INVISIBLE KIDS: As an English-Speaking Ukrainian Artist, I Am Committed to Telling the World the Truth About russia’s 11-Year War on Ukraine

INVISIBLE KIDS is a musical project by Ukrainian metal musician and cellist Vladyslav Koshyl, aimed at bringing international listeners' attention to russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, which has been lasting for over 11 years. In the spring of 2023, the musician wrote the track "IF YOU STOP FIGHTING YOU WILL DIE", marking his return to music after a long period of depression caused by the beginning of the full-scale invasion of his country. He is currently working on a new experimental EP, where he seeks to combine elements of progressive, post-, and groove metal. Vladyslav shared with Drive Music Media the story of how his musical journey began, his new projects, and his personal mission.

Interviewer: How and when did your musical journey begin? What were your first steps in this field?

INVINSIBLE KIDS: My musical journey began in a small industrial town in the Luhansk region during my preschool years when I inherited an old Soviet toy accordion and several xylophones of different sizes from my uncle. Since then, as long as I can remember, I have been playing one musical instrument or another. I finished music school in the trumpet class, took cello lessons, and later, while studying at the university in Kharkiv, I had cello lessons with a professor at the conservatory, as well as taught myself to play bass guitar and percussion. My first steps in my music career, if we don’t count city and regional music competitions from music school and performances at school holidays, were "music videos" filmed with friends on a phone in the yard under songs by Rammstein and Metallica. We would simply play the song on one phone, hold it near another phone that recorded the video, and epicly open our mouths against the background of some abandoned place or garages. In the beginning, cardboard instruments (which were destroyed at the end of each "performance") were eventually replaced by real ones. We gathered at homes, in the music classroom after lessons, in the music school, and in real rap spots in garage cooperatives. It was during this time that the first original tracks were written and recorded on a Nokia N71. Later, together with this friend, during my studies in Kharkiv, we created our first real rock band, which, however, had no success. I also continued to play trumpet in the university orchestra for some time, but eventually, it faded away, and I focused on the cello and heavy music.

Interviewer: Why did you choose metal as your genre? What aspects of it resonate with you the most?

INVINSIBLE KIDS: In my childhood, I listened to much lighter music, and my first favorite artists were Okean Elzy, Vopli Vidoplyasova, Ruslana, and, as embarrassing as it is to admit, some russian bands. There was also a lot of jazz and classical music, for which I’m truly grateful to my trumpet teacher. But everything changed one summer when I went on vacation to my cousin’s house, who already had a computer and a flash drive with downloaded music videos, music, and funny videos. There were clips by Apocalyptica – Path, SOAD – Toxicity, and Rammstein – Sonne. As soon as I heard these songs, I realized that I wanted not just to play this music but to be as cool as these artists. Or cooler. Together with my childhood friend, we were fanatical about Metallica and played endless covers. I continued to explore genres and discover heavier and more unusual sounds – Megadeth, Pantera, Sepultura, SOAD, Down, Tool, and then various alternative, metalcore, nu-metal, post-hardcore, and progressive. In general, what I believe unites all metal and what is most important to me is the ability to vividly express negative emotions. And there are always more negative emotions in life than enough. Anger, disappointment, resentment, pain from losses, sorrow from partings, aggression, despair – I believe this can’t be conveyed better than through rock or metal music. For me personally, metal is the best way to scream about problems, protest, or simply tell someone to fuck off. Also, as someone who grew up on classical instrumental music, I really value good composition and melody, and metal is the genre that can combine everything I like. The heaviness and at the same time melodiousness, groove, drive, aggression, and emotionality. Although lately, I’m gradually moving away from the classic understanding of metal music and trying to experiment more with progressive and post sounds, experimenting with electronics, and giving more preference to atmosphere and meaning than to riffs and melody.

Interviewer: Tell us about your composition "I.Y.S.F.Y.W.D," which was released in a new interpretation in February. Tell us about the process of working on it and the meanings you embedded in it.

