Review Fix Exclusive: Sleepwoka Talks ‘Together We Are’ And More

Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Sleepwoka who discusses his origin in music and new single, “Together We Are.”

About Sleepwoka:

London based Ukrainian producer and songwriter, Sleepwoka, returns with another poignant single enthused with uplifting electro-pop soundscapes. Since he burst on the scene just last year, Sleepwoka, has released a string of successful singles gaining the attention of BBC Music Introducing London, Earmilk, Variance and Atwood Magazine.

As Earmilk concluded after his last single, “How I Was wrong”; “Sleepwoka’s music succeeds in pursuing relatable and thought-provoking narratives, with the hopes to make listeners evaluate their everyday lives through intricately crafted electronic music.” The new single, “Together We Are”, perfectly follows suit.

In a time when many of us are feeling disconnected physically from our friends, family and loved ones, Sleepwoka reflects on the resilience of true friendship even if we are spread far and wide. He explains: “Together We Are, is a tribute to all my friends that are scattered around the world. Although we live different lives and rarely see each other, it feels like the invisible connection only grows stronger. It’s a connection that reaches beyond messages on your phone. It’s the feeling that you get when warm memories from the past remind you of the strength of the friendship – which is especially important right now. Whatever this crazy world brings to us, it still feels like we’re in this together and no distance or time can change that.”

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Sleepwoka: I have been playing bass since I was 12 years old in a school band back in Ukraine. Unfortunately, when I moved to a different city for university, music got deprioritized until in 2018 when I decided to create the Sleepwoka project. It has been quite a learning curve, though, because I have never played keyboard and Sleepwoka has a lot of synthesizers in it.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Sleepwoka: I usually start playing around with melodies and sounds on my instruments. Once there is a small instrumental progression that I find interesting, I try to sketch some vocal melodies for it. After that it’s all about polishing the sound and creating a song structure that fits.

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Sleepwoka: All of my songs are about personal experiences and emotions. Everyday life is what usually inspires me the most. 2020 has been a really weird year in this regard. Emotional intensity that we are currently in definitely influenced and provoked me to write more music than ever.

Review Fix: What does music mean to you?

Sleepwoka: I use music as a way to express my deepest fears and insecurities. It is the only time I can be truly honest with myself and with the others.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

Sleepwoka: I describe it as alternative pop with vintage 80s vibe layered with deep and personal lyrics.

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Sleepwoka: On stage I have a friend of mine playing keyboard and I usually focus on synths, samples and vocals. Liza (she is a keyboard player) plays much more complex piano parts on stage compared to what we have in the studio and the music sounds more keyboard and piano heavy.

Review Fix: What inspired your latest single?

Sleepwoka: “Together We Are” is an ode to 2020. With all the craziness happening around the world, it was still a very important year and a chance to reevaluate how important personal connections are. We might feel quite claustrophobic locked in 4 walls in our apartments, but the hope to see the close ones in person once this madness ends is what should keep us going.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2021?

Sleepwoka: 2021 is packed with new music with 3 more singles already scheduled and at least 2 music videos in the making. If everything goes as planned, this will be the busiest year in the history of the project.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Sleepwoka: More music and hopefully live gigs as soon the pandemic ends. I really hope that we will have a chance to make a tour in 2022 in the countries where our fans live, but it’s really hard to plan anything at the moment.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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