Featured Image Credit: Alamy. Antytila/Facebook
Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Ed Sheeran, Music
Charisa Bossinakis
Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Ed Sheeran, Music
Ed Sheeran has released an updated version of one of his songs after collaborating with a Ukrainian rock band Antytila.
They added a verse to the British musician's song '2step', which was released on his album = (Equals).
But they also chose to shoot a music video for their collaboration, and filmed some of the scenes on the frontlines of the war.
The band struck up a friendship with Sheeran after they were invited to perform at the Concert for Ukraine last month.
While Antytila couldn't travel to the UK for the event, the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter decided to team up with them to release the single.
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The music video, which has already accumulated over 1.5 million views, was shot over various locations in Ukraine, showcasing many sites that have been demolished following Russia's invasion into the country.
Antytila took to Twitter to thank everyone for their support since the video was released on YouTube.
They wrote: “More than 1 views on YouTube in one day!
“Thanks for support! We are sure in our Victory and sure that you are sure too. Watch, like, comment and share this video to the all world! @edsheeran.”
ABC News reports members of the band were momentarily forced to step away from their music career and join the military over two months ago when the invasion began.
The band’s frontman Taras Topolia saw the new music project as an opportunity to showcase the war-torn country from a different lens.
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He said: "Ukraine is not just only destruction and horrible war. Ukraine is also talented, talented people.
"And those kids that now have no possibility to dance, to sing, to increase their skills, to play in the playgrounds."
Topolia also revealed that many of the music video’s sequences were shot while driving to the front lines of the Russian war.
He said: "We were doing our job. And like driving and between the positions of our battle in the Ukrainian army and just stopped on the road and took the GoPro camera and shot this video.
"It took maybe 10 or 15 minutes."
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Following the video's release, Sheeran gave it two big thumbs up, writing one Facebook: "Thanks so much for doing this Antytila, I love it x.”
Antytila shared that royalties from the song and streams from the music video would go towards the Music Saves UA humanitarian campaign, a non-profit fundraising project providing immediate relief to Ukrainians impacted by the war.