1. 15 March : We Don’t Need No War, Letter Zu, Generation Z. These were the earliest responses to the Russian invasion into Ukraine from the local music scene. Pokrovsky has opted to exploit the art form of a satirical statement, "morning paper into the verse", a modern take on the likes of ROSTA posters expressed through rock music. All things are being said in a straightforward, transparent manner. Some of the key lyrics include: "We are getting dumber with each hour. Are you ready to turn into cannon fodder? I don't need no war, I need my conscience to be clear!"
This anti-war reggae song was available on Yandex.Music, a pro-government streaming service. However, the next singles by Pokrovsky, much more sardonical and mocking ones, were not uploaded, and a countrywide campaign to ban the artist wherever possible followed. The We Don't Need No War song features the voice of Sergey Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Minister. Of course Lavrov did not have to fly to New York in order to sing in person: Pokrovsky sampled his aggressive statements and inserted them into his anti-war lyrics. And we must admit it was indeed a funny thing to do.
2. Zemfira (who left Russia for Paris earlier) released a video called Hold Your Fire! on 17 March The song itself was recorded in 2010 and was included into a compilation album called Z-Sides. Please note that the letter Z was not a symbol of nationalism and war at back then. The compilation was simply named using the initial letter of Zemfira's name. The song's refrain starts off with the most important words right now: 'Don't be silent...' Some melancholic singing and an instrumental keyboard bridge are followed by a wild crescendo as the footage of missile attacks appears on the screen. These are the missiles that the Russian army are shelling Ukrainian cities and towns with. This is what happens when people remain silent.
If you visit Zemfira's official website, you will see that all of its contents have been removed. The only thing still there is this music video, displayed fullscreen.
3. Noize MC has not written any new songs recently, but he has been touring Europe in support of the war victims since the end of March. He has performed in Berlin, Riga, Vilnius, Warsaw and Prague so far. Notably, he has had Monetochka alongside him in most of the gigs. The tour is entitled Voices of Peace, ticket prices vary from 20 to 50 euro. The guys have managed to raise €62,000 in Riga alone. All proceeds go to the Polish Siepomaga Foundation, which provides help to refugees.
This is what Noize says about his performance at the anti-war festival in Berlin: “We have managed to raise 12 million euros from the crowd and the broadcast donations. My son Vasya gave up the €326 he's been saving up for several years.
The first thing that astonished me as I arrived here was that I could hear people speak Russian and Ukrainian all over town: in the subway, in the street, in bars and restaurants. There are so many refugees here, the locals are doing their best to help them. It was hard for me to perform, I was really nervous. I spent the whole day writing a really long speech, and then I realized that I'm never going to memorise it. I also understood that a long speech such as this wouldn't be the right thing to do. I had no doubt whether to perform this song, The Jordan, or not. Sasha Sokolova from Atlantida Project could have turned 41 on 20 March. She passed away six and half years ago, though. I was singing the refrain for The Jordan, the one that she wrote, and thought about how much time it will take for it to come true.
This refrain is a very simple one: "The glaciers will melt and everyone will be reconciled".
4. Oxxxymiron completed his Russians Against War charity tour on 6 April. It included gigs in Istanbul, London and Berlin. In total, he collected $195,000, which he donated to a foundation helping Ukrainian refugees. This is what he wrote on his social media:
"There is chaos at the borders, and even in Berlin they can no longer cope with the flow of people. Donating money is a very important thing to do. But what's also important is the message. I have no doubt that the results of the so-called 'opinion polls' which claim that the majority of Russians support the war are complete bullshit. Unfortunately, the rest of the world falls for it. The hostile environment within Russia makes people fear losing their jobs or being prosecuted. This is why they do not speak up against the war. Therefore, the voices of the propaganda, fake social media accounts and people zombified by them sound the loudest. This creates a false feeling of totality. Do not fall for it. Millions of Russians are against the war, and this number is constantly growing.
Peace for Ukraine and freedom for Russia."
5. In early April, Pink Floyd released a song called Hey Hey Rise Up — in support of the Ukrainian people. The track is the first entirely new piece of music recorded by Pink Floyd since 1994. But the biggest surprise is the vocals of Andriy Khlyvniuk, the singer of Boombox, a popular Ukrainian band. Khlyvniuk joined Ukraine's territorial defence units immediately after the start of the war and suffered a shrapnel wound. David Gilmour, the leader of Pink Floyd, was inspired by Khlyvniuk's performance of Oi u luzi chervona kalyna, a Ukrainian patriotic march. This is how the song called Hey Hey Rise Up was created. The music video has more than 7 million views on Youtube as of now.
6. A long and impressive list of Western artists who have supported Ukraine in the Stand Up for Ukraine online marathon includes Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Ann Lennox, Billie Eilish, Celine Dion, Ozzy Osbourne, U2 and many more. John Lennon's son Julian was one of the most notable acts. He performed Imagine, his father's famous peace anthem. Once Julian vowed to never perform this song, or at least not to sing it before the end of the world comes. Maybe this is what we are actually witnessing right now.