Kherson, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions – three different musical traditions that intertwine into a single sound. This is about the young band “Shepit”. A trio of talented girls who popularize traditional Ukrainian folklore and collect old songs from all corners of the country. One of those who founded the band was a girl from the Kherson region.
Daria Myrhorodska is originally from the village of Hladkivka, which is currently under occupation. She lived and studied in Kherson. Since childhood, music has been an integral part of her life. Daria completed a bandura course at a music college and continued her studies at the Lviv National Music Academy, where she enrolled in 2020.
It was there that Daria encountered Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“It was a very difficult moment for the psyche. I started calling my mom, dad, grandfathers, grandmothers. Because I immediately realized that the Kherson region would be on the line of fire. My parents immediately said that they would stay at home, they would not go anywhere… Here in Lviv we were taking in displaced people, trying to help, doing concerts for donations”, – recalls Daria.
The idea to form the band arose in August last year. Then Daria and her friends went to Mars Field in Lviv after the burial of hospital worker Iryna “Cheki” Tsybukh and, as the servicemember had requested, sang traditional Ukrainian songs.
It was there that the idea to sing as a trio was born – the band was joined by Sofiya Antymys from the Lviv region and Halyna Havrysh from the Ivano-Frankivsk region. Each member brings a piece of her region to the group. In the songs you can hear Podillia tunes, Hutsul motifs, and the melody of the southern steppes.
From the very beginning the band’s “hook” has been traditional Ukrainian songs. The girls successfully collect ancient musical folklore from all over Ukraine and reproduce it in a modern sound. The repertoire emphasizes songs about love.
“Actually, my main first idea was that I wanted to put on a concert with songs about love. Traditional Ukrainian songs. Not those that everyone knows and that have become a bit of a kitschy stereotype. But those archaic traditional songs that our great-grandmothers used to sing. There are actually many very specific and interesting pieces. For example, there is a song we jokingly call “The Song about the Horse and the Goat”. It is a song about a girl whose boyfriend betrayed her. In the plot she wished him to drown, and that is what happened. At the end of the song she stands and breaks her white little hands and thinks, like, how could this have happened. Such a specific piece, but essentially a song about love. It’s a very ancient song from the Zaporizhzhia region; I heard it from my teacher”, – tells Daria.
Daria studied with Kherson folklorist Viktor Kysil. From him she gained enormous knowledge about the folklore of the Kherson region and Ukraine as a whole, which involuntarily helped lay the foundation for creating the band a few years later.
“He had a lot of recordings about the traditions of the Kherson region. I remember he showed us many videos in folklore classes, we listened to many recordings from his collection. He instilled in me this love for tradition, but unfortunately he died in ’21. So I also used some of his recordings. My teacher showed that our culture is not what was imposed on us in the Soviet Union, that it was just sharovary and wreaths. And that our culture, our tradition, is multifaceted, complex, deep and definitely worth studying”, – shares Daria.
It is the depth and true beauty of the Ukrainian traditional song that the girls strive to convey. This August “Shepit” celebrates its first anniversary since its creation. Like every young band, the girls are actively developing and searching for their “sound”. After all, music, as Daria says – is not a static quantity, it always evolves and grows.
“We are now experimenting with musical directions. Our first track was something like ethno-techno, new-ethno, if you can call it that. But now we’ve gathered musicians and are doing an acoustic project. These are modern arrangements of traditional songs. For now we don’t have much recognition, we want to experiment and try new things. Search, find, search more – for what hasn’t existed at all”, – she says.
The band says that previously prejudices about folklore occurred much more often. Back then one could hear: “This will be uninteresting, because it’s folklore.” Today such remarks are almost gone, however competition has increased.
But the girls from “Shepit” are convinced: each ensemble has its own voice and unique individuality. The more bands that come onto the stage, the further the Ukrainian tradition spreads and the more it attracts young people.
“Probably, there is still more youth among our audience… But I know many people from older generations who also listen and support. It’s very cool when you’re at work, working, and a message comes that ‘Oh, I’m in a taxi right now and your song is playing here.’ A special feeling at that moment, of course”, – shares Daria.
Despite different personalities, the girls easily find common ground. In addition, there is no single official leader in the band – everyone has found their place in it.
“The girls are all very multifaceted, we all learn from each other. I took on the musical part, especially since I have the appropriate education and can do it. And the organizational matters, formulating the concept, gathering everyone, etc… Sofiyka handles the visual. She just trained as a graphic designer, defended her diploma and developed the identity for our band. And Halynka is very good at communications. She finds opportunities, promotes us in the media space”, – explains Daria.
The band says rehearsals are held by prior arrangement — since each member has her own affairs and work. They coordinate the schedule to find a common day off. Sometimes they manage to get together once a month, sometimes more often. They rehearse either in a rented space with equipment or at Daria’s home. The girls also do not miss vocal lessons — individually and as a trio.
Taking part in the “MUZVAR” music awards in December 2024 was an interesting experience for the young band.
“We performed with our track «Kolosochok» at its show at Lviv Fashion Week. That is, models walked the runway to our track. One of the editors heard us there, as far as I remember this story correctly. And invited us just to come and watch. We walked the “red carpet” there, it was cool. It was a great experience because we saw in general what people are listening to now in Ukraine, how it is evaluated, what people are interested in, how artists present themselves, how they develop, how they behave in public overall. So for a beginning artist it was really a big experience”, – recalls Daria.
Although “Shepit” is still relatively young, the girls already have several concerts and performances behind them. Currently the band is gaining momentum – collecting ideas, building strength and looking for opportunities to emerge in the future. Like every musical collective, “Shepit” has dreams and ambitions.
“The girls and I laugh that one more year and we’ll definitely go to Eurovision! But generally I really dream of performing in a peaceful Kherson in the future. It’s easy for me to return to Kherson because I feel even better there morally than anywhere… And generally we also dream of touring with concerts across Ukraine. So that people from the occupied south and east of the country also learn about us and become part of our community”, – says Daria.