Mandry
Encyclopedia
Mandry is a popular Ukrainian
folk-rock, blues
, ska
band; the band formed in 1997 in Kiev
, Ukraine
. The band's vocalist and most recognizable member is Serhiy "Foma" Fomenko.
In contemporary Ukrainian youth culture the group hold an original musical niche. Owing to the stylish diversity of their music and their unique combination of traditional Ukrainian folk music
with modern rhythms, elements of city romance and French chansons with a good dose of reggae
, blues
, rock
and punk
, they manage to captivate a varied audience representing all age groups. The music of Mandry, in spite of being a combination of various genres, is well crafted and artistically unique. Their songs are full of imagery and have emotionally charged melodic patterns making poetic lyrics understandable to people from all walks of life. Mandry's repertoire is still growing, expanding not only due to new songs being written by the band members, but also by giving traditional folk songs a new interpretation.
In October 1997 accordion player Leonid Bieley appeared on the scene and his contribution to Foma's songs enriched the melodies, as did a change in percussionist. Salman joined the contingent of "mandrivnyky" (wanderers) with a complete set of percussion instruments. At this time Mandry possibly were the only Ukrainian band with a percussionist.
In the same month the new line-up played a concert, but it wasn't a very successful performance, and as they were dissatisfied doubts arose as to whether the band should split up. The director of Asteroid records came to the band's rescue and offered them their first contract and with his help the group continued.
The last alteration in the group's line-up occurred when Mandry invited drummer Andriy Zanko and Serhiy Chehodayev, who replaced Oleksandr Kokhanivsky on bass, to join the band. As a result the sound of the band changed quite radically. Their music was enriched with contemporary rhythms and started to include French
melodic influences.
In the months that followed the group recorded and released their first MC on the Asteroid label. It was recorded in a hurry, and thus the quality of the album suffered. Over the next year and a half, the material was being constantly reworked.
In August 1998 the band produced their first video for the song "Romansero pro nizhnu korolevu", which quickly won the audience's approval. In September 1998, during the First All-Ukrainian Music Video Contest Mandry's video was in the top three, and director Anton Trofimov was also nominated for an award.
The first EP of the group, which, apart from 7 songs also contained the video clip "Romansero pro nizhnu korolevu", the MC in MP3
format, text information in html and a photo gallery, was released in December 1998.
The same year Mandry played in Lviv
, Dnipropetrovsk
, Kherson
, Donetsk
, Minsk
and their hometown Kiev.
In January 1999 they filmed their second video to their song "Kartata Sorochka" in Lviv
, which was broadcast on the national TV channel 1+1
.
All in all 1999 was a very busy year for them with many concerts. In springtime they visited Budapest
, the capitol of Hungary
to take part in a festival commemorating the 50th anniversary of the EU
. In summer they performed at "Rock-Kiev", "PEPSI-SZIGET" (Budapest
) and "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk
" (Vitebsk
) festivals. At the end of summer they started working on their video to the song "Rusalky" (Mermaid
s).
In April 2000 they released their first full-length album "Romansero pro nizhnu korolevu" on Karavan Records and their video to the song "Rusalky".
In June 2000 Mandry took part in the International Festival of Ukrainian Culture which takes place in Sopot
, Poland
. In September they participated at "Rock-Existence" festival in Kiev. In November they released their EP "Rusalky" on Karavan Records.
From 14 to 26 May 2001 Mandry had a big tour across Poland. In two week's time they managed to play 11 concerts in cities like Wrocław, Warsaw
, Kraków
, Szczecin
, Gliwice
, Białystok, Olsztyn
, Sopot
and Lublin
. At the beginning of November 2001 "Creon Music", a French
record label, released a compilation called "Ukrainian Rock", which included a few songs by Mandry.
In March 2002 the video to "Dochka melnyka" (Miller's daughter) was shown on Ukrainian television.
On 19 May 2002 Mandry, together with other Ukrainian groups and artists, played a concert at the "Hippodrome", one of the most prestigious clubs in London
. The show was part of the Festival of Ukrainian Culture in Great Britain
.
At the end of September 2002 their first animated video to the song "Orysya" was shown on Ukrainian television.
On 17 October 2002, their second album, "Legenda pro Ivanka ta Odarku", was released in Ukraine on the Lavina Music record label.
On 17 May 2003, the band took part in the International festival "The Day of United Europe" in Kiev. At the end of August 2003 Mandry started shooting the video for "Vitre Tsyhane" (Gypsy Wind), which was the first one to be shown on the all-Ukrainian M1 music channel that October.
