Ukrainian singer TANKATAKA about the release of the new single ALIENS, her musical career in Germany and Russia's war against Ukraine

TANKATAKA is a Ukrainian band that blows up German spaces with its semantic tension and unusual performance. The leader of the band is Tanya Kozhukharenko, born in Mykolaiv. She recently dedicated a song to the city in connection with the recent events and the flooding of the city due to Russia's detonation of the Kakhovskaya HPP. During the five years of her stay in Germany, the singer found a connection with the local audience but did not forget where she came from. During all this time, Tanya sings songs in Ukrainian, and is able to make people feel the depth of her songs without knowing the language. In June the singer released her new single "ALIENS" which tells a story about domestic violence, using at the same time metaphorical techniques in the form of "flying saucers" and "space on the eyes". Tanya shared with Drive Music Media the story of her musical journey, identity crisis and helping Ukraine in this difficult time.

Interviewer: The first question always remains the same – tell us how and when yours started passion for music? What inspired you to do it?

TANKATAKA: The nickname has nothing to do with war, we created it many years ago as a pun on my name. When I studied in Ukraine at the university in Odesa, my friend and I created my profile on Instagram and I had to come up with a nickname. At that time, close friends sometimes called me Tanchik, Tank as a derivative of my name Tanya because it reflected my character. I am quite straightforward and stubborn person, so my friend and I came up with the nickname tank.ataka (that is, attacking tank), which later transformed into the name of the music project TANKATAKA.

Interviewer: You recently released the single "ALIENS". Can you tell us about the metaphorical meaning of the song and how the idea of its creation came about?

TANKATAKA: The single "Aliens" explores the theme of domestic violence. The song was written 4 years ago and in it I recorded my personal experience of observing domestic violence. In each line, my personal pain of trauma is a witness, which I process through the text and music. The theme is revealed through metaphorical "cosmic" images, each of them describes a certain situation in an indirect text. Maybe the text of the song is veiled and it's quite difficult to understand it, but I believe that the listeners will feel it and what I'm singing about will resonate with them. I will probably explain some metaphors below that may help the listeners a little more understand the depth of the text. "The whole cosmos is before my eyes" it means  bruises under the eyes. Next one: "But you would know how difficult it is crying into a vacuum" – here about pleas for help that are ignored by society and the police. And "Breathe when the space suit is gone" – talk about the insecurity and vulnerability of the domestic victim violence against the aggressor. I hope that this will inspire your readers to listen to "ALIENS" again and take a new look to the text. I am sure that the text will be able to reveal himself a little deeper to everyone.

Interviewer: You release your songs in Germany, but a few years ago your first one was released in Ukraine. Tell us about that time and how you feel now, coming back thoughts in that creative process? What has changed in these few years? Maybe an approach to writing songs or something else?

TANKATAKA: I moved to Germany before the full-scale invasion and I've been living here for almost 5 years, so all my songs that are on streams I've already released here, including "Shine". The song was released in June 2021, and I wrote it in December 2020. There was COVID when I had just finished my studies in Germany and I had an identity crisis. It was very difficult for me to understand mine path in life, I had no idea how I should realise myself as a musician and how promote my own music. At that time, I didn't know anything about streaming or how to get my music heard at all. For me, all this was scary and unknown. I always had an inner feeling that I would not be able to cope. I had no idea how I could promote my music here in a language that no one here understands, how to perform here at all. All these thoughts scared me so much. However, I continued to go blindly and learned to produce on my own as best I could. But, unfortunately, I am the kind of person who has problems with concentration, planning and organisation. I get excited about something very quickly, and at the first difficulties I get lost, panic and stop halfway. 

In this difficult moment for me, my boyfriend, who is also the co-producer, manager and guitarist of the TANKATAKA project Kirill, supported me a lot. He started helping me with the Cubase program which he had also just started learning. Together, we began to delve deeper into the process of creating arrangements, uploading to streaming platforms, promoting, and more. His support pulled me out of the endless despair I had been in for a very long time. TANKATAKA is our joint project for two years and everything that is currently on streams was made by our hands. Recently, we have also been working with other sound producers and we are always open to cooperation, so if anyone has a desire, write to us, we will be glad. Looking back, I realize how much I learned during this time. I have developed in many ways as a songwriter and producer. And most importantly, I realized that I can more than I think. Sometimes impostor syndrome attacks me and I begin to devalue my work: I attribute all my achievements to circumstances, I say that I have no value in myself. But it's worth it just take a piece of paper and start writing down your successes and achievements, as you immediately understand: "and I even nothing like that." People will always be afraid and that's normal. It is our evolutionary defense mechanism that turns on when we are faced with the unknown. However, we must not let fear take over us because otherwise it will paralyze us and certainly will not lead us anywhere. If we become stronger than our fear, we move forward and develop.

