Mertvyi Piven — Shabadabada | Vinyl

“There are two kinds of music: there is good music and there is bad music. I want to think that I make good music. But that’s my opinion. It has always been important for me to make and sing what I love. That is, to do what you love, and to love what you do. Grandiose? Grandiose.” © Misko Barbara

Mertvyi Piven — a cult band of the Ukrainian music scene

“Mertvyi Piven” is one of the best-known Ukrainian bands to emerge from the post-punk and art-rock scene of Lviv. The band was founded in 1989 by young students who used to gather at the Lviv café “Staryi Lviv.” The iron weather vane in the shape of a rooster hanging at the entrance to the café gave the band its unusual name.

The early musical experiments of “Mertvyi Piven” were acoustic. The combination of energetic rock music with Ukrainian poetry became one of the defining features of the band’s work and established its unique place in the history of Ukrainian independent music.

Shabadabada — poetry, absurdity, and musical experimentation

“Shabadabada” is a studio album by “Mertvyi Piven,” released in 1998 and becoming an important part of the band’s creative history.

The album combines powerful rock with philosophical and intellectual poetry. Lyricism exists alongside reflections on existence, chaos, and absurdity, while musical experimentation creates the distinctive atmosphere of Ukrainian alternative rock of the late 1990s.

One of the album’s distinctive features is the combination of Ukrainian poetry with musical approaches that were unconventional for the time. In particular, the words of Taras Shevchenko are set to music that draws on the aesthetics of Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The album features the tracks “Shabadabada,” “Nad Morem,” “Pisnia 551,” “Potsilunok,” “Karkolomni Perevtilennia,” “Hobelen,” “Kholodno,” “Biutiful Karpaty ’98,” “Kvaziamor (Tarantino Mix),” “Ptakhorizka,” “Lito Bude ’98,” “Lastivky,” “Sadok Vyshnevyi,” “Vona ’98,” “Revetastohne,” “Miskyi Boh Eros,” “Starenkyi Tramvai,” “Fransua (Bolharskoiu),” and “Dumka (Brudnyi Mix).”

The album features Liubko Futorskyi, Misko Barbara, and Yaryna Yakubiak on vocals; Roman Chaika and Yurii Chopyk on guitars; Oleh “John” Suk on bass guitar; and Roman Ros on violin.

Mertvyi Piven — Shabadabada on vinyl

“Shabadabada” receives its first vinyl edition from TILKITAK Records. The release is based on the album’s cassette edition and was created with particular attention to its original sound and visual history.

The album is presented as a 2×LP on 140g vinyl in a combination of red and black. The limited edition consists of 299 copies, each individually hand-numbered.

The edition includes:

Booklet with lyrics

Photo insert

The first 99 copies signed by members of the band

Hand-numbered Obi-Strip

Collector’s Edition “Shabadabada” by TILKITAK Records

“Shabadabada” is part of the history of Ukrainian independent rock and has now received a complete physical edition on vinyl. It is an album where music, Ukrainian poetry, and experimental sound capture the atmosphere of the Ukrainian music scene of the 1990s.

The TILKITAK Records edition preserves this story as a collectible vinyl record, featuring hand numbering, original photographs, and autographs from the band members.

TILKITAK Records is an independent Ukrainian label that releases music by Ukrainian artists on physical formats and works to preserve Ukrainian musical heritage through vinyl records.