Eney () was a Ukrainian rock (big-beat) band active in 1968–1977. Named after the famous character, Aeneas, from one of the literary works of Ivan Kotlyarevsky, Eney was the first Ukrainian band to perform its own repertoire.
History During the 1960s Students from the Kyiv special music school formed a band named after Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko. They initially played unique interpretations of Ukrainian folk songs. Later its members were exposed to the late works of The Beatles and started to rearrange works of Bach and Khachaturian.
Starting from 1970, the band performed songs in Ukrainian language. Eney's performances took place in a number of Kyiv's higher education establishments, and their recordings were broadcast by Ukrainian television and radio. In 1971 the band split as Petrynenko and Blinov left it to form the new band called Dzvony. The band started to experiment in new genres: blues and soul.
In 1972 the band and their music where banned in the Soviet Union and labeled "bourgeois-national". As a result, all existing records and recordings were destroyed. After that the band went underground until 1974. The members then merged with Dzvony into the new vocal-instrumental ensemble Decorative Trails. After the band was accepted to the Ukr-kontsert it changed its name to Hrono. In 1977 the ensemble became known as Eney once again. After a period of time, Eney broke up and its members either joined different bands or went solo. Petrynenko later created his own band Hrono.
Musical style Eney's songs combined elements of Ukrainian folk (duma, kolomyika, humorous songs) and North American musical genres (blues, rock-n-roll, country music). In its compositions the band used texts by notable Ukrainian authors, including Stepan Rudansky, Oleksandr Oles, Pavlo Tychyna, Vasyl Symonenko, Lina Kostenko, Dmytro Pavlychko and others.
Notable songs Eney (Еней, Aeneas) - words and music by T. Petrynenko Zberezhy (Збережи, Save) - words and music by K. Stetsenko Ty znayesh, shcho ty liudyna (Ти знаєш, що ти людина, You know that you are human) - words by V. Symonenko, music by K. Stetsenko Pisnia (Пісня, Song) - words by O. Oles, music by K. Stetsenko Soniachne vesillia (Сонячне весілля, Sunny wedding) - words by D. Cherednychenko, music by K. Stetsenko Snihy (Сніги, Snows) - words by D. Cherednychenko, music by M. Kyrylin Mosty (Мости, Bridges) - words by P. Tychyna, music by M. Kyrylin Chary nochi (Чари ночі, Charms of the night) - words by O. Oles, music by M. Kyrylin Chy daleko do neba (Чи далеко до неба, Is it far to the sky) - words by S. Rudansky, music by O. Blinov Ta orav muzhyk kray dorohy (Та орав мужик край дороги, And the muzhik ploughed by the road) - folk song arranged by T. Petrynenko Khvalylasia bereza (Хвалилася береза, The birch boasted) - folk song arranged by K. Stetsenko Mariyka bula (Марійка була, Mariyka was) - folk song arranged by K. Stetsenko Viye viter z polia (Віє вітер з поля, The wind blows from the field) - folk song arranged by K. Stetsenko Plyve kacha (Пливе кача, The duck swims) - folk song arranged by T. Melnyk Dobryi vechir tobi (Добрий вечір тобі. Good evening to you) - koliadka
References
Further reading
External links Brief overview