A conversation between Cultural Platform Zakarpattya NGO and 17-year-old Bohdan at the opening of «KONTENTA» audiovisual studies in Valky on April 7, 2024
— Hello there! Could you please tell us a little about yourself?
— My name is Bohdan, I am 17 years old. I come from the village of Koviyahy, located not far from Valky in the Bohoduhiv district. Now we are in the “Salat” youth center, which recently opened here in Valky. I love music. I have been making music for 10 years already.
— What instruments do you play? What kind of music do you make?
— When I was about five or six years old, I saw a harmonica for the first time. It is such a small instrument. I really liked it! I immediately started making some tunes, and my parents decided to send me to a music school in the city of Valky. I studied there for about 7.5 years and graduated from the music school with high honors.
After that, I entered college (also in the domain of music)—now I am studying at the Professional Music College named after Borys Mykolayovych Liatoshynskyi. I’m learning how to play the accordion there. I can also play the piano and the balalaika a little bit—the study plan combines these three instruments. Now I am already in the third year of my studies.
I try to be as diverse with the genres as possible, so I have tried making both electronic and vocal music, there were also some trap beats. I have been trying not to stand still and experiment as much as possible.
— We heard that you have been dreaming of setting up a recording studio here for a while. Could you tell us more about the journey that led to the studio opening today?
— At first, I didn’t have a goal to install a studio, but after some time I started making music professionally. I was interested in improving myself, and I liked the recordings. I really wanted to record sound, voice, and instruments, or even make my own electronic music—to do all that I wanted to try studio work. I even put together my own music studio at home, so I already have some experience working with it.
After I got fired up with this idea, I started writing the project proposal. I failed many times, but I continued to write grant applications, submit them, and seek support. Eventually, I dared to turn to the local authorities for help. At first, they did not have the opportunity to help me, but later I was invited to join the project of the “Salat” youth center. The authorities said that there would be a music studio there, and they would help me with that. It’s probably been about eight months since I turned to the authorities for help, and now we’re here—there’s a studio that I hope I’ll use to record some cool tracks.
— How did you find out about the fact that the «KONTENTA» audiovisual studies will be implemented in the Valky youth center?
— I learned about the studio opening from my friends at the “Salat” youth center, the ones who are now helping me promote myself and always motivate me to keep creating. I used to be a part of the team at the youth center, now I come here as a volunteer. I was so happy when I heard the news!
— What can KONTENTA give you personally? Do you already have plans on how to use it?
— KONTENTA will help me develop my skills in writing music. And I hope that other people will help me, too—people whom it will be interesting to work with, who will perhaps give me certain ideas, or we will come up with these ideas together. In my opinion, that is very cool. I hope it will all happen just like that. I have already taken part in the instructional workshop on how to use this music studio. Now I am waiting for the sound design event. I am very happy that this studio has very good sound and that I will be able to learn how to work in Ableton.
— Tell us a little about the youth in your community. What are they interested in?
— Young people usually spend their free time watching movies in our youth center or simply hanging out outside. They come to the youth center to play board games or attend the literature club, English Club, and national exam preparation classes.
To be honest, not many children come to youth centers. Because of the war, they became more emotionally closed and most gained many insecurities. I am talking about musicians and vocalists especially because they are afraid of their voice and do not sing. But I hope that with the help of this studio, we will be able to overcome this barrier, provide some guidance to our youth, and help them express their feelings through music.
— In your opinion, how do such projects as «KONTENTA» affect the development of the community?
— I believe that everything should be adapted to each community. For example, there is a music school in our community, and this project will be quite relevant for our creative youth. They are motivated to make music. Young people will come here, make recordings, try, learn something new, and communicate with others. They will have many opportunities to create music here.
Each community has its people, and they have their own motivation to do that. They understand why they are doing it, and it would be interesting to learn how it is done in other communities. One can take some cool tips from them or share one’s experience with them. Trying to understand someone’s point of view is also interesting. It’s really cool to start thinking through different perspectives. It makes life less mundane and repetitive.
— Last question: what is your biggest dream?
— My dream is to become a musical performer. I haven’t decided on the genre yet. But I hope that I will solve this issue shortly. My boldest ambition? I would like to go on a world tour someday.
The «KONTENTA» project is implemented by the Cultural Platform Zakarpattya NGO with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine. In 2024, we plan to install 20 KONTENTA studios in different communities across Ukraine. The community selection process is still ongoing.
Photo Yevhenii Zhulaj
Anastasiya Mishustina
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