Band tells of battles in Sheeran link-up

THE lead singer of Ukrainian band Antytila has described the difficulties the band faced while writing the lyrics for a collaboration with Ed Sheeran.

Sheeran, 31, has collaborated with Antytila to create a remix of his track 2step, which will raise money for Ukraine.

Speaking to BBC News, Antytila’s lead singer, Taras Topolia, said: “It was not so easy to record the voice because our studio was under occupation while we were creating the lyrics for the song.

“So our studio was under occupation, but we found a way to record the voice.”

A new video, which Topolia, 34, described as “heartbreaking”, but encouraged people to watch, has been released to accompany the remix.

“The video is also very heartbreaking,” he told BBC News.

“You should watch it, I’m asking you, please watch the video because the video conveys the message of the song.”

The remix has been released to raise money for Music Saves UA, a non-profit fundraising project providing humanitarian aid for people in Ukraine.

Over the next 12 months, Sheeran and Antytila’s worldwide royalties from Youtube streams of the official video will be donated to Music Saves UA.