Ukraine
Hans Zimmer Lauds Ukrainian Pianist Who Performed Inception Theme During Air Raid
A song of joyful defiance. Hans Zimmer took a moment to honor a Ukrainian pianist during his London concert earlier this week. Pausing his own performance at the O2 Arena, the composer showed a video for the audience depicting the young musician named Alex, who refused to stop playing the main theme to 2010’s Inception when air raid sirens began going off in a Lviv subway station. National Geographic photographer John Stanmeyer captured the moment in a Lviv subway station and posted the video on social media. “When bomb sirens began, police asked everyone to move inside the railway station,” wrote Stanmeyer in the Instagram caption. “Alex @alexpian_official wouldn’t stop, playing his piano louder against the air raid warning. His friend joined with the most calming pink nails. A simple, ov...
Dee Snider Shares “Stand (for Ukraine)” Music Video, Launches Support Campaign: Stream
Dee Snider has shared “Stand (for Ukraine),” a re-worked music video for his 2021 Leave a Scar track “Stand.” The Twisted Sister singer also launched the World United Live support campaign to aid the country. Snider recently made headlines when he voiced staunch support for the Ukrainian’s use of Twisted Sister’s anthem “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as a rallying cry against the invading Russian forces. However, Snider has also lambasted the song’s appropriation for less noble causes, such anti-mask rhetoric and questionable parody usage. “About a month ago, someone on social media told me people in Ukraine were using Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ as a battle cry and asked if I was cool with it. Of course I was,” Snider remarked in a statement. “My response elicited someone asking...
Digital currencies could get a boost from the international crisis: Blackrock CEO
Larry Fink, the CEO of the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock, believes the ongoing Russia – Ukraine crisis has boosted the case for digital currencies as a tool of settlement for international transactions. In a shareholders letter, Fink noted that the ongoing war would force nations to reassess their currency dependencies which could eventually make way for a global digital payment network, reported Reuters He said the war has put an end to the globalization forces at work over the past 30 years. Fink’s observation about the boost in the digital currency market is quite spot on, as trade sanctions on Russia have already led many countries that import oil and gas from them to look for alternate payment networks beyond centralized SWIFT. India is reportedly developing a direct I...
Crypto trading in rubles falls even as ECB warns again on sanctions
The President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde has reiterated warnings that Russian individuals and businesses are using cryptocurrencies to skirt sanctions. However, as of March 18, daily ruble-denominated crypto trading volume was sitting at just $7.4 million, down over 50% from recent figures and a peak of $70 million on March 7, according to data from Chainalysis. This amount represents a tiny slither of the total global crypto market volume, with Bitcoin’s total daily volume generally fluctuating between $20 billion and $40 billion. In a presentation at the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Summit on Tuesday, the crypto skeptic Lagarde said that European financial authorities had seen the “volumes of rubles into stable, into cryptos, at the moment [is at] th...
In Ukraine, Music Promoters Pivot to War’s Front Lines: ‘Culture Needs to Hold On’
The ritual is the same every August. Promoters for Zaxidfest, about an hour southwest of Lviv, Ukraine, dig into storage containers and haul out electrical generators, walkie-talkies and other equipment to put on the latest edition of the event, which has been held since 2009. This summer will be different. “All our storage goes to armed forces and refugees,” says Yakiv Matviychuk, the founder of the festival, which booked punk and metal bands like Cradle of Filth and Lacuna Coil in 2019 and drew 75,000 fans in a single day. “Unfortunately, I am not a soldier. So I help with donations. All people do what they can do the best.” Many men on Zaxidfest’s staff have joined the military to repel the Russian forces who attacked the country on Feb. 24. They’re scattered throughout Ukraine, from Ky...
Devo to Donate Song Revenue to Ukraine
Devo, the New Wave music group known for hits like “Whip It,” said they will donate their licensing revenue from their song catalog for the entire month of April, along with personal monetary contributions, to organizations that are helping support the Ukrainian people and refugees. The money will be earmarked for Music Saves UA and World Central Kitchen. Devo is asking others in the music industry to join them in this effort. Explore Explore Devo See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Vladimir Putin’s rape of a sovereign nation, Ukraine, whose citizens are committed to democratic rule of law should not and cannot stand in the 21st Century,” said Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale of Devo. “To help the victims of Putin’s unprovoked war, Devo will be donatin...