INVINSIBLE KIDS: The original composition IF YOU STOP FIGHTING YOU WILL DIE was written in the spring of 2023 and became the first track released during the full-scale war after more than a year of creative pause and apathy caused by the war. During this time, I was helping the Ukrainian Armed Forces, putting aside creativity and life in general until I drove myself into depression. So, this track, inspired by the relentless struggle of the Ukrainian people, was a kind of comeback and consists of two parts that clearly reflect the psychological state. The Lofi synthwave re-imagining of this composition by Yekitsu, called I.Y.S.F.Y.W.D., shifts the focus from the existential struggle of Ukrainians for survival to the inner struggles of an individual, telling the story of the constant battle within each person. It is also a story about the struggle humanity has with itself, approaching self-destruction. The heavy yet melodic cello parts convey the sensitive side of human nature, which manifests and hides among the synthetic sounds. The composition unveils the entire spectrum of intense emotional fluctuations that accompany us in everyday life.

Interviewer: You play the cello, which is quite an unexpected choice for metal music. Tell us how you discovered this instrument? What resonates with you about it and what role does it play in your music?

INVINSIBLE KIDS: I have always liked the cello since early childhood and my time in music school. I adore its baritone tone and soft sound. Every time musical ensembles and orchestras would perform at our school, I would be fascinated by the cellists. Unfortunately, there was no cello class at our music school, so I studied trumpet and planned to be the bassist in our future metal band. Then I saw that Apocalyptica video, and I realized that a cello with distortion can sound much heavier, lower, and more brutal than a guitar, and the desire to play the cello exceeded all possible limits. So, my mom found me a second-hand 3/4 size cello from acquaintances and arranged private lessons with a retired teacher. I diligently practiced at home and spent a lot of time on it. When I moved to Kharkiv for studies, I took private lessons at the conservatory to improve my technique. Over time, when our band broke up, I played less, and I started a new phase of creativity and active work after moving to Kyiv and starting my solo career. The cello is the main instrument in my music. Apart from bass, keyboards, and drums, I write all the main parts on the cello. Sometimes I also use the guitar, but as a secondary instrument. The cello is a very interesting instrument that provides more sound options due to different playing techniques – bowing or pizzicato. Moreover, the cello is tuned lower than the guitar, so it sounds heavier and more brutal, which is perfect for metal. Combined with various effects, it creates a unique and unusual sound.

Interviewer: What projects are you currently working on?

INVINSIBLE KIDS: In recent years, I’ve experimented a lot with genres and sound, trying to find myself by jumping between synthwave, hardcore techno, post-rock, and alternative metal. Eventually, I realized that I wanted to create something more complex, conscious, and atmospheric than my debut metal album THE STORY OF ONE MAN, but at the same time, just as heavy and aggressive. So, I’m currently actively working on a new experimental mini-album, in which I want to combine elements of progressive, post, and groove metal, and, of course, add electronics. Expect atmospheric psychedelic melodies, heavy breaks with broken rhythms, and conceptual lyrics. I think it will be very progressive. And, of course, it will be conceptual – The name of the upcoming release will be A NEW ERA, and I want to pose serious questions about the modern world and society with these tracks. I also hope soon you’ll hear my music on my girlfriend TĒMNA RÁDIST’s new EP; this will be a very unusual collaboration that combines completely different genres and approaches to music creation. I think it will be awesome! Additionally, I’m currently looking for people to finally turn my solo project into a real metal band, so if you’re into musical experiments, I’d be happy to meet like-minded individuals.

Interviewer: Tell us about your collaboration with Temna Rádist. How did your collaboration begin, and what project did you work on together?

