Okean Elzy - Mukachevo, Live in Amsterdam [EN subs] 

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The first song from a very new album Toy Den which was officially released on September 20, 2024; two days after this live recording in Amsterdam was made.
There was an 8 years gap after releasing the previous album. It was planned for publishing in April 2022 but was eventually postponed.
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Mukachevo is a roughly 85K population city located in Zakarpattia Oblast, the far West of Ukraine. It has a history spanning more than a thousand years. Slavs settled the area between the 6th and 9th centuries. It's apparently first mentioned in Gesta Hungarorum (literally, "The Deeds of the Hungarians"), the oldest known Hungarian chronicle, which notes its capture by the Hungarians.
During the 10th and 11th centuries, Mukachevo was part of Kievan Rus. The place was changing its ownership several times. Over the centuries, the city's ownership changed several times. In the late 15th century, the Roman Empire granted the land to Theodor, Prince of Podolia (also known as Fiodor Koriatowicz). Later, it became part of the Habsburg Empire and passed through several other hands.
Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, the band leader was born in Mukachevo on May 14, 1975. His mother was also born there. He believes that the song title has rather symbolic title, though.
"I don't think the song is devoted to a specific city", Svyatoslav says, "Because the lyrics are not just about Mukachevo; they are about Kyiv and Lviv as well. In this case, I believe Mukachevo represents a sort of beginning-an inception, if you will. It's where something starts from. Well, that also feels pretty symbolic to me."
On the Toy den album and Mukachevo single cover there is a stylized image of a sakura flower. Its meaning as a symbol is very controversial: it stands for both death and life, beauty and violence. For the band members it's apparently a symbol of revival.
"This album is associated for me with revival. With coming back to yourself after a long search."
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All songs from this concert: • Okean Elzy in Amsterda...
Full recording: • Okean Elzy in Amsterda...