Ukrainian songwriter PETROVOCHKA: Keep your inner dreamy child alive even if life makes you forget about it

PETROVOCHKA is a Ukrainian indie-pop singer-songwriter who shows through her lyrics how important it is to keep the inner child alive, whose ability to dream is a catalyst for the realization of all our adult dreams, despite the hard experiences in life, war, and loss. Anna Petrovska, as the musician is called, is sure that she wants to devote her life not only to performing but also to creating music. Anna shared with Drive Music Media about the release of her first solo album "I Have a Plan", her inner childishness, and her life in migration due to the war.

Interviewer: Tell us a little bit about your stage name PETROVOCHKA. How and when did it become your stage name?

Anna: It is a derivative of my last name, Petrovska. It's a diminutive word that my friends have been affectionately calling me since I was a student. Many people tell me that it's too "childish" but this is my message, which I broadcast through my art – to keep the childishness in oneself. Because that's where our superpower is. 

Interviewer: Four years ago, you came to the casting of the X-Factor show. What did you learn from this experience and would you advise musicians to enter such competitions? What is the backstage like and what was the process of preparing for participation?

Anna: Participation in the X-Factor gave me an understanding of what real publicity is and what it is like to be judged, and harshly so. It had a sobering effect. I have never considered myself a strong vocalist, but rather an artist, an artist who has a vision, who broadcasts his own SENSE, who creates his own art. When I was told that there would be a screen, and all that would be left of me on stage was my voice, I realized that this was the end of my participation in the show. Actually, that's exactly what happened. So now I think that vocal competitions are not my story. In Europe, for example, there are competitions where a vocalist and a singer-songwriter are two different categories with different evaluation criteria. So I'm more interested in developing as an artist, as a songwriter, than as a vocalist. Although there are no limits to perfection. Sometimes you just want some kind of focus. Would I advise artists to enter such competitions as The X Factor? Definitely yes. This is a tremendous experience. But it's good if you have at least one demo in stock, which you will release immediately after participating. Otherwise, you won't gain anything from the contest except the experience itself.

Interviewer: At what age did you realize that you wanted to play music? Why did you choose the musical path? What were your first steps in this field?

Anna: At the age of 8, when my godfather's daughter played Beethoven's "To Elise" on the piano. The next day I was enrolled in music school. I learned to play "To Elise" and said goodbye to the music school. Gestalt was closed. A year later, while doing a crossword puzzle, I saw a picture of a girl sitting at a piano. And it was beautiful! I went back to music school, finished my studies, and thought that my musical journey was over. I wanted to become a psychologist. But then I learned to play the guitar and wrote my first song. Music never let me go. At that moment I felt that this is what I really want to devote my life to. Not just performing music, but creating it. Later I realized that music and psychology can actually be combined, so now I write existential indie pop. 

Interviewer: Music is a state of mind. It creates a mood or, on the contrary, helps to release all negative or positive emotions. How do you feel about music? What inspires you to create new lyrics? What message would you like to convey to the audience with your songs?

Anna: I believe that we program our lives through music. Tell me what you listen to, and I'll tell you who you are. But this scheme works in reverse as well. You become what you listen to. I am already at the stage where I don't wait for inspiration; I visit it. It's enough for me to simply sit at the keyboard or guitar, choose some chords, hum a melody, and "catch" a state, emotion, or thought – they are always "floating" in the air. Or if you don't believe in all this esoteric stuff, I'll rephrase: they are all already inside you; you just need to verbalize them.

Interviewer: You currently live in Paris. What differences in the music scene in France have you noticed so far, what pros and cons could you name?

Anna: In fact, I'm still exploring this market. For the year and a half that I've been here, I haven't written any songs or actually played music. It was one of the most difficult periods in my life. In addition, I lost the vision of myself in music. I no longer understood what language I should write in and for whom. Then, at a music conference in Athens, one of the speakers gave me an answer to this question. And I realized that this is my story: a Ukrainian woman who moved to France, speaks English, learns French. This is my path and my identity. So why not write multilingual songs? It gave me permission to finally continue writing. It gave me an understanding of where to go next as an artist. And then came the confirmation from my fellow musicians. They said that Ukrainians are divided into three types: Warriors (defending the country), Keepers (staying to preserve the language, culture, customs and traditions and multiplying them), and Heralds (their mission is to tell the world about Ukraine, about our culture, to broadcast the truth to the world). At that moment I realized that I was in my place. And if I am going to speak to the world, I want as many people as possible to understand me. Just 3 weeks ago, I wrote my first song after a 1.5-year break.

