Interviews

Oleksandra Stepanenko is a Ukrainian writer and the author of 9 Circles of Heaven, which tells the story of a soldier with the call sign Dante. The writer’s goal was to show that, despite the hell of war, the soldier achieves ascent rather than decline. The story also intersects with her own life, as her husband is a defender of Ukraine. Oleksandra shared with Drive Music Media the meanings embedded in her book 9 Circles of Heaven and her upcoming projects.

Julia Brevetti is a Canadian artist working in realism and pop art, known for her “Vintage Cars” series previously featured by Drive Music Media, is now creating a new painting collection featuring various liquor bottles. The series has already gained recognition on social media, which earned her a spot in a group exhibition featuring the iconic liquor brand Campari. The story of this collection begins with Julia’s family, who have been collecting bottles for many years. In addition, Julia released a rather unusual collection for her style — a series of skull paintings. This body of work carries a therapeutic meaning for the artist, as through the prism of art she portrayed the “death” of another version of herself. Julia shared with Drive Music Media about her new liquor bottle series and the skull painting collection.

Sergio Kinoman – singer-songwriter and frontman of the project Monkey Shock Band, who believes that musicians must take responsibility for what they perform and share with the world. Monkey Shock Band was founded in 2016 by two friends, Sergio and Maksym Yakymenko. In 2020, Monkey Shock Band released their rock record XXII, which became the soundtrack to the film Illusion — a project that found success at festivals across Europe, Asia, and the USA. Since 2022, the band has switched to the Ukrainian language, starting with the single Echo, which tells an abstract story of a soldier returning home. Sergio shared with Drive Music Media the beginnings of his journey, the creation of Monkey Shock Band, and his mission as a musician.

Lana Kulyk is a Ukrainian writer, author of Swan Love, The Adventures of Hedgehog, and the collection Burrs. She is currently developing the literary agency Lit Agency Phoenix, which aims to represent Ukrainian authors abroad. Lana shared insights with Drive Music Media about the beginning of her writing journey, the Burrs collection, and her own literary agency.

Rocco Guarino is an American music producer, songwriter with the song placements in shows and founder of his own label, Starlite Records, created with the mission of giving a voice to musicians who were worthy but never heard. His music has been featured in shows such as Woke on Hulu, The Kroll Show on Comedy Central, and many others. The label was founded as a tribute to his mother, a talented singer who, despite her dedication and hard work, never received the recognition she deserved. Over the course of his career, Rocco has collaborated with many monumental musicians, including Elton John. Beyond the music industry, Rocco is also deeply connected to the world of videography and photography. He once served as the official videographer for Velvet Revolver and directed their music video “The Last Light”, which ultimately reached #9 on VN1. Music, photography, and videography share two perspectives: those in front of the stage or camera, and those who capture history as it truly was. In his work, Rocco has always done the latter. Also, Rocco is not only a renowned music producer and the founder of Starlite Records, but also an active force for good in the community, volunteering with Adopt the Arts to help keep music in public schools. As a voting member of the Recording Academy and an official endorser of Aston Microphones, Behringer, Cerwin-Vega, KRK, Rode, and Sandhill Microphones, he continues to combine art with purpose, making meaningful contributions to the development of music beyond the studio. He spoke with Drive Music Media about honesty in his craft, working with Velvet Revolver, founding Starlite Records, challenges in the music industry, the calm of photography, and his upcoming projects.

Anna Arden is a Ukrainian singer and songwriter whose goal is to make Ukrainian music recognizable around the world. She is a two-time winner of the international project Golden Time Talent and is currently actively working on new music. In our conversation, Anna opened up about the beginning of her creative journey, the differences between the music scenes in Austria and Ukraine, and her personal mission as an artist.

Devin Cecchetto is not only an actress known for her role as the younger version of Evelyn Goodwin in the Canadian series The Way Home about healing family and personal traumas through time travel via a mysterious pond, but also a singer-songwriter. She doesn’t limit herself to one genre, as she grew up listening to all kinds of music — and that helped her find balance between styles and, most importantly, feel free in her music. This week, she released a light, summery track called “So Obvious” along with a music video for the song. This summer, she’s been diving deep into music and opened up to us about the heartfelt creation of “Ships in the Night”, inspired by her life story, and the effortlessly breezy “So Obvious”.

SHÉLEST is a Ukrainian rock band that formed through an interesting symbiosis: Liana, who spent a long time searching for herself in music and eventually found her path after several performances in collaboration with Leonid — and Leonid himself, who knew since the age of 15 that he wanted to create his own songs, and dreamed of forming a rock band with a female vocalist during his student years. Recently, they became the winners of the Ukrainian competition held in London, Chervona Ruta, and are now actively working on their debut album — the first in a series of “elemental” albums, each one inspired by natural phenomena such as fire, air, and earth. Liana Hrytsa and Leon Vovnyar shared with Drive Music Media the beginning of their journey, their experience at Chervona Ruta, and the deeper meanings behind their new song «Chomu?» (Why?).

Max Hechtman is an award-winning, New York–based American director whose journey in film began with a simple thought — “I can do better” — after watching his brother’s school photo montage. Since then, he has gone on to create compelling dramatic films like Abigail, I Am Here, and Remembering Isabelle. Max opened up with Drive Music Media about how it all started, how he chooses actors for his films, the meaningful moments behind each story, and what new projects he’s working on now.

Mikola Borovskiy is a Ukrainian fashion photographer who draws inspiration from the depths of the human soul. He loves to reveal people in a new light, creating a fresh space where they can rediscover themselves. A turning point in his career came when he stopped photographing only himself — as he initially started with creative self-portraits. In our conversation, Mikola shared with Drive Music Media the story of how his artistic journey began, what he would never photograph, and details about his upcoming photo project.