Ukrainian President Zelensky Thanks Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher for Raising $35 Million in Aid
In just over two weeks, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher have raised a whopping $35 million to provide humanitarian aid to refugees of Ukraine following the ongoing invasion by Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently hopped on Zoom with the couple to express his gratitude for the couple’s efforts, while also sharing a snapshot of the call on social media. “.@aplusk & Mila Kunis were among the first to respond to our grief,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter. “They have already raised $35 million & are sending it to @flexport & @Airbnb to help [Ukrainian] refugees. Grateful for their support. Impressed by their determination. They inspire the world.” Earlier this month, Kunis (who immigrated from Ukraine to the US in 1991) and her husband started a ...
Amid conflict, NFT projects already seek to rebuild Ukraine
The recent invasion of Ukraine has put the world in a state of uncertainty, turmoil and geopolitical risk. Volatility in the global financial markets has caused immense losses to millions of investors. With rising global inflation, fear of tapering liquidity, and increasing interest rates by the United States Federal Reserve, havoc is spreading across the global economy. Additionally, the delinking of SWIFT messaging services for leading Russian banks is causing concern among entrepreneurs in the nation while also impacting other economies with strong Russian trade ties. With Visa and Mastercard halting their Russian operations, there will be further untold consequences for the interoperability of their payment systems and the everyday citizens who rely on them. Amid all these uncert...
How SXSW’s Only Ukrainian Act Fled Kyiv to Bring ‘Masters of War’ to Austin
To get to this moment — singing “Masters of War” at the Speakeasy in Austin, Texas, on Saturday (March 19) with Bob Dylan‘s guitarist while fans draped in Ukrainian flags roared from the balcony — Oleksandra Zaritska endured a terrible journey. On Feb. 25, the 29-year-old singer for popular regional trio Kazka was living in central Kyiv when Russia invaded her country. Early that morning, she witnessed the bombing from her balcony. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I will remember this for my whole life,” Zaritska tells Billboard, with the occasional help of a translator, during South by Southwest at a downtown Austin food hall a day prior to the Speakeasy gig. As emergency sirens blared throughout the city, Zaritska, better known as Sasha, deci...
Amelie Lens’ Exhale Records Releases Charity Compilation to Aid Humanitarian Efforts In Ukraine
The residents of Exhale Records are coming together to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine with a charity compilation, Together with Ukraine! Helmed by Amelie Lens, the Belgium-based imprint has assembled a team of techno stalwarts for a 14-track album. Lens herself opens things up with a tone-setting rework of her 2017 original, “Purge.” Lens, who was named one of EDM.com‘s Best Music Producers of 2021, pumps up the energy of the original with an accentuated, thumping kick and powerful synths reminiscent of a prior era of old-school rave. The ode to the underground continues with the acid rave stylings of Ahl Iver’s “Feel The Groove,” the frenetic cadence of Lokier’s “Broken,” and Charlie Sparks and Frazi.er’s ...
Internet Computer founder’s $250M plan to help end the war in Ukraine
Internet Computer (ICP) and DFINITY founder Dominic Williams has conjured up an oddball plan to speed up the end of the Russian invasion of Ukraine via smart contracts and $250 million worth of crypto rewards. DFINITY’s Internet Computer was launched in May 2021 and is a public blockchain and protocol that’s trying to decentralize the internet. Williams’ March 16 proposal is focused on countering propaganda, and informing the Russian population — who he suggests are in general “completely ignorant” — on the reality of what is actually taking place in Ukraine, which will then, in turn, spur them on to pressure the government to stop the conflict. “We should not hold out too much hope that sanctions alone will turn the Russian population against their leaders, for the simple reason tha...
Ukraine’s president signs law establishing regulatory framework for crypto
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine currently based in Kyiv, has signed a law establishing a legal framework for the country to operate a regulated crypto market. In a Wednesday announcement, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation said Zelenskyy signed a bill named “On Virtual Assets,” first adopted by the country’s legislature, the Verkhovna Rada, in February. Crypto exchanges and firms handling digital assets will be required to register with the government to operate legally in Ukraine, and banks will be allowed to open accounts for crypto firms. The law endows Ukraine’s National Securities and Stock Market Commission with the power to determine the country’s policies on digital assets, issue licenses to businesses dealing with crypto and act as a financial watchdo...
