Фристайл
Kuzma Skryabin (real name — Andriy Viktorovych Kuzmenko; August 17, 1968, Sambir, Lviv Oblast — February 2, 2015, Lozuvatka, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast) was a Ukrainian singer, composer, songwriter, music producer, writer and television presenter, founder and long-time leader of the band «Скрябін».
Kuzmenko’s creative career spanned several distinct eras of Ukrainian music. Early «Скрябін» grew out of synth-pop, new wave, post-punk and electronic music, actively experimented with techno in the mid-1990s, and after a line-up change in the early 2000s gradually moved toward rock and pop-rock. Songs such as «Спи собі сама», «Мовчати», «Люди, як кораблі», «Старі фотографії», «Місця щасливих людей» and «Мам» became some of the best-known Ukrainian songs of their time.
In 2020, Andriy Kuzmenko was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Ukraine with the Order of the State for his contribution to shaping Ukraine’s cultural space, developing the national musical arts, and for his creative and public activities.
Childhood and first musical interests
Andriy Kuzmenko was born on August 17, 1968, in Sambir, Lviv Oblast. His mother Olha taught music, while his father Viktor worked as an engineer. Andriy spent a significant part of his childhood and youth in Novoiavorivsk, where the band «Скрябін» would later emerge.
Kuzmenko graduated from music school, where he studied piano. During his teenage years, he became increasingly interested in Western music, which in the Soviet Union could be heard through foreign radio stations and cassette recordings. Among the important influences on early «Скрябін» were Depeche Mode, The Cure, Kraftwerk, Duran Duran, Joy Division and other representatives of the European new wave, post-punk and electronic scenes.
Even before «Скрябін» was formed, Andriy took part in several amateur bands, sang, played guitar and keyboards, and wrote his first songs. The musical community in Novoiavorivsk was small, so the future members of the group repeatedly crossed paths in different projects.
Medical education
For a long time, music existed alongside Kuzmenko’s medical education. He studied at a medical institute, completed compulsory military service and later continued his education in Lviv. In 1993, he graduated from the dentistry faculty of the Lviv Medical Institute.
Dentistry, however, never became his profession. By the beginning of the 1990s, music had already become Kuzmenko’s main occupation.
The formation of «Скрябін»
In the late 1980s, the «Sпати» studio — «Студія патологічної тиші» emerged around the local Palace of Culture in Novoiavorivsk. It was in this environment that early «Скрябін» took shape.
In the summer of 1989, Andriy Kuzmenko began recording material together with Rostyslav Domishevskyi, Serhiy Hera, Ihor Yatsyshyn, Oleksandr Skryabin and other musicians. One of the first works was the song «Чуєш біль» and its English-language version Feel the Pain.
The name «Скрябін» was connected with the surname of Oleksandr Skryabin, who worked alongside the musicians. The earliest recordings existed mainly on cassette tapes and were created almost entirely independently — without a fully developed music industry or serious studio infrastructure.
Early electronic «Скрябін»
At the beginning of the 1990s, the version of the group later known as early or old «Скрябін» took shape. Alongside Kuzma, the most important figures of this period were Rostyslav Domishevskyi (Roy) and Serhiy Hera (Shura).
The recordings «Мова риб» and «Технофайт» combined synth-pop, electronic music, new wave and post-punk influences. Their sound differed noticeably from Ukrainian mainstream pop of the early 1990s: cold synthesizers and electronic rhythms stood alongside dark, sometimes surreal lyrics about fear, loneliness, death, dreams and everyday life.
The album «Птахи» became especially important. It was recorded in 1994 and gained wide circulation in 1995. Impressed by Berlin and the German electronic scene, the musicians significantly strengthened the techno element. The album became one of the first notable Ukrainian releases in this direction and helped «Скрябін» enter the professional music scene.
«Казки» and «Хробак»
In the mid-1990s, the group began working with Nova studio and producer Yuriy Nikitin. In 1997, the double album «Казки» was released, combining new songs with reworked early material. During this period, «Скрябін» music videos regularly appeared on Ukrainian television, and the group firmly moved beyond the independent electronic scene.
The next studio album, «Хробак», appeared in 1999. Its music became heavier: the synthesizer foundation was combined with guitars, harder rhythms and industrial shades. The album belongs to the darkest works recorded by the original line-up.
The transition to rock and a new line-up
At the turn of the decade, the group’s musical direction began to change rapidly. On «Модна країна» in 2000 and on subsequent releases, guitars became increasingly prominent, while the songs adopted more conventional rock and pop-rock structures.
