Vanessa Gherbavaz: At the age of three, I decided to be a ballerina for the rest of my life

Danik Shpydeiko is a Ukrainian poet, songwriter, and co-founder of the band “Tonkyi Marsh” — a project that emerged not from a calculated career plan, but from a need to transform thoughts, social tension, and personal freedom into music. Having spent most of his conscious life in sports before unexpectedly stepping into the music industry, Danik never considered himself a traditional musician. For him, music became a channel for poetry, reflection, and honest conversations about society, politics, inner conflict, and identity. Together with his bandmates, he built “Tonkyi Marsh” as a space where lyrics matter more than trends and where songs are meant not simply to entertain, but to provoke thought and emotional response. Danik shared with Drive Music Media the story behind the band’s creation, the philosophy of their music, the meanings hidden inside the mini-album Painted Souls, the challenges of creating art during wartime in Ukraine, and why freedom remains the defining word of his art.

On April 27, the British indie-rock band MOSAICS held a launch party at the concert venue of the pub The Lower Third to celebrate the release of their debut album “A Guiding Life”, which began in July 2025. The album includes five tracks: “Godspeed,” “Heaven Knows,” “A Thousand Faces,” “Sing Me to Sleep,” and “Different People” — one of which, “Different People,” was performed as a duet with James McCartney. The album was released with the involvement of sound engineer George Lloyd-Owen, mixing by Lue Stylianou, mastering by Matt Colton, and publishing by Xaccuti Productions. The atmosphere of MOSAICS’ concerts has a way of pulling you inward — somewhere deep into your own thoughts. During “Different People,” it feels like a quiet conversation with yourself: about how you change as the world around you shifts, and how following your dreams brings both outcomes and losses. One of the most striking lines — “All these city lights have really taken their toll” — becomes a precise metaphor for the experience of moving, which lies at the heart of the song. To mark the release of their first album, James joined MOSAICS at the launch party and also performed one of his new songs, “Angeles.” Discover the atmosphere of MOSAICS’ concert this Monday in a report by our founder, Asya Radko.

Cherepanov is a Ukrainian guitarist, songwriter, and one of the key figures in Kyiv’s alternative underground scene — a musician who doesn’t just play music, but builds an entire ecosystem around it. From early inspiration Pet Shop Boys to founding bands, organizing concerts for international acts, and running the iconic Kyiv based art-space “Tepliy Lampoviy,” his journey reflects a deep commitment to creative freedom and community. As a member of Spokusy and Aghiazma, and the mind behind numerous cultural initiatives, he continues to shape the sound and spirit of a new Ukrainian wave — raw, emotional, and unapologetically independent. In this interview, Cherepanov speaks about his musical beginnings, balancing multiple projects, creating during wartime, and why his entire creative path can be summed up in one word: afterparty.

David Webster is a Canadian actor and a star of The Way Home, a TV series from The Hallmark Channel, who believes that independent films with little or no budget — but with a strong script — are the purest form of love for the craft, and that established actors should take part in them. He also writes his own scripts and plans to make films, so he understands the true value of independent movies — driven purely by the passion of people willing to overcome hardships to bring them to life. With the first episode of the new season of The Way Home already out, David decided to share insights into his approach to understanding his characters. David’s character, Elliot Augustine, is like a book of secrets — forced to carry the burdens of the entire Landry family and to know the outcome of every story in advance, including his own. To better understand the character, he created an “Elliot playlist” and listened to music between takes, essentially living through Elliot’s life events through the lens of sound. The tracks began with something lighter and gradually shifted into more melancholic and dramatic tones. David shared with the founder of Drive Music Media Asya Radko how it all began for him, what the series means to him personally, the roles that changed his life, and his experience working on independent films.

Gravity Settings is a Ukrainian electronic music producer and DJ whose artistic focus is centered on atmospheric dark sound and experimental approaches to electronic music. His journey into music began in 2018 in the town of Novoyavorivsk in the Lviv region, where he started exploring music production and DJing after meeting fellow musician Ivan Hrytsyna (DJ ShON). What began with early experiments in FL Studio and small apartment DJ sets gradually evolved into a deeper study of music theory and sound design. Today, Gravity Settings develops a sonic identity built around deep, dark, and immersive textures, combining elements of techno, progressive, and experimental electronic music. His track “Ping Pong” became an important milestone in his career after receiving attention from sound engineers and radio airplay, motivating him to continue developing his work. In an interview with Drive Music Media, Gravity Settings spoke about the origins of his alias, his interest in dark sound aesthetics, the challenges of working in the music industry during wartime, collaboration with Ukrainian producer QUASAR-89, and his ongoing search for new sonic forms in electronic music.