Interviewer: You have released your first solo album, consisting of 8 songs. Which of them did you create first? What is it about? Tell us about the album itself, why does the album have the title of the song "I Have a Plan"? 

Anna: My first album consists of 7 songs. The first was "You Know, Only You". It was written more than 10 years ago. It was one of my very first songs. I always like to create multi-layered songs in terms of meanings. At first glance, it seems like a love song. But in fact, this song is about growing up and finding your own path. Or about an internal dialog. It depends on how you look at it. The album is called "I Have a Plan". 

It's an audio journey of 7 songs. With 7 storytelling. The album is about how important it is to keep the childlike part of yourself alive. Because it is there that we are real. And even when life forces us to grow up, when you lose your loved ones, when you have to grit your teeth on the way to your dream and rely solely on yourself, in the end, when there is a war in your country, when you have to radically change your life, actually start it all over again... It is so important not to lose it. This childish part... that knows how to dream, that still hopes for something good. And this good is still waiting ahead... The main thing is to keep going. And to preserve my inner cosmos until old age. This is my plan. Once I noticed how important it is for me to wait for something, to plan something. As if it keeps me afloat and makes me want to live, when you have a plan, when you have a vision, when you have a dream. I think it's a very existential thing. It answers the question of WHY IT'S ALL HERE.

Interviewer: Which song (not necessarily from the album) will you always remember? What story does it tell? Of course, if there is such a song.

Anna: I think it's "Call the Blablacar". It's a song about my last summer in the capital. The last months in Ukraine before I left. And the words "You know, Kyiv is home" almost always make me cry...  

Interviewer: Migration is never easy. Tell us how your migration journey began: the pros and cons of the country you are in, what helps you stay there, and whether you would choose this country to migrate to again?

Anna: It was difficult because I was not ready to move. I packed my things for two weeks and went to my friend's wedding, having just rented an apartment in the center of Kyiv and not spent a single night there. Then the active arrivals and the first blackouts started. I decided to spend the winter here. But then my family decided to move here too (at least until the war is over), and so far we are all here. Soon it will be 2 years since I was not in Ukraine. And the first year of adaptation was a super difficult challenge. Because everything is different here.

To be honest, it's impossible to rent a house as easily as in Ukraine, you need a lot of documents, bank statements, official work here, a salary three times higher than the rent which is at least 500-600 euros, a guarantor, and too much "competition" for one unit of housing. There is also a lot of paperwork here, while in Ukraine everything has long been digitalized. Everything here takes a long time, some issues can take six months to resolve, while in Ukraine, it is resolved in a day. The list goes on.  

But there are also good points. The French are very calm and measured, they value their time, they don't work on weekends, they know how to live and enjoy life even at the age of 70, there is no "old age" as a concept, you can change your profession whenever you want and as long as you want, the country offers a lot of opportunities, no one judges anyone, LGBT+ marriages are allowed, you can feel "freedom" and opportunities in the air. This is what I like here.  

Music and close people help to keep me going. No matter how trite this answer may sound. A dream helps to keep you going, a job helps to keep you going, especially when there are people who kick you in the ass and say "go ahead, do it". As a country for migration (if you're really set on it), I would actually recommend it. I can't imagine myself living in any other country. 

Interviewer: Tell us more about studying at an international music academy, participation in the movie and taking a break from songwriting. Given that you are engaged in different areas, in what sentence would you describe all your areas of expertise?

Anna: The Eastern European Music Academy is an academy created by MusicExport Ukraine and other European organizations with the support of the European Commission to help independent music professionals develop their careers. It was a tremendous experience to hear international speakers and learn about how the music industry works in the world. I felt a tremendous expansion of my worldview and my capabilities. In addition, I was among the top ten students who were awarded a trip to Athens for a music festival and conference.  I came back from there a different person. 

As for the movie: last year, a Ukrainian student studying directing here held a casting call. And I got the lead role, having no acting experience at all. It's a short film about the relationship between two sisters after immigration. It's also about the search for one's own identity as an artist.

In one word I would describe myself as a creator. Everything I do, from writing songs to developing brand strategies, is about the process of creation. This is what makes me feel alive.

Videos taken from the official Youtube channel of Anna Petrovska

Pictures were taken by Edward Mood, Sergiy Gimiush