At the same time, the history of the original line-up was coming to an end. In the early 2000s, Rostyslav Domishevskyi and Serhiy Hera left the group. A new band formed around Kuzma, with guitarist Oleksii Zvolinskyi, bassist Kostiantyn Hlitin and drummer Vadym Kolisnychenko becoming important members.
After that, «Скрябін» effectively entered a new musical era. Kuzmenko became the main songwriter and the undisputed public face of the project.
«Натура», «Мовчати» and «Спи собі сама»
One of the key albums of the transitional period was «Натура», released in 2003. It featured «Спи собі сама» and «Мовчати», recorded together with Iryna Bilyk.
Kuzma’s musical language changed noticeably. Complex electronic textures gave way to melody, live instruments and more direct lyrics. «Спи собі сама» became one of the most important lyrical songs in his catalogue, while «Мовчати» became one of the best-known Ukrainian duets of the 2000s.
«Танго» and mature pop-rock
The 2005 album «Танго» firmly established the new model of «Скрябін». It included «Люди, як кораблі», «Старі фотографії», «Танго», «Телефони» and «Бути маленьким».
Kuzma increasingly wrote in simple conversational language, drawing on his own memories and situations familiar to almost everyone. «Старі фотографії» became a song about youth, friendship and the passage of time, while «Люди, як кораблі» explored the distance between people and their ability to hurt one another.
This songwriting style later became one of the defining features of the late period of «Скрябін».
From «Гламур» to «Радіо Любов»
In 2006, the group released «Гламур», on which Kuzma actively mocked conspicuous wealth, fashion and the Ukrainian entertainment industry. The next album, «Про любов?» from 2007, combined romantic lyrics with social satire.
After «Моя еволюція» in 2009 came one of the most important late-period albums, «Радіо Любов» (2012). Its sound once again noticeably combined rock with synthesizers, recalling the group’s electronic past.
The album included «Говорили і курили», «Місця щасливих людей», «Мам», «Сліди» and other songs. «Мам», dedicated to the musician’s mother Olha Kuzmenko, became one of the best-known ballads of the late period.
The final studio albums released during Kuzma’s lifetime were «Добряк» in 2013 and «25», released in 2014 to mark the group’s 25th anniversary.
Television
During the 2000s, Kuzma became known far beyond the audience of «Скрябін». From 2000 to 2002, he hosted the chart show «Гаряча сімка» and later worked on popular television projects.
The music show «Шанс», which Kuzma co-hosted with Natalia Mohylevska, became especially successful. He also hosted the programme «Шиканемо» and later worked in other entertainment formats.
His television popularity was largely built on the same qualities that shaped his stage persona: quick reactions, improvisation, self-irony and the ability to speak with people without creating an exaggerated distance between celebrity and viewer.
«Я, “Побєда” і Берлін» and books
In 2006, Kuzmenko made his literary debut with the book «Я, “Побєда” і Берлін». The story was based on real impressions from trips made by the young Kuzma and his friends to Germany, transformed into ironic road prose.
He later published «Я, Паштєт і Армія», «Я, Шонік і Шпіцберген» and other works. Kuzma’s prose is close in tone to his later songs and interviews: conversational language, self-irony and everyday humour easily give way to serious reflections.
In 2024, the feature film «Я, “Побєда” і Берлін», directed by Olga Riashyna and based on the book, was released in Ukrainian cinemas. Young Kuzma was portrayed by Ivan Blindar.
«Пающіє труси» and DZIDZIO
Kuzma’s work as a producer was not limited to his own band.
In the late 2000s, he took part in creating and developing the satirical female project «Пающіє труси», conceived as a parody of a certain segment of commercial show business.
His connection with DZIDZIO was especially notable. Mykhailo Khoma had known Kuzmenko since their days in Novoiavorivsk, and during the early history of DZIDZIO, Kuzma helped the project take its first professional steps. He wrote the song «Ялта», which became one of the group’s early signature tracks.
Kuzmenko also helped other young performers with advice, material and professional contacts, although full-time production work never replaced his own band as his main creative focus.
Public position
Kuzma’s public biography also included controversial episodes. During the 2004 presidential campaign, he performed on a campaign tour in support of Viktor Yanukovych. Later, the musician repeatedly spoke critically about that period and explained his participation as the result of pressure and obligations connected with his television work.
In subsequent years, Kuzmenko became increasingly outspoken about the political system, corruption and the situation in the country. After the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2014, he travelled to eastern Ukraine and helped Ukrainian servicemen, while trying not to turn his charitable work into a means of self-promotion.
