– Do you really want to know? Andriy Khlyvnyuk has just been asked about what he has been doing in recent weeks. He is the frontman of one of Ukraine’s biggest bands, Boombox, and known all over the country. The contrasts in his life are great. – I look for illegally parked international vehicles and personnel, and try to destroy them. That’s what I do, he says. These were his days before he came to sunny Oslo to play a concert on Thursday. He meets news at the hotel one hour before the concert. Me is quickly interrupted by two Ukrainians who want to take a picture with him. They have flown in from Trondheim for the concert. Ukrainian Marina Litvinenko is quick to ask for a picture when she catches sight of Khlyvnyuk. – We came to see our favorite singer, she says. Photo: Per Sveinung Larsen / news Khlyvnyuk is apparently happy and excited before the concert. But it is with an aftertaste that he is in Oslo. – Because I left my children. Every night they slept in a kind of bomb room in the bathroom, right on the floor. Because of this two-wall rule, have you heard of it? The rule is that you must always have at least two walls to protect yourself in a house in case of fire. One wall stops the ammunition and the other receives the impact of the shot. All children in Ukraine are well aware of the rule, says Khlyvnyuk. Khlyvnyuk with his car in Kyiv after buying food products for people on March 2, 2022. Photo: AP From world tour to war front line When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Khlyvnyuk ended a US tour to fight in his homeland. A video of him in military gear in the middle of Kyiv, singing the well-known Ukrainian folk song “Chervona Kalyna”, quickly went viral, according to the newspaper Kyiv Post. Pink Floyd successively made a cover song together with Khlyvnyuk for income for Ukraine. They collected over NOK 6.6 million. Khlyvnyuk made the song the very symbol of Ukrainian resistance, says Nataliya Yeremeyeva, deputy head of the Ukrainian Association in Norway. Boomboxes are legendary, says Nataliya Yeremeyeva. The Ukrainian association in Norway organizes the concert to benefit Ukraine. Photo: Ida Yasin Andersen / news Now Khlyvnyuk combines work in the civilian police force with traveling around and playing fundraising concerts abroad. Third largest immigrant group Around 700 people have turned up on the Cosmopolite stage in Oslo for the concert. Among them are 17-year-old Sofiya Borshch and her boyfriend Jonas Bergersen. Borshch is herself Ukrainian and moved to Norway when she was between 5 and 6 years old. Sofiya Borshch and Jonas Bergersen are among the audience. Bergersen says it is strong as a Norwegian to see the Ukrainian unity at the concert. Photo: Ida Yasin Andersen / news – It is a very good feeling to see so many people gathering in Norway for Ukraine, which we are so happy about. It is absolutely fantastic, she says. People with Ukrainian national background have become the third largest immigrant group in Norway, according to Statistics Norway. The audience during a packed Cosmopolite stage in Oslo. Photo: Ida Yasin Andersen / news The fact that Boombox is now playing in Oslo has great symbolic significance, Yeremeyeva tells the association. – Ukrainian culture is not very well represented, but many Ukrainians are so hungry for Ukrainian culture. It’s a great way to see each other, support Ukraine and show solidarity. That is why it is so important to us, she says. Although it costs a lot to be away from the children, the concerts abroad, which generate income for the homeland, are vital for Khlkyvnyuk. – If I didn’t use music, you wouldn’t be here to interview me. The fact that I am a well-known artist has helped me get the message across that this is not a battle between two countries. This is a fight for basic human rights. Boombox had the audience in his hands from the first stanza. Photo: Ida Yasin Andersen / news
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Andriy alternates between world tour and war battles in Ukraine – news Culture and entertainment
