«Аккад» is a Ukrainian rock band from the city of Bar in Vinnytsia Region, founded on January 22, 2005. The main 2005–2006 lineup consisted of vocalist and songwriter Oleg Pylypenko, bassist Yevhen Valchuk, guitarist Oleksandr Dedov, lead guitarist Ruslan Kyrpa and drummer Taras Shcherba.
In 2005–2006, the band recorded twelve songs at Air Force Studio in Vinnytsia, performed at festivals and club venues, won the SMS voting at the «Перлини сезону» festival, reached the final of «Тарас Бульба», and played at Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv. The recorded material circulated on compact discs and through the internet but did not receive an official release at the time. Twenty years later, «Аккад» returned to these songs: in 2026, both the original recordings and new versions are being released.
The beginning of the band
The band was founded in Bar on January 22, 2005, by Oleg Pylypenko and guitarist Andrii Kytsiuk. In the spring, they were joined by Yevhen Valchuk and drummer Taras Shevchuk. Later, Kytsiuk and Shevchuk stopped playing with the group: Oleksandr Dedov took over on guitar, Taras Shcherba became the drummer, and Ruslan Kyrpa subsequently joined the band.
An important place for the musicians was the local house of culture where Dedov worked: through him, the band obtained a room for regular rehearsals.
Oleg Pylypenko wrote the songs that formed the first «Аккад» album between the ages of sixteen and eighteen.
First concerts and recording
The band’s first performance took place at a rock festival in Tulchyn. On May 17, 2006, «Аккад» performed at the «Барви» club in Kyiv.
The musicians began working on studio material in 2005 at Air Force Studio in the Vinnytsia House of Officers. Recording and mixing were handled by Dmytro Zaichuk; the studio sessions continued until May 2006. On the track «Туди де...», the violin part was performed by Roman Somyk.
In total, the band recorded twelve songs. There was no official release at the time: discs with the songs were handed out to listeners, while digital copies circulated through music forums. In this way, the music of «Аккад» began spreading beyond Bar even before the band appeared on major festival stages.
The 2006 festival season
One of the band’s first competition appearances was the Vinnytsia qualifying round of «Червона рута», where «Аккад» finished in fourth place.
In the spring, the band took part in the selection process for the «Перлини сезону» festival. On May 23, 2006, the list of artists who had passed the audio selection was published, with «Аккад» among them. On June 11, a live audition was held at the «Бочка» club in Kyiv: out of roughly three hundred demo recordings, around forty acts were admitted to this stage, and twenty advanced to the competition program.
On June 24, 2006, «Аккад» performed at Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv as part of a Youth Day concert program alongside «Скрябін», «Мандри» and participants of «Перлини сезону».
That same month, «Аккад» passed the Kyiv qualifying round of the «Тарас Бульба» festival and reached the final. The final performances in Dubno were scheduled for July 14–16, but the dates coincided with «Перлини сезону» in Zaporizhzhia. The musicians chose Zaporizhzhia.
Zaporizhzhia, Krolevets, Lutsk
On July 14–16, 2006, «Аккад» performed in Zaporizhzhia at the «Райдуга» fountain cascade as part of the «Перлини сезону» competition program; invited performers included Mariia Burmaka, Foma and «Тартак». The band took first place in the SMS voting and third place overall by the jury’s decision. After the festival, songs by «Аккад» were distributed to radio stations across the country through a mailing campaign by the company «На всі 100».
In August, the band traveled to Krolevets in Sumy Region for the first all-Ukrainian festival «Про Рок» and performed on the second day of the program. In a report on rock.ua, the band was described as follows:
«Аккад своїми текстами і пронизливим голосом соліста прошкребли по душі кожного слухача».
On September 1–3, 2006, «Аккад» took part in the international UpFest! in Lutsk, where the band won first place in the competition section.
The end of the first period
On October 13, 2006, «Аккад» performed at the Gavana club in Rivne, and on October 14–15 at the «Нівроку» festival in Ternopil. After that, regular live activity came to an end. There was no official announcement of a breakup: the musicians simply stopped performing together, while the recorded material remained without an official release. Oleg Pylypenko continued his musical activity in Vinnytsia with the band known since 2009 as «Серце Дженніфер».
Returning to the songs of «Аккад»
In August 2026, a post appeared on Threads from a person who had accidentally discovered the music of «Аккад»; it received more than 18,000 views and responses from listeners who remembered the band. The renewed interest in the old recordings became the reason to prepare the songs for an official release.
The work was not limited to reissuing the recordings: the songs written twenty years earlier were rebuilt from scratch. This led to the concept «Записано 2006 — Перезібрано 2026».
Discography
- «Як уперше (Знову)» — single, September 18, 2026, Flavatars.
- «2006» — album, October 16, 2026, Flavatars: twelve original recordings from 2005–2006 made at Air Force Studio, mastered by Dmytro Dovhan.
- «2026» — album, October 16, 2026, Flavatars: the same twelve songs in new versions.
Track listing
- «Двадцять градусів нижче нуля»
- «Про маски»
- «Деньги»
- «Туди де...»
- «20 (Пропадаю)»
- «Я не що знаю»
- «Як уперше (Знову)»
- «Запах Вулиці»
- «Полоса»
- «Дорога»
- «Кап-Кап»
- «Двадцять градусів нижче нуля (Радіоверсія)»
Lineup
Main lineup, 2005–2006:
- Oleg Pylypenko — vocals, songwriting;
- Yevhen Valchuk — bass guitar;
- Oleksandr Dedov — guitar;
- Ruslan Kyrpa — lead guitar;
- Taras Shcherba — drums.
Early members:
- Andrii Kytsiuk — guitar (January–spring 2005);
- Taras Shevchuk — drums (until July 2005).
Guest musician:
- Roman Somyk — violin on «Туди де...».
The history of «Аккад» combines a short but eventful live period in the mid-2000s with a return to the band’s own material two decades later. Songs that once remained without an official release received a new life in 2026 — both in their original recordings and in modern versions.