Family
From 1994, Andriy Kuzmenko was married to Svitlana Babiychuk, whom he had known since his school years. In 1997, the couple had a daughter, Maria-Barbara.
Kuzma rarely turned his family life into part of his public image. After his death, his relatives took part in preserving his literary and musical legacy.
The death of Kuzma Skryabin
On the morning of February 2, 2015, Andriy Kuzmenko was returning from a concert in Kryvyi Rih. Near the village of Lozuvatka in Kryvyi Rih District, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, his car collided with a truck. The musician died at the scene at the age of 46.
Kuzmenko was buried at a cemetery in Briukhovychi near Lviv. After his death, major memorial concerts were held in Ukraine, where songs by «Скрябін» were performed by artists from different generations.
«Скрябін» after Kuzma
After the death of its frontman, the band did not officially cease to exist. The musicians who had worked with Kuzma in his final years continued performing and presenting his songs with guest vocalists.
At the same time, the songwriting and studio era of «Скрябін» directly associated with Andriy Kuzmenko ended in 2015. The group’s subsequent activity has focused primarily on presenting the musical legacy he created in concert.
Hero of Ukraine
On August 17, 2020, the musician’s birthday, Andriy Kuzmenko was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Ukraine with the Order of the State.
The presidential decree recognized his contribution to shaping Ukraine’s cultural space, his significant role in the development of national musical art, and his many years of creative and public activity.
The musical style of Kuzma Skryabin
Kuzma’s music cannot be accurately described through a single genre. Early «Скрябін» was primarily an electronic group combining synth-pop, new wave, post-punk and techno. Harder industrial elements are particularly noticeable on some releases from the late 1990s, but they do not define the group’s entire catalogue.
From the beginning of the 2000s, pop-rock became the main direction. The music featured more live guitars and traditional song structures, although keyboards and electronic elements remained and periodically returned as a noticeable part of the sound.
The lyrics changed just as dramatically. Early Kuzma wrote in a dark and highly figurative style — about death, loneliness, fear and dreams. Later, conversational language became his main tool. Parents, friends, love, money, cars, politics, ageing and memories of youth entered the songs with almost no literary distance.
That is why there is an enormous stylistic difference between early works such as «Мова риб» and «Птахи» and later songs such as «Старі фотографії» or «Мам», yet Kuzma’s authorial personality connects these periods into one continuous story.
Main «Скрябін» discography during Kuzma’s lifetime
- 1989 — «Чуєш біль» — early tape-recorded material
- 1992–1993 — «Мова риб»
- 1993 — «Технофайт» — early recording, later reworked and released
- 1994/1995 — «Птахи»
- 1997 — «Казки»
- 1999 — «Хробак»
- 2000 — «Модна країна»
- 2001 — «Стриптиз»
- 2002 — «Озимі люди»
- 2003 — «Натура»
- 2005 — «Танго»
- 2006 — «Гламур»
- 2007 — «Про любов?»
- 2009 — «Моя еволюція»
- 2012 — «Радіо Любов»
- 2013 — «Добряк»
- 2014 — «25»
The remix album «Танець пінгвіна», special projects, compilations and reissues of early recordings also occupy a separate place in the catalogue.
Key songs
- «Птахи»
- «Танець пінгвіна»
- «Той прикрий світ»
- «Нікому то не треба»
- «Сам собі країна»
- «Мовчати» — with Iryna Bilyk
- «Спи собі сама»
- «Люди, як кораблі»
- «Старі фотографії»
- «Гламур»
- «Говорили і курили»
- «Місця щасливих людей»
- «Мам»
- «Дельфіни»
The significance of Kuzma Skryabin
Kuzma Skryabin occupies a special place in Ukrainian music because of his rare ability to exist across several completely different cultural eras. He began in the small independent electronic scene of Novoiavorivsk, experimented with synth-pop, new wave and even techno, and a decade later became one of the most recognizable songwriters in Ukrainian pop-rock.
The evolution of his lyrics was no less important. From the dark and abstract imagery of early «Скрябін», Kuzma moved toward a language as close as possible to everyday speech. Songs about his mother, old photographs, friends or human loneliness were built on simple phrases without losing their emotional power.
Music was central to his legacy, but it was not its only part. Television made Kuzma recognizable to a broad audience, his books preserved his characteristic conversational voice, and his public activity during the final years of his life became another important part of his biography.
The early electronic recordings and the mainstream songs of the 2000s are so different that they could seem to belong to separate artists. What connects them is the figure of Andriy Kuzmenko — a songwriter who constantly changed together with the Ukrainian music scene while preserving his own voice, self-irony and ability to speak about serious things without pathos.
