Demone Ritti about the new album, composing and the war in Ukraine

Interviewer: I remember you used to write songs only for yourself. What is it like to move to the next level  —  writing songs for others? Tell me about your first experience.

Demone Ritti: After hormonal therapy, I decided to improve my voice and during this time I decided to write songs for others. I write songs in 3 languages: English, Russian and Ukrainian. This allows me to collaborate with both Ukrainians and artists from abroad. My first experience was with an aspiring musician from Kyiv. It was easy enough for me, in principle the whole process was the same as when I write a song for myself. All the same, imagination, feelings are turned on and a melody with text is created. Despite the fact that now I write songs for other artists, I still leave time to create songs in my performance. Now I'm preparing a new album and I hope to release it early next year.

Interviewer: Because of the war, you had to move to another country. How difficult is it to start over in your field? What are these difficulties?

Demone Ritti: At first, I had creative depression. It seemed to me that I was again at the bottom of the abyss and I needed to start all over again, but this is not so. I have good "soil" and a lot of material to release. Therefore, I gathered myself and adopted the tactics of how I will act now. Basically, I collaborate with Ukrainian performers, so the only difficulty is the war. It is very difficult for them to work in such an environment, to the sound of shells, sirens, but they do not stop. In the hearts of Ukrainian musicians there is an infinite amount of courage and love for their work. For those who left, like me, it is also difficult. But we must gather our will into a fist and act.

Interviewer: You said about the war and I immediately had a question: many artists collect charity concerts to help Ukraine. What do you think about this and would you like to try organizing a fundraising concert in the future?

Demone Ritti: I think this is a really good idea. Many musicians have the opportunity to help in such a difficult period and hold concerts to raise funds for Ukrainian army and so on. I support it. I myself try to help people who need it. There was an experience when, together with my Polish acquaintances, I was able to find and order medicine for a person who is in Ukraine and could not buy them for certain reasons. I always happy to help anyone who contacts me, but most often I act through existing foundations and organizations. 

Interviewer: What do people usually ask you to write songs about? What topics have you already covered?

Demone Ritti: People order songs about love and "something sad". I am very proud that I was able to write a song dedicated to love on behalf of a woman to a man. I was able to feel and imagine what tender feelings the lead singer of the Emorfity group has for this person, and I am sure that when this song comes out, everyone who hears it will understand what it is about. By the way, the song will be released in early January!

Interviewer: Do you make the beat yourself or do you work with sound engineers?

Demone Ritti: I work with talented sound engineers. Created a minus for the song "King of Rose" Oleksey Ilyin (Ilyin) Actually, this was our first experience of cooperation, and as a person who has experience in cooperation with others, I can say that this person will not let you down. I'm glad that I come across really good people on my creative path.

Interviewer: It's cool, but sometimes bad things happens. Do you run into any unpredictable or not-so-good situations during your songwriting collaborations? If yes, what?

Demone Ritti: Yes. There was a situation in the problem of copyright transfer. I counted on a license agreement, handed over the song on time, but upon completion of the work, the customer's distributor insisted on transferring the exclusive copyright. And I would pass it on if the song was not performed by me to use as an intro for a YouTube channel. And it turns out that I have to completely abandon my song, and shared my passport details with an unlnown person. This looks rather strange, given that the transfer of exclusive copyright was not originally agreed in this case. I literally spent the whole day negotiating with the customer, but in the end we did not come to a common agreement.

Interviewer: Let's remember your first solo album. How have you changed since then? What genres do you plan to work on now?

Demone Ritti: First, I changed the language of the album. Now I will release music in English. In principle, I always had more songs in English, so "it's high time".

Interviewer: In Ukraine, your fans know that you can shock. Have you already figured out how you will shock the English audience? Seems like it should be harder.

Demone Ritti: I will shock them with my music, not my appearance. Even though I have matured and changed my style a bit, I will always have a bit of a "crazy" in me. In fact, it is very difficult for me to find that golden mean in how I look and how I want to look. My hair is natural color - I like it and not so much. Something between "I want white hair, blue" and "leave me alone." And this is absolutely normal. Each of us needs time.

Photo by Tatiana Moroz