Being on the road is not for the weak. It’s night after night, city after city, drive after drive. And it can wipe you out. Double that with releasing a brand-new album, there’s a lot happening in one moment. There’s extra pressure and responsibility, which can be exciting, but also stressful. But all in all, it’s just another day in the life of Ukraine’s Space of Variations.
“We were building this album for so long,” shares vocalist Dmytro (Dima) Kozhukhar. “It will be pretty interesting to show it to people. We just hope they will like it, (that) they will feel something, that something will resonate with them.”
On their third full-length, Poisoned Art, out Feb 13 via Napalm Records, guitarist / vocalist Olexksii Zatserkovnyi stepped behind the dish for his first leading taste of the technical side of putting together an album. At first, it was touch and go, but with time, lots of tutorials, and online coaches, he started to really find his footing and ultimately helped create a stunning record.
“This album is special for me from the point of view of the technical stuff,” says Zatserkovnyi. “I was working with the mixing on this record for the first time ever. I took enough responsibility and I mixed, mastered and recorded everything. It was literally my work. Before, I was not ready. Before, I was a little bit scared. I was brave enough and I dove into this stuff and I’m happy with it.”
For the rest of the album, it took a little time to come up with the concept of the songs and put it all together in a storyboard. It was quite a journey, figuring out this puzzle, away from their regular conditions. Instead of regular studios, some parts were recorded in random places, different countries. All it really took was to just put it all together.
“I’m trying to figure it out in the moment,” shares Dima. “Mostly, it’s to find, in the moment, the purest kind of emotion you know that you want to reflect. Then it feels like it’s in the right place inside you. Then it feels like it’s in the right place from the audience’s side.”
It’s a harsh, harsh world out there today, from pole to pole. At this point, no one is immune to the atrocities happening around the world, and we are all just trying to get by day by day. It takes every amount of energy we have to stand up and stay up, but as long as you have someone on your side, you can get through it.
“Sometimes it feels like you’re trying to find some balance in the middle of the hurricane,” sighs Dima wearily. “Everything around you spins, and you just need to grab something and keep doing it because otherwise you’ll be blown away. It’s pretty impressive our band came through different periods: COVID, then war. We’re still working as a team, and it’s not easy to do according to some circumstances, but we’re not complaining. We’re just trying to live our lives.”
Poisoned Art is out Friday and you can preorder it from Napalm Records. Follow Space of Variations on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for future updates.
Photo Credit: Daria Kasatkina
