Zhadan i Sobaky

• Zhadan i Sobaky (until 2014 – Dogs in Space)
• Foundation date – 2000
• City – Kharkiv (Ukraine)
• Language – Ukrainian
• Genre – ska-punk

Lineup:

• Sergiy Zhadan – vocals;
• Yevgeny Turchynov – vocals, guitar;
• Olexandr Merenchuk – trombone;
• Andriy Pivovarov – bass, vocals;
• Vitaly Bronishevsky – drums;
• Artem Dmytrichenkov – trumpet;
• Sergiy Kulaenko – keyboards.

Former members:

• Olexandr Boldyrev – vocals, guitar;
• Ivan Pirozhok;
• Viktor Kondratov.

History of the group

Zhadan i Sobaky is a Ukrainian rock band founded in 2000 under the name Dogs in Space. Under this name, the group existed until 2014 and released 2 albums during this period: “Waffles” and “The Group is Looking for a Producer”. Dogs in Space were active participants in events in the world of music and culture, performing on the stages of the festivals “Music Island”, “Mazepa-Fest”, “Tavria Games” and others. In 2007, the collection “Choir of Mongolian Militiamen” was released, which included compositions by various musicians, including the band “Dogs in Space”. The basis for the songs were the poems of Serhiy Zhadan. It was this project that became the starting point of the creative cooperation between the musical group and the writer.

Creative path

In 2008, Dogs in Space, together with Serhiy Zhadan, recorded the album “Army Sports Club”. The poet recited his own poems, and the group provided musical accompaniment. Over time, the collaboration grew into a series of joint concerts. In particular, in 2011, a tour took place, covering Kyiv and such European cities as Poznań, Tübingen and Prague. In March 2012, Serhiy Zhadan and the group presented their second joint album “Weapons of the Proletariat”. This time, romantic ballads and ironic compositions gave way to a more energetic sound and acutely social lyrics. The musicians announced a concert tour of Ukraine, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic and preparations for the release of a new album.

The Zhadan i Sobaky project began as a light musical accompaniment to the poetry of Serhiy Zhadan, who is called a living classic by both fans of Ukrainian literature and literary critics. With each new release, the interaction of text and melody became deeper and deeper. Poems set to music turned into songs that later became hits. The culmination of this creative process was the album "Dogs" (2016). The group not only changed its name to Zhadan i Sobaky (this happened in 2014), but also formed its own unique sound in the style of ska-punk. During its creative history, the Zhadan i Sobaky band gave many concerts in the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In particular, in July 2017, the band played at the first MRPL City festival, expanding the audience of fans and gaining wide popularity and recognition among connoisseurs of modern Ukrainian music.

The band's albums, recorded in collaboration with Serhiy Zhadan:

• "Army Sports Club" (2008);
• “Weapons of the Proletariat” (2012);
• “Fight for Her” (2014);
• “Dogs” (2016);
• “Madonna” (2019);
• “Radio Beam” (2023);
• “Evil” (2024).

In June 2023, Zhadan and Sobaky recorded a joint video clip for the song “5th Avenue” together with the band Gogol Bordello. This is a driving track that glorifies the indomitable spirit of rock and roll – the music of freedom. According to the musicians, the song was born in the winter of 2023, and in the spring, Serhiy Zhadan and Gogol Bordello leader Yevhen Gudz met in New York to shoot joint scenes for the video. They worked on the recording remotely, and the final shots were shot at the Metalist stadium in Kharkiv. The composition was dedicated to Dmytro Pogorelov, a Kharkiv poet and musician whose motif became the basis of the song “5th Avenue”. In the summer of the same year, Zhadan i Sobaky went on a large-scale tour of the cities of Ukraine.

Social activity

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Serhiy Zhadan and his team have been actively supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine and medical institutions. The funds from the band's concerts and charitable contributions are used to purchase cars, drones, medical equipment, electronics, products and other necessary things for the military and civilians. In just three months of charity performances in the fall of 2022, the band managed to raise about 5 million hryvnias for Ukrainian defenders. To support the fighting spirit of the army, Serhiy Zhadan, together with the band's musicians, also regularly performs for the soldiers, visiting military units and medical facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.