Interviewer: From the beginning of a full-scale war, you actively participate in charity concerts aimed at helping Ukraine. Please remember your first experience of participating in such an event.

TANKATAKA: It was very responsible for us. It was April 2022, I had just written "Bomb shelter", which wasn't even on streaming yet. The purpose of the concert was to raise money for a fund that helps Ukrainian refugees in Germany. I was really worried. I prepared many speeches, worried about whether I would be able to reach the hearts of the Germans through music, in which they did not understand any word. However, everything was fine. We got to know many Ukrainian women who came to Cottbus after the start of the full-scale invasion. Some of them also performed at that concert. From that time until today, we continue to cooperate and support each other in the organization and holding of various events.

Interviewer: Over the years, you have probably noticed some features of the German audience. What is the difference between German and Ukrainian listeners during concerts and street performances? What makes us different, and what combines?

TANKATAKA: The biggest difference, of course, is the lack of understanding of the lyrics. However, I know the German language well, due to the fact that I studied and work here so at all our performances I always tell before each song what will be sung about next. We are united by the love of music as such. They respond very well to the songs, even though they don't understand language. They say that the music reaches their hearts and they still feel the mood and the message.

Interviewer: You are currently working on the release of your debut video. How is the preparation going, maybe you can share something about the work process?

TANKATAKA: We are actively involved in the process of making the music video and to be honest, this one will be my first ever experience shooting a professional music video. We were very lucky to meet Tetiana Ladychenko, who was interested in the idea of the song and agreed to help shoot the music video, despite the very modest budget by industry standards. First of all, for me, this is an invaluable experience of the work of professionals in this field, a chance to learn something new, to reach a new level of understanding of this process. I am very grateful to Kirill for finding Tanya, and to Tanya for agreeing to create this work. To be honest, I am so worried about how listeners and viewers will accept this debut work, but I hope for a positive reaction and support.

Interviewer: Teamwork is very important in any job. Tell us about your band, who plays with you and how did this collaboration begin?

TANKATAKA: As I said before, TANKATAKA consists of me and my boyfriend Kirill, with whom we create everything. I met Kirill almost 10 years ago while studying architecture in Odessa. We had to perform at a student competition. I had to sing, and Kirill played the guitar for me. Later, we played together in the same band, then Kirill moved to Germany to study, and I started learning German to come to him. When I moved to Germany, in the first years we sometimes performed with the guitar together, singing covers, and at the same time, while I continued writing songs and learned to produce music on my own. Then Kirill joined this process and now we continue to create music together.

Interviewer: What are your plans for the future? What is your goal and what can you say about musicians who had to rebuild their creative careers in other countries because of the war?

TANKATAKA: I want to say that we are very lucky to live in the age of digitization and streaming. Despite the fact that many musicians were forced to find themselves abroad due to the war, we have a unique opportunity to be heard in any corner of the world. Social medias make it possible to be in touch with an audience anywhere. And the development of direct access to streaming and the ability to make music on your laptop helps not to be tied to a certain place of residence. Even if you don't have your own piano abroad, you can always install an application on your phone or tablet and write music. Ukrainians are very strong and resourceful. We have an incredibly valuable and very rare trait for Europeans: the ability to get out of any difficult situations to one's advantage. One of the most difficult things abroad is, of course, the language and socialisation. A new country, a new culture, everything is completely different. So I would recommend musicians to look for Ukrainians abroad, collaborate and create something together. It is important not to give in to fear, not to close yourself off from the new world. You need to find the strength to be yourself and surround yourself with people who are on the same wavelength as you. It is really not easy to be alone abroad. Especially when you write and sing songs that are not in English or the language of the country you live in. Ukrainians who are abroad need to unite and support each other more than ever. Only in this way can we not only preserve our culture far from home, but also popularise and promote it to a new level among foreigners. Together we are a force.

Photographers: Ralf Schuster, Dina Karalash