Kateryna Yeremenko (born November 29, 1993, Chernivtsi, Ukraine), also known as Dakooka, is a Ukrainian singer, songwriter, and composer, who works in the electronic, trip-hop, drum and bass, indie rock, pop, and experimental genres. Dakooka has toured in Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany, and participated in music festivals such as Global Gathering and KaZantip.[1][2]
Kateryna Yeremenko | |
|---|---|
 Dakooka in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | November 29, 1993 Chernivtsi, Ukraine |
| Genres | |
Early life and education
editKateryna Yeremenko was born in Chernivtsi into a Russian-speaking family.[3][4] As she recalled in an interview to ACC Media Agency, her grandmother used to sing lullabies in Russian since Yeremenko's early years.[5] Since childhood, she was called by the nickname Kooka. When Yeremenko was creating her email address, "Kooka" turned out to be too short. She added "da”, and Dakooka became her pseudonym.[6]
Yeremenko graduated from music school with a degree in piano.[7] At the invitation of her teacher, she sang in a church choir. She later used this experience while composing her tracks; the manner of backing vocals and the use of multiple sound tracks for a more atmospheric sound were inspired by the high notes taken by choristers.[8]
She majored in food processing engineering.[9]
Career
editYeremenko wrote her first song at the age of 18 and published it on Vkontakte as daKooka.[8] She began to perform in Chernivtsi pubs. She formed the Dakooka Live Band with musicians she knew and started touring Ukraine.[10]
In March 2015, Dakooka released her first album Radha. The album was recorded at Ternopil studio "Shpital Records" and comprised 11 tracks in the English language.[11] Yeremenko named it after the Indian goddess of love. In 2016, the singer published the mini-album Очень весело с моими друзьями in the Russian language.[6]
In 2017, Yeremenko began to perform as a solo artist. She participated in the Voice of the Country project in Potap's team.[12][13][14] The same year, Dakooka released the mini-album Гордо with six songs in Russian.[15]
The following year, she released the album Герой and the mini-album Форма.[16] The former was positively assessed by critics.[17]
In 2019, the Ukrainian TV channel Novyi Kanal released the series Early Swallows, in which Dakooka's songs were the soundtrack.[18] The same year, she released the album Стрэнджлава.[19][20]
In 2020, Dakooka released Да кто такой этот ваш Feat. The album embraced soundtracks for the second season of Early Swallows.[21]
In 2021, Yeremenko published KTSH 3.10.06, ч. 1 mini-album. The album consisted of six “electronic-acoustic ballads” and was listed among the best Ukrainian music albums of the year, according to Vesti.ua.[22]
In July 2021, she released her the album 31006 with the Moon Records Ukraine studio. She had been working on the album for 2 years. 31006 reflected changes in Dakooka's style, mostly using rock elements.[23]
The singer criticised the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and left Ukraine shortly after the beginning of the war.[24] The same year, the Moon Records studio published Dakooka's Up & Down album. The album included 19 songs in English.[25]
In September 2023, Dakooka presented her first Ukrainian-language album Біженка recorded at the Liberal Sound Studio in Berlin. The album contains 10 tracks, most them are Dakooka's old songs translated into Ukrainian. A new track - Присвячено Паші Лі - was dedicated to the Ukrainian actor and TV presenter who died in the war. Critics met the album negatively, criticising Yeremenko's alleged connections with Russian entrepreneurs.[26] The same year in October, Yeremenko released a new album of electronic music, Schizophrenie, under the name "ktsh".[27]
Controversies
editYeremenko was criticized by Ukrainian media for her Russian-language songs and performances in Russia after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014. In 2017, she had concerts in Moscow at the underground festival "Боль" and at various concert venues such as the Moscow art space "INOY LOFT."[28] In 2016–2018, her concerts in Lviv, Vinnytsia, Rivne, and Lutsk were canceled due to the singer's tour in Russia.[29][30][31] Subsequently, music journalist and editor of "Sluch" magazine Danylo Panimash stated that despite the criticism, Yeremenko continued to perform in Russia.[6]
In April 2023, the singer's cover album Skryabin by Dakooka was released on streaming services. The album featured songs from Skryabin's “late” period (roughly after 2003). The album was criticized for Dakooka's possible connections with the Russian digital distributor Zvonko.[32][33]
Awards
edit- YUNA Music Award (2022)[34]
References
