families whose cities were also unsafe. We volunteer. Sometimes we perform for the military, write songs, and record them. When the air raid sirens go off, we go down to the bomb shelter. Sometimes this happens several times a day.”
Farba Kingdom’s music is raw and edgy – infused with emotions that carry listeners along on a rough and occasionally painful journey. For English speakers, a good place to start would be their 2021 release entitled, Return of the Machines.
Since the war broke out, Farba has produced an extraordinary series of songs expressing their outrage and sorrow. They like to point listeners to two songs in particular: “WAR” and “BUCHA-KHARKIV-MARIUPOL-GOSTOMEL-IRPIN.”
“The lyrics in these songs express what everyone in Ukraine feels now,” say Daniel.
Look here dead children
Who opened the sky?
You became their killer.
Who opened the sky?
Who killed these children?
Your fear and lies.
Who killed these children A
and made the world cry?
War eyes. War eyes.
Look at the ruins.
Who opened the sky?
My world is in ruins.
Who opened the sky?
Who killed these children?
Never go to school.
Who killed these children?
These are your rules.
War eyes. War eyes.
BUCHA-KHARKIV-MARIUPOL-GOSTOMEL-IRPIN
You can take my life
But you can't take away my will
You have a weapon,
I have the truth,
and it's fire!
This is not a dream
(Bucha) Sing a song
(Kharkiv, Mariupol)
We will be better
This is not a dream
Sing a song (Gostomel, Irpen)
This is my letter (Bucha, Kharkiv, Mariupol, Gostomel, Irpin)
A Bit about Elizaveta and Daniel
Elizaveta and Daniel met about four years ago during a low point in Daniel’s life. “We met on the Internet. Before that, I was depressed, and almost couldn’t compose music. To get myself out of that crisis, I was looking for a relationship with someone who would understand me – a musician. And I found Liza.”
It took the Farba’s awhile to find their unique voice and approach to music. “First, we started doing covers,” says Eliza. “Then we started recording our songs, which sounded like commercial pop music at first. But over time, we gravitated more and more towards the underground, darkwave, experimental music.”
Daniel, who writes most of the group’s songs with Eliza’s help once the basic framework is in place, says this about their process. “I strive to make our music sound unusual. And in terms of emotions, there is really a lot of irritation in our songs. It makes us very upset that we have so much trouble getting people’s attention.”
The Farbas don’t have an agenda for their music. Daniel is quick to say that he doesn’t ever want to be pigeonholed. “These songs are, first of all, emotional reactions to the surrounding reality. In difficult times like these, in which very important events are taking place, my goal is to quickly respond to them using interesting art forms.”
Daniel seemed genuinely annoyed when asked to name a song that is quintessential Farba Kingdom. “We do not have one song that would express us and it is unlikely that there will ever be one. We are not very static and are constantly changing like everything around us. We are a mirror. If ever Farba Kingdom can be characterized by one song, it will be a funeral day for us.”
To learn more about Farba Kingdom and its creators, visit the links below.
Farba Kingdom Page: https://www.facebook.com/farbakingdomusic/
Schedule Guitar Lessons with Daniel: farbakingdom@gmail.com
Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/3yl9QEA
Spotify:
Copyright 2022 by Jena Ball. All Rights Reserved.