2004 saw Mandry tour extensively in Ukraine
to support Viktor Yushchenko
's campaign to become the next president of Ukraine. They played to a varied audience and in parts of Ukraine were they were completely unknown to their audience.
During the protests that followed after the disputed election results at the end of 2004, Mandry were one of many bands who appeared on stage in Maidan Nezalezhnosti
(Independence Square) in Kiev to keep the Orange Revolution
protesters entertained.
In 2005 the band recorded their latest album "Doroha", which was released in February 2006. At that time they often took part in folk festivals and concerts in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.
In March 2006 they filmed a new video to their song "Ne spy moya ridna zemlya" (Don't sleep my native land), a very touching clip with powerful imagery depicting Ukraine's history and it's heroes, bringing it right up to date with the Orange Revolution
.
On 10 January 2009, Mandry will perform at the 23rd annual SUM (Spilka Ukrainskoyi Molodi - Ukrainian Youth Association) "Malanka in Toronto
", which sees 1400 people attending annually from all over the globe. This marks the band's second time performing in Canada
, and their first Malanka.
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
folk-rock, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
band; the band formed in 1997 in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. The band's vocalist and most recognizable member is Serhiy "Foma" Fomenko.
Activity
Mandry were officially formed in 1997 by the already well known singer/songwriter Serhiy "Foma" Fomenko, who had made a name for himself in the Kiev underground music scene for his creative work with the group Den' Vmyraye Rano (Day Dies Early). At first they performed as a three-piece acoustic band, but after a few band member change-overs a new sound was created which made Mandry the spearheads of what is now known as "folk music of the cities". They performed their first concert with this unique sound on 24 December 1997.In contemporary Ukrainian youth culture the group hold an original musical niche. Owing to the stylish diversity of their music and their unique combination of traditional Ukrainian folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
with modern rhythms, elements of city romance and French chansons with a good dose of reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, they manage to captivate a varied audience representing all age groups. The music of Mandry, in spite of being a combination of various genres, is well crafted and artistically unique. Their songs are full of imagery and have emotionally charged melodic patterns making poetic lyrics understandable to people from all walks of life. Mandry's repertoire is still growing, expanding not only due to new songs being written by the band members, but also by giving traditional folk songs a new interpretation.
In October 1997 accordion player Leonid Bieley appeared on the scene and his contribution to Foma's songs enriched the melodies, as did a change in percussionist. Salman joined the contingent of "mandrivnyky" (wanderers) with a complete set of percussion instruments. At this time Mandry possibly were the only Ukrainian band with a percussionist.
In the same month the new line-up played a concert, but it wasn't a very successful performance, and as they were dissatisfied doubts arose as to whether the band should split up. The director of Asteroid records came to the band's rescue and offered them their first contract and with his help the group continued.
The last alteration in the group's line-up occurred when Mandry invited drummer Andriy Zanko and Serhiy Chehodayev, who replaced Oleksandr Kokhanivsky on bass, to join the band. As a result the sound of the band changed quite radically. Their music was enriched with contemporary rhythms and started to include French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
melodic influences.
In the months that followed the group recorded and released their first MC on the Asteroid label. It was recorded in a hurry, and thus the quality of the album suffered. Over the next year and a half, the material was being constantly reworked.
In August 1998 the band produced their first video for the song "Romansero pro nizhnu korolevu", which quickly won the audience's approval. In September 1998, during the First All-Ukrainian Music Video Contest Mandry's video was in the top three, and director Anton Trofimov was also nominated for an award.
The first EP of the group, which, apart from 7 songs also contained the video clip "Romansero pro nizhnu korolevu", the MC in MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format, text information in html and a photo gallery, was released in December 1998.
The same year Mandry played in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
, Kherson
Kherson
Kherson is a city in southern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kherson Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast. Kherson is an important port on the Black Sea and Dnieper River, and the home of a major ship-building industry...
, Donetsk
Donetsk
Donetsk , is a large city in eastern Ukraine on the Kalmius river. Administratively, it is a center of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the economic and cultural Donets Basin region...
, Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
and their hometown Kiev.
In January 1999 they filmed their second video to their song "Kartata Sorochka" in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, which was broadcast on the national TV channel 1+1
1+1
- History :TV channel "1+1" was founded in August 1995, headed by its original President Alexander Rodnyansky who also was its general director from 1996 to 2002...