edit- ^ "Вже сьогодні у Луцьку виступить daKooka". Волинські новини. 2023-11-18. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "В Ужгороді на концерті презентували альбом "Radha" від daKooka (ФОТО) @ Закарпаття онлайн". Закарпаття онлайн. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "DaKooka у Луцьку розповіла, чому на її концерті кричали "Відьма"". volyn.tabloyid.com. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "daKooka: музична простота, впевненість та невпевненість". Varosh (in Ukrainian). 2015-06-28. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "DaKooka: "Я думала, учасники "Голосу країни" дружать, а там все жорстко"". acc.cv.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ a b c ""Сама собі лейбл". Співачка DaKooka боролася з наркозалежністю, анорексією, депресією, цькуванням — і впоралася. Профайл "Бабеля"". babel.ua (in Ukrainian). 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "daKooka: про пісні на диктофон, соло і Джека Вайта". hromadske.ua (in Ukrainian). 2016-12-16. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ a b "Dakooka: странная поп-музыка из Украины". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "Elle интервью: DaKooka о моде, париках и новом альбоме". Elle – модний жіночий журнал (in Ukrainian). 2016-12-21. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "daKooka Live Band зняли дебютний кліп в новому складі". OBOZREVATEL NEWS (in Ukrainian). 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "15 лучших украинских альбомов 2015 года". Лірум (in Ukrainian). 2015-12-31. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ tv.ua (2017-03-27). "Голос країни-7: загадочная участница показала свое лицо (фото, видео)". tv.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "DaKooka: "Я думала, участники "Голоса країни" дружат, а там все жестко"". Karabas Live (in Russian). 2017-04-20. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "Голос країни-7: чем покорила Потапа загадочная девушка без лица". OBOZREVATEL NEWS (in Russian). 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ Панімаш, Данило (2018-08-09). "Чому DaKooka — "темна конячка" українського інді-попу". СЛУХ — медіа про музику та все, що навколо неї. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "DaKooka выпустила танцевальную "Форму" (Слушать)". www.intermedia.ru (in Russian). 2018-08-03. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "Рецензия: DaKooka – "Герой" ****". www.intermedia.ru (in Russian). 2018-07-29. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "Всі саундтреки до серіалу "Перші ластівки"". novy.tv. 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "DAKOOKA представила клип на песню "Слаб"". BURO. (in Russian). 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "Dakooka "Стрэнджлава"". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ ""Мне прислали около 300 демок": невероятная Dakooka – о создании альбома для "Перших ластівок. Zалежні"". novy.tv. 2020-11-23. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "Лучшие украинские альбомы 2021 года – Раёк, Джамала, Онука, Лилу45 и другие". ВЕСТИ (in Russian). 2021-12-30. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "Year of musical introspection: Ukraine's best albums of 2021". The Kyiv Independent. 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ Gazeta.ua (2022-07-18). ""А у этой певицы есть песни не на русском?": сеть возмутило награждение премией YUNA". Gazeta.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "Відкрилося передзамовлення нового альбому DAKOOKA "Up & Down" | Що нового у артистів | Новини". moon.ua. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ СЛУХ (2023-09-15). "Dakooka намагається довести, що вона не "перевзута" артистка. Що з цим не так". СЛУХ — медіа про музику та все, що навколо неї. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "Представляємо "Talking": Захоплюючий дебютний реліз від ktsh x DAKOOKA | Що нового у артистів | Новини". moon.ua. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "Чернівчанка DaKooka виступила у Москві (ФОТО)". acc.cv.ua (in Ukrainian). 2017-07-10. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "Не виступай в Росії: у Львові скасували концерт DaKooka". lviv.vgorode.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ Zaxid.net (2017-10-24). "До Львова через Москву". ZAXID.NET (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "Концерт Dakooka у Вінниці скасували через гастролі співачки у Росії? - VежA". Vежа (in Ukrainian). 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ Чухліб, Макс (2023-04-27). "ТОВ "Кузьма Скрябін" заявили, що Moon Records незаконно видали "СКРЯБІН by Dakooka". Ексклюзив". СЛУХ — медіа про музику та все, що навколо неї. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "Український лейбл Moon Records незаконно випустив альбом каверів на пісні Скрябіна". The Village Україна. 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "Премію YUNA отримала співачка, яка регулярно виступала в Росії і має "аж" дві україномовні пісні". РБК-Украина (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-11-18.