INVINSIBLE KIDS: With TĒMNA RÁDIST, we’ve only had one collaboration so far, but soon you’ll hear another one. At that time, we had just met, and unexpectedly quickly decided to create something together, despite our completely different genre and style preferences. It was the track She’s in Abyss, which TĒMNA RÁDIST wrote as a dedication to her friend, inspired by her mysterious and poetic nature. Vika felt that in this composition, I could add more drive and emotional tension. The track comes across as a combination of two different worlds – gloomy, atmospheric electronics, and post-metal. We were incredibly inspired by it, and I came up with and recorded all the cello parts in one night.

Interviewer: How difficult is it to continue your career in the conditions of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine? What challenges have you faced along the way?

INVINSIBLE KIDS: I live in Kyiv, so I am in relative safety. Of course, the full-scale war that кussia started against our country has forever changed our lives and shattered our plans. At the beginning of 2022, my friends and I organized volunteer activities to support our Armed Forces, and I directed all my strength and resources there, while music took a backseat. However, in 2023, I realized that I cannot exist without creativity, and I managed to find a balance between my main job in IT, music, and volunteer work, and released a few releases. It has been three years now since our volunteer organization has been helping the defenders of Ukraine. Of course, this requires a lot of resources, so creating music has become more difficult. Emotionally, it has become much harder – constantly being surrounded by war, death, and human grief, living with the thought that a кussian missile could hit you in your own home at any moment, and also watching as the front line gradually moves closer – all this makes it harder to find inspiration. At the same time, like never before, many new bands are emerging in Ukraine because the demand for Ukrainian music is huge right now. Difficult topics inspire many people (including me) to create. Ukrainian music is currently undergoing a real revival, supported by listeners, though unfortunately not on a national level. And of course, it’s horrible that all this is happening because of the war.

Interviewer: Which composition holds the most special meaning for you? Why is it particularly significant?

INVINSIBLE KIDS: I don’t really have a special track, but I do have my favorite debut mini-album THE STORY OF ONE MAN, which I wrote during and before the war; I love all the tracks from it. This album is a conceptual autobiographical depressive story of love, mistakes, and self-destruction from the distant 2010s. The recording process lasted from 2021 to 2024 at the Lypky Sound Recording Studio in Kyiv and was interrupted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but the album was finally finished. All the music, except for two riffs in the first and last songs, I wrote myself at different stages of life starting from 2018, and I also recorded all the parts (cello, bass, and keyboards). Only the drums and vocal parts were recorded by session musicians, Dmitry (drums) from Dice & The Acid Warrior Lord, and Vlad (vocals) from Recone. The cover art was created by artist Daria Ozero, who managed to convey the unstable psychological state and depression expressed in the music through the broken composition and dark colors.

If we talk about a specific track, I think the most special one would be our first collaboration with TĒMNA RÁDIST, She’s in Abyss, because during the work on this track, our communication turned into something more and truly special, and we started a relationship, which has been ongoing ever since.

Interviewer: What word do you associate your own music with? Why this particular word?

INVINSIBLE KIDS: Atmosphere, concept, and groove – these are the main words that describe the music of INVISIBLE KIDS, as well as melodiousness and alternativeness.

Interviewer: What mission do you have as a Ukrainian musician, and what is the mission of your musical project? Why this particular mission?

INVINSIBLE KIDS: Before the full-scale war that russia started against our country, I, as an artist, did not have any particular mission or think about the national component. My music was just a means of expressing my emotions, experiences, and the creative ideas that arose in my head. But now, I realize that as an English-speaking Ukrainian artist, I am obliged to tell the world the truth about the war that russia has been waging against our state for over 11 years, and the genocide it has been committing for centuries. That’s why I talk about it in every interview. By the way, my new EP will also partly be about this. The history of INVISIBLE KIDS begins in the early 2010s, when my childhood friend Dima and I moved to Kharkiv to study and created a metal band there. It was then that the name INVISIBLE KIDS was born, which aimed to highlight the experience of young people who often felt lonely, misunderstood, and rejected by those around them, while also feeling like lost children in a huge and hostile world.

Pictures were proovided by INVINSIBLE KIDS: