He sang with Bono and worked with Ed Sheeran, but Ukraine’s No. 1 singer doesn’t shy away from the frontline, where he works as a paramedic.
Until last February 24, Taras Topolia filled stadiums with fans wailing as they sang, dressed in extravagant designs. However, now the leader of Antytila (Antibody in Ukrainian) is wholeheartedly committed to rescuing wounded soldiers from the various fronts opened after the invasion of Russia. Together with the rest of the gang members, he did not hesitate to enlist in the territorial forces. “At all times we are thinking about how we could contribute more to the fight against this great power that is attacking us,” he explains during the training he is giving at a hospital in Kharkiv.
With the sound of artillery explosions in the background, the soldiers perform various maneuvers that, according to an instructor whose character wouldn’t look out of place in “Full Metal Jacket,” could save the lives of his companions. “You could be dead in a second!” he snaps at them. “We are constantly doing training and today is special because next to the hospital morgue we work with real corpses on which we can perform various operations,” said Topolia after being allowed to speak with this newspaper for an hour.
He knows that his cause is very special: «I think I can help in two ways. On the one hand, like many other Ukrainians, mobilize and fight at the front. But on the other hand, I’m a pop star with a very wide audience that cares about my opinion. I can keep in touch with those people through social networks. I just need a cell phone. And I can create new songs and new melodies that have an impact. We must counteract Russian propaganda, which is very powerful, especially on networks full of bots and trolls. Ours is a counterattack born of creativity.
A good example of that other work he does when he’s not providing first aid is the world famous collaboration with British singer Ed Sheeran, with whom he shot a thrilling video clip ‘2 step’, in which he compares different scenarios in the West with the destruction of similar places in Ukraine. “It is very difficult to make music during the war. The truth is that it doesn’t come out of me spontaneously, I have to force myself,” admits Topolia.
“When the cooperation was introduced to us, we were in the middle of heavy fighting in Kiev, struggling to find protection material against the chemical agents used by the Russians, and I didn’t see it clearly until I understood that it is very important is to explain to the world what is happening and what we are suffering,” he recalls, emphasizing that he seeks an emotional connection with the audience, something that transcends the informational field. “Even people who don’t understand what I’m singing cry when they see the video,” he says.
And he was about to cry at another unexpected milestone that marked his career during the war: the concert he offered with Bono, leader of U2, on the Kiev metro. “That he came to Borodianka and played in the middle of the war was something very symbolic for the whole country, because he is a big global star. And personally for me singing with Bono was something very exciting’, explains Topolia, who does not hide the nerves he felt. They hadn’t rehearsed and he had to read the text on his cellphone so as not to screw it up. “Then he asked me to say a few words and I felt the weight of saying the right thing on a whim.”
Topolia took Bono’s opportunity to make an uneasy appeal to European leaders. A call he also wants to convey through this interview: «Although I was born in the Soviet Union (1987), since I was little I have been inculcated with the values and democratic principles of Europe, to ensure that they have the most solid foundation for social justice, equity and common prosperity. We understood you and we try to live like you. But as we fight for those principles, Europe’s leaders are blah blah blah. Are those values merely advertising?
The singer criticizes that he does not see all the weapons that the West claims to send to the front. “We have been at war for almost five months now and the Russians are intensifying their offensive in the east. We need more powerful weapons with longer range,” he says. When asked if he is aware of the danger to the world from sending the weapons he claims, Topolia can’t help but light up. “There are people who believe that World War III will not start until the first nuclear missile is launched, but they are wrong. It has already started,” he shoots.
Topolia develops this idea further. “You have to understand that of course it is not like the Second World War. It is also raging in gas pipelines and on the Internet, and in the brains of Europeans. We die here not only for our future, but also for the European one. If we lose the war, democracy will take a serious blow and you will know again what fascism you suffered,” he adds, referring to Franco’s dictatorship.
However, Topolia is also self-critical: “We recognize the mistakes that have been made and that we are partly responsible for what happens. We have often elected pro-Russian rulers who have made it possible to sell many of the weapons we need now.” The Ukrainian pop star, however, emphasizes that the invasion has led to an unprecedented union in Ukraine. “We did not think that so many people would join the army. There were rows of more than a kilometer, with young and old, men and women, people of all political strata. We are united by a common enemy and the sense that he wants to destroy us. It is the first time that I feel a similar catharsis and understand the power of unity,” he emphasizes.
Of course, the price Ukraine pays is overwhelming. And Topolia admits that he was initially not up to the challenge he faced when he switched from guitar to AK-47. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. On the third day of the invasion, we were engaged in a night battle, losing a comrade and wounding three others. On another occasion, a rocket aimed at our unit hit a billboard that blew it up prematurely and saved our lives. I keep pieces of that rocket because they remind me that we have learned to live in the knowledge that we could die at any moment. Because there are times when a soldier dies like this, suddenly, in a second. And we can’t always be afraid,” he says.
Topolia says she would be more afraid to look into the eyes of her three children without doing everything she could. “Both she and my wife and much of my family live in the United States, where the eldest was born. But I’m here and I want them to be able to return,” he says. Like most Ukrainians, he has no doubts that his country will emerge victorious. “It’s only a matter of time,” he says without hesitation. “And if we win, we’ll record a new album with sounds of happiness and rebirth to fuel the rebuilding efforts we need,” he concludes.
Taras Topolia does not shy away from the controversy about Ukraine’s victory in the last Eurovision Song Contest. It suggests – without saying it explicitly – that the winning track, Kalush Orchestra’s ‘Stephania’, was not the best of the festival. But he celebrates his choice by the public. “The level of creativity is not the main reason. Ukraine’s victory shows that the European people have chosen our country, not on the podium, but as a symbol that they support and claim that we are part of Europe,” he says.
The curious thing on this occasion is that the decision to grant Ukraine the dominion of European song came not from a jury, but from the viewers themselves. “Eurovision has always been a political contest, because it was born after the Second World War to unite Europe, and was never separated from the politics or the geopolitical context,” says the singer. “In Ukraine, we are perfectly aware of that,” he adds.
But that does not diminish the enthusiasm that the victory has caused in the country. “It has been very important to us because it means that we have to organize Eurovision next year and that we have to hurry to win the war. That will depend in large part on the weapons Europe and the United States send us,” he says, taking the opportunity to launch a mockery. Aware of his critical tone, he changes his facial expression and smiles optimistically. «I am convinced that we will organize Eurovision in 2023. Maybe not in Kiev, maybe in Lviv. My dream is to take back Crimea and celebrate it there.”
Source: La Verdad
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