.
All in all 1999 was a very busy year for them with many concerts. In springtime they visited Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, the capitol of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
to take part in a festival commemorating the 50th anniversary of the EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. In summer they performed at "Rock-Kiev", "PEPSI-SZIGET" (Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
) and "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk
Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk
The International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" is an annual festival held in Vitebsk, Belarus under the auspices of the Belarussian Government since 1992. Its main program is devoted to Slavic music. The main participants are artists from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, with guests...
" (Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
) festivals. At the end of summer they started working on their video to the song "Rusalky" (Mermaid
Mermaid
A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
s).
In April 2000 they released their first full-length album "Romansero pro nizhnu korolevu" on Karavan Records and their video to the song "Rusalky".
In June 2000 Mandry took part in the International Festival of Ukrainian Culture which takes place in Sopot
Sopot
Sopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000....
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. In September they participated at "Rock-Existence" festival in Kiev. In November they released their EP "Rusalky" on Karavan Records.
From 14 to 26 May 2001 Mandry had a big tour across Poland. In two week's time they managed to play 11 concerts in cities like Wrocław, Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
, Gliwice
Gliwice
Gliwice is a city in Upper Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Gliwice is the west district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population of 2 million...
, Białystok, Olsztyn
Olsztyn
Olsztyn is a city in northeastern Poland, on the Łyna River. Olsztyn has been the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in the Olsztyn Voivodeship...
, Sopot
Sopot
Sopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000....
and Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
. At the beginning of November 2001 "Creon Music", a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
record label, released a compilation called "Ukrainian Rock", which included a few songs by Mandry.
In March 2002 the video to "Dochka melnyka" (Miller's daughter) was shown on Ukrainian television.
On 19 May 2002 Mandry, together with other Ukrainian groups and artists, played a concert at the "Hippodrome", one of the most prestigious clubs in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The show was part of the Festival of Ukrainian Culture in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
At the end of September 2002 their first animated video to the song "Orysya" was shown on Ukrainian television.
On 17 October 2002, their second album, "Legenda pro Ivanka ta Odarku", was released in Ukraine on the Lavina Music record label.
On 17 May 2003, the band took part in the International festival "The Day of United Europe" in Kiev. At the end of August 2003 Mandry started shooting the video for "Vitre Tsyhane" (Gypsy Wind), which was the first one to be shown on the all-Ukrainian M1 music channel that October.
2004 saw Mandry tour extensively in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
to support Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
's campaign to become the next president of Ukraine. They played to a varied audience and in parts of Ukraine were they were completely unknown to their audience.
During the protests that followed after the disputed election results at the end of 2004, Mandry were one of many bands who appeared on stage in Maidan Nezalezhnosti
Maidan Nezalezhnosti
Maidan Nezalezhnosti is the central square of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine. One of the main city squares, it is located on the Khreschatyk Street...
(Independence Square) in Kiev to keep the Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
protesters entertained.
In 2005 the band recorded their latest album "Doroha", which was released in February 2006. At that time they often took part in folk festivals and concerts in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.
In March 2006 they filmed a new video to their song "Ne spy moya ridna zemlya" (Don't sleep my native land), a very touching clip with powerful imagery depicting Ukraine's history and it's heroes, bringing it right up to date with the Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
.
On 10 January 2009, Mandry will perform at the 23rd annual SUM (Spilka Ukrainskoyi Molodi - Ukrainian Youth Association) "Malanka in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
", which sees 1400 people attending annually from all over the globe. This marks the band's second time performing in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and their first Malanka.
Current members
- Serhiy "Foma" Fomenko - main vocals, guitar, sopilka (tin whistle)
- Leonid "Lyonya" Bieley - accordion, synthesizer, backing vocals
- Serhiy "Chizh" Chehodayev - bass, backing vocals
- Andriy Zanko - drums, backing vocals
- Salman Salmanov Mamed-Ohly - percussion, backing vocals
Singles
- 1998 - «Mandry» (Wandering)
- 2000 - «Rusalky» (Mermaids)
Albums
- 2000 - «Romansero pro nizhnu korolevu» (Romancero about a tender queen) (re-released in 2002)
- 2002 - «Lehenda pro Ivanka ta Odarku» (Legend about Ivanko and Odarka)
- 2006 - «Doroha» (The road)
Live albums
- 2007 - «Mandry u Krayini Mriy» (Mandry in the Dreamland)