- Year of foundation – 2007
- City – Kyiv (Ukraine)
- Language – Ukrainian
- Genre – indie rock, art rock
Lineup:
- Daniela Zayushkina – leader of the group, author and composer, vocalist and director;
- Glib Protsiv – producer, arranger, drummer;
- Ilya Chemerys – arranger, bass guitarist.
History of the group
Vivienne Mort is a Kyiv indie rock project, the year of its birth is considered to be 2007. It was then that vocalist and songwriter Daniela Zayushkina began writing her first compositions and looking for like-minded musicians. The band was still very young and inexperienced. But they wanted to perform in front of the audience as soon as possible. The debut took place at the Maidan club. It was after this concert that producer Gleb Protsiv came across Vivienne Mort's first concert recording on social networks and offered to help the future stars with a studio demo.
Thus, the meeting took place and the collaboration began, which would later become fateful for the Ukrainian scene. The creative union of Zayushkina and Protsiv laid the foundation for the further flourishing of the group.
The name of the band Vivienne Mort comes from French and means "Life passes into death". Despite the rather gloomy sound, the work itself rather reflects inner searches, emotional states and philosophical reflections on the soul.
Creative path
Vivienne Mort's movement towards popularity and recognition among fans of quality indie music began in 2008. The musicians first announced themselves in a studio format. With the participation of session musicians, two songs were recorded at the Gnizdo studio: "Lety" and "Den, koli svyati...". The tracks did not yet have the integrity that would later become the band's calling card. However, they already outlined the image of a new group with its own worldview and unique creative charisma.
Throughout 2009, the team was in constant search. The members changed, concerts took place episodically - as rehearsals and experiments. And already in 2010, Vivienne Mort presented the first mini-album "Essentuki LOVE". The record, full of cabaret rock elements, gave the band a special aesthetic and became the first real platform for revealing the powerful vocals of Daniela Zayushkina.
Since then, Vivienne Mort's live shows began to become regular. And the number of loyal fans grew rapidly. The musicians actively toured Ukrainian cities and worked on preparing new releases. The next significant achievement was the release of the full-length album "Pipinó Theater". The record was supported by a large-scale tour. And the video clip for the song "Traces of Small Hands" was in rotation and on the charts of leading Ukrainian TV channels. It was this period that brought the band a feeling of real popularity. Listeners recognized Vivienne Mort's style. And the songs from the album were sung by the whole audience at concerts.
In 2014, the band released a new mini-album with the telling title “Gothic”. The work emphasized Vivienne Mort’s penchant for conceptualism and artistic search. At the same time, the band expanded its stage experience. Concerts were now accompanied by visual experiments, in particular, the creation of special video sequences. In the same year, a video clip for the song “Ryba” was released, which strengthened the influence of the artists on the Ukrainian alternative scene.
The band’s style and development
The main “highlight” of Vivienne Mort is an exceptional conceptual individuality. The band’s music is a space for feelings that cannot be explained in words. The songs leave room for listeners to make their own guesses, creating the illusion of touching something fragile and at the same time deeply real.
If poetry goes beyond rhyme and size, becoming an attempt to comprehend oneself and the world, then Vivienne Mort can rightfully be called one of the most poetic bands of modern Ukraine. In 2015, the band embarked on the largest tour in its history, the Fillin Tour. The concerts covered dozens of Ukrainian cities. And the very next year, Vivienne Mort performed in Poland, expanding its sound beyond Ukraine. 2017 brought the band a new impetus to popularity. The band reached the semi-finals of the national selection for Eurovision 2017.
However, after an intensive period of touring and the release of several albums, in October 2019, the band unexpectedly announced a creative pause. Over the following years, Daniela Zayushkina performed solo. But the story of Vivienne Mort did not reach the final.
In 2024, the band returned with a full lineup with a new album, "Veil." The musical premiere became a reflection on the experience of a full-scale war, full of pain, loss, and the search for hope. Together with the release of Vivienne Mort, they announced an all-Ukrainian tour, once again giving listeners the same special intimacy and poetry that once made them iconic.
Social activity:
During a full-scale war, Vivienne Mort demonstrated a clear civic position. In February 2023, the band members foundedThe Vivienne Mort Charity Foundation was founded. The main tasks of the organization were to support the Ukrainian army and help people who suffered from the war. In the same year, the band went on a large-scale charity tour of Europe. During the trip, the musicians visited 9 countries and gave concerts in 15 cities. Thanks to these performances, they managed to accumulate 1,573,000 hryvnias, which were later used to purchase Magura V5 naval attack drones.
The artists also hold charity auctions during their performances. Among the fans, symbolic items are raffled off - battle flags from the front, chevrons and other unique souvenirs. This gives the performances a special power and unites the listening audience with those who are currently defending our country.
Discography (studio albums):
- «Pipinó Theater» (2013);
- «Experience» (2018);
- «Vata» (2024).
The band's hits:
- «Traces of Small Hands»;
- «You Forgot About Me»;
- «Ryba»;
- «Lullaby»;
- «Ptashechka»;
- «Experience» and others.
Awards and honors
- the best EP of the year according to the results of a survey on the Fa.Diez portal ("Essentuki LOVE", 2010);
- the "Selection" award from "Jam FM" 2017, where leader Vivienne Mort received the title of "Vocalist of the Year";
- a place on the shortlist of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine (album "Experience", 2018).
Interesting facts about the band:
- the band can be seen among the headliners of the loudest Ukrainian open-air festivals: Respublica, ZaxidFest, "Fajne Misto", "Bandershtat", Atlas Weekend, Razomfest and others;
- the release of "Vata" was distinguished by non-standard details. This is an instrumental introductory sound; a recording of the noise of an elevator, which symbolically descends all the way to the hadron collider in the CERN laboratory; a bird's song heard and recorded in the Kherson region;
- In 2016, the band released a video for the song "Little Bird," which was filmed in Mumbai, India. The work was so impressive that it was later included in the soundtrack of a Bollywood film.
