Ukrainian rapper OTOY has released the first part of his double album ‘temna’ (dark), a longplay written back in the fall of 2021. In the 11 tracks, the rapper returned to the aggressive and intense sound of his early works and combined his rapping with traditional Ukrainian instruments, choral singing and voice recordings of his family members. Specially for DTF Magazine, OTOY shared more details about the release and described each of the tracks
What you need to know about ‘temna’
OTOY calls this work ‘the darkest music written with the most vivid emotions’.
In a comment to DTF Magazine, Slava (the rapper’s real name. — Note from DTF Magazine) said that the story of ‘temna’ began in 2021 with traveling in Ukraine. During trips to the west of Ukraine, to ‘sacred for the rapper’ places, he ‘collected motifs that he heard at the festive table, listened to the conversations of old people near the house in Verkhovyna, tried to capture in memory the sounds of the local lyre’.
‘Usually works don’t stand the test of time, however, given the circumstances, this album was even more powerful regarding its references’, OTOY explained.
The singles from the album feature ‘old Ukrainian instruments intertwined with 808 bass or classic snare sounds (the main drum sound. — Note from DTF Magazine)’, and the singles are complemented by dictaphone recordings of OTOY’s grandfather, mother and grandmother, monastic choral songs and ‘the cries of women at the festive table who were exhausted from working in the fields’.
‘It’s all meant to create an atmosphere of real, mystical, deep Ukrainian style’.
Ukrainian sound producer MOEERR was responsible for the production of ‘temna’.
The cover of the release is an MRI scan of OTOY’s brain.
Here’s how the rapper explains the idea: ‘There are a few commonalities between the cover scan and the album — both have a lot of details, things are messy. However, this ‘mess’ makes him who he is — alive, real’.
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The track ‘zlo’ (evil), which, simultaneously with the release of the longplay, received a lyric video, the rapper called ‘the darkest part of the album’. The video was directed by Kyiv-based director Dylan Tarasu.
‘‘zlo’ is part of ‘temna’. The darkest part. The quintessence of pain, fatigue, anxiety and aggression and it is part and parcel of our everyday life’.
Together with the album, OTOY presented a series of photos, dedicated to the release, by Kyiv-based artist Spasi Sohrani. The look for the photos ‘combines modern attributes and stylistics of old Ukrainian motifs’, and the accent element in the form of a mask refers to ancient rituals.
‘Such looks were made by the Old Believers for winter holidays. They believed that by wearing them, they drove away evil spirits from their homes’.
The rapper will present the second part of the album titled ‘temna’ in January 2024: ‘‘temna’ has a beginning and an end because it’s a ritual. It has a first part and a second part’.
Live presentation of both parts will take place at OTOY’s solo concert at Kyiv’s Atlas club on February 10.
OTOY introduces us to tracks from the release
Slava explained that the ‘‘temna’ album is a ritual’. The rapper described each of the tracks as one of its stages.
1. vvedennia (introduction) — ‘This is the entrance to the house. Spacious, covered with cobwebs, unlit. Inside, there’s a smell of metal and dust’.
2. potii abo pomry (sweat or die) — ‘You walk into the hallway. You realize you’re not alone in the house, because you see plate armor and boots carefully placed in a row. The smell of metal intensifies, and you begin to see drops of sweat on the walls’.
3. kistky (bones) — ‘You turn back, you look at the entrance. You remember that you walked by this house two years ago because you recognize the porch. You realize you’re home’.
4. sebto — ‘You walk into the main hall. You see the ritual where they walk around an old wooden table. The smell of sweat mixes with the smell of metal. You become part of the action’.
5. zlo (evil) — ‘You’re the center. You stand on a table and hold a loudspeaker in your hands. You shout out the loudest sounds your body can make. You are the only thing that matters right now’.
6. temna muzyka (dark music) — ‘You are a crowd. Bodies are closing in on you, they surround you on all sides. The floor mercilessly makes cracking sounds because of the number of feet blowing dust off of it. A flood of energy’.
7. ethnocode — ‘It’s nature trying to come out. Everything that your inner world has been hiding becomes visible’.
8. hora 1 (mountain 1) — ‘The house is filling up with people. There is not enough space, so a crowd gathers around the house. They form columns that move rhythmically to the sound of their own songs’.
9. hora 2 (mountain2 )— ‘Night. A thick darkness covers the sky, from which a cold rain pours down. It drips on your head and sober your brain in the here and now’.
10. molodist (youth) — ‘Sobriety. The state of self-awareness in the flow of energy. Why, for whom, what for’.
11. lurker — ‘The completion of the ritual. Something native, deep and long forgotten has now been found. It is near, beneath your heart. And it will remain here forever’.
In May, OTOY released his first album titled ‘Nedovhotryvali vidnosyny’ (Short-lived Relationship)
The longplay consists of nine tracks, three of which were recorded with Ukrainian artists The Curly (‘Zharptytsia’), elarm (‘Yak pahne trava’) and Tery (‘Byka za roha’). Eight tracks of the album were arranged by the musician The Lazy Jesus.
‘When the darkest winter of my life began, I clearly realized: I wanted to create something that would be radically opposite in mood and sound to the events around me. This album symbolizes a light, frank and sensitive refuge from all the monolithic and depressive things that can surround us today’, the rapper explained in a commentary for DTF Magazine.
The release presentation took place at OTOY’s first solo concert in Kyiv on June 30.
