My name is Alex. I am originally from Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union. My family later immigrated to the United States and settled in New York, where I have lived about 30 years. From my early days there, I became deeply interested in world music and have been extensively collecting it ever since. Contrary to the widespread belief that America is a multicultural country with friendly, open-minded and responsive people, I encountered a wall of misunderstanding, indifference and even hostility that remained unchanged for me throughout my whole life in New York. Nevertheless, I’ve kept on going and now I have accumulated a substantial collection of roughly half a million recordings, encompassing many nations, genres and time periods. The collection also includes tons of videos of ethnic performances around the world, especially dance, and hundreds of books.

When I was back in high school, I discovered Korean old pop music on the radio, and it immediately occupied a special place in my heart. It felt like a breath of fresh air - so different, yet so familiar. It perfectly resonated with the deepest feelings of my soul, it was the kind of music that I wanted not to only listen to, but to play myself. This sparked my interest in Korea. However, for the next two decades, I was unable to find any more similar Korean music or information about it. In 2012, I visited Korea for the first time, and it was the first time, since leaving Ukraine, that I felt at home. This experience led me to a solution for escaping the tiresome and hopeless routine of living and working in a hostile environment of NYC.

I realized that I must fundamentally change my life: move to a better place, where I can actually enjoy it and develop my potential, turn my hobby into my job, become fully independent, and organize my life so I can dedicate sufficient time to my personal projects. Consequently, for the past 12 years, I've been working intensely towards realizing this dream. Finally, the hard times are over, and since the summer of 2025, I am living in Korea.

Encouraged by my father, I began learning to play the accordion as a teenager. However, due to my studies, work and numerous hobbies, I was never able to fully commit to excelling at it. Since my first days in the USA, I have discovered the immense diversity of world music, and I have spent nearly all my time exploring and collecting it, rather than playing myself. During my later school years, I started learning the recorder, as I was attracted to its simplicity and portability. Although I enjoyed playing it with some of my favorite tunes, I began to crave the rich, airy sound of other wind instruments, which the recorder couldn't produce. Over the years, I've collected many ethnic flutes from around the world, hoping to learn them, but I never had enough time or patience. Finally, in 2019, I discovered the Akai EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument), which fulfilled all my desires and solved my challenges. The instrument was so convenient and easy to learn that I have mastered it in just a few months, and it has since become my primary instrument.

Until recently, I was primarily a music collector, but now, as my life has radically changed, music performance has become my main occupation. I play music from various countries and genres, including older pop, romantic, disco, folk, and, more recently, some rock. Years of extensive collecting and immersion in world music have given me the ability to deeply understand the soul of different cultures, allowing me to play their music with authenticity, as though it were my own. I always strive to expand my repertoire and its diversity.

My busy life and recent international move have prevented me from focusing on consistent music practice and acquiring video-making skills. I have, however, uploaded my initial attempts to YouTube, which you're welcome to check out. Please subscribe to my channel. Once I'm fully settled, I intend to regularly share new, higher-quality recordings featuring international music.