Ivan Dorn, a Ukrainian musician, had mostly finished his first album in five years by February. "Dorndom" was recorded in a village in northern Ukraine, and has songs in Russian, as he does on most of the hits that have propelled him to stardom in both Ukraine and Russia
Ivan Dorn, who was born in Russia and grew up in Ukraine, performs at a concert in Long Island City in New York, July 3, 2022. The pop musician had long hoped to unite Russia and Ukraine through music, but after Russia’s invasion this year, he cut ties with Moscow. (Sasha Maslov/The New York Times)
Ivan Dorn, a Ukrainian musician, had mostly finished his first album in five years by February. “Dorndom” was recorded in a village in northern Ukraine, and is a more conceptual project than his trademark genre-crossing pop. On the LP, Dorn, 33, who was born in Russia, sings in Russian, as he does on most of the hits that have propelled him to stardom in both Ukraine and Russia.
He settled on a release date at the end of May, and his team worked to put together a global tour that included dates across both countries. Then Russia invaded Ukraine.
Against the backdrop of missiles raining down on Ukrainian cities, devastating hospitals, theaters and apartment buildings, releasing Russian-language music that did not reflect on these events felt wrong.
“People are just too sensitive about language at the moment,” Dorn said recently after a sold-out concert in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Instead of performing and promoting “Dorndom” — which Dorn still hopes to release one day; its name is a combination of his own and the Russian word for house — the musician is now playing older hits across Europe and the United States to raise money to help Ukrainians in peril.
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