Zhenya Galich, the frontman of the band O.Torvald, spoke in detail in a new interview with journalist Alina Dorotyuk for the Styler project (RBC-Ukraine) about his attitude toward the group The Hardkiss. The conversation covered both the personal relationships between the musicians and the public stance of The Hardkiss after the male members of the group left Ukraine. Galich emphasized that he separates the perception of the group as a creative unit from that of its members as citizens, and that he does not share The Hardkiss's approach to communicating with their audience.
Relationships that never existed and still don't
The topic of the relationship between O.Torvald and The Hardkiss arose in the context of a joint performance the two groups were supposed to give in 2016 at the YUNA music awards. According to Galich, there was no close interaction between the members of the two groups back then, and none has emerged since. "We don't maintain any relationship at all, and we didn't maintain one back then either," he stated. At the same time, the musician acknowledged that, creatively speaking, he has always had a warm attitude toward The Hardkiss: "I liked The Hardkiss as creators."
"As creators — we like them, as citizens — we don't"
Galich drew a clear line between evaluating The Hardkiss as a musical project and evaluating its members as citizens. "As creators, that is as a creative unit, we like them; as citizens — we don't. I don't share their position," he declared. Thus, the frontman of O.Torvald directly expressed his disagreement with the civic stance that, in his view, the members of The Hardkiss hold.
Leaving without explanation: the main grievance
The central point of the interview was the discussion of the male members of The Hardkiss leaving Ukraine. Galich confirmed that he is aware of this fact, but noted that he had not seen any explanation from the group for the reasons behind such a decision that would be understandable to him. "In my view, without explaining the reason why they left, that is the reason for their departure, they don't communicate with the audience, with society, with their fans. Why did they make such a choice? That's what I see, and that's what I don't share," the musician said. He stressed that he is speaking about his own perception, since he had not seen any public communication from The Hardkiss on this issue.
Comparison with O.Torvald: "We explained why we left"
To illustrate the difference in approaches, Galich cited the example of his own band. According to him, O.Torvald publicly explained the reasons for leaving Ukraine as family circumstances: "We left because we have three children, and the drummer has three children, and the bassist has seven children. And we left in order to preserve our families. Oh, that's communication. Otherwise, for now I simply don't understand." Thus, Galich contrasted the transparency of O.Torvald with the silence of The Hardkiss.
Publicity as responsibility toward the audience
Wrapping up his point, Galich formulated a principle that, in his belief, should underpin the work of any artist with a large audience. "A public figure takes on responsibility for the upbringing of the audience they work for. And The Hardkiss has a huge audience, and it needs to be raised," he declared. The musician added that it is precisely the meanings and values a person conveys to their fans that largely shape their public image and define them as a person.
