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Ukrainian indie pop band Brunettes Shoot Blondes has been around for five years, but they really gained recognition when they released "Knock Knock," an unusual music video.

The clip is a simple animated love story shown on the screens of 14 Apple gadgets. The characters jump from one screen to another in search of love. The witty music video gained almost 7.5 million views on YouTube since its release in September.

Andrew Kovaliov, a 24-year-old frontman of Brunettes Shoot Blondes, says they shot the “Knock Knock” in just half a day and didn’t cost a penny. It was the band’s second music clip ever. The band’s friends from Syt-x production studio made an animation based on Kovaliov’s idea, and his classmate shot it – all for free. The gadgets were borrowed from friends.

“A week before the shooting we asked people in social media if anyone had Apple gadgets and could bring it for the shooting,” Kovaliov says.

A screenshot from music video “Knock Knock” by Brunettes Shoot Blondes. The video was viewed nearly 7.5 million times.

Brunettes Shoot Blondes was founded in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in 2010 by Kovaliov, and his friend Roman Sobol, a 29-year-old drummer. The band members relocated to Kyiv a few years later and started playing in clubs and live music cafes.

“We didn’t have to play in basements and garages because all went well at once,” Sobol says.

All the songs are authored by the front man, Kovaliov. He writes songs only in English, and has no plan to write in Ukrainian or Russian, as well as perform in Russia, despite invitations. He asks native speakers to proofread his lyrics.

The band has recorded one mini album with six songs, but prepared a separate 1.5 hour program for live performing. In July, they are going to perform their first overseas show in Edmonton, Canada.

Despite having only one record, the band has had a commercial success and cooperation with major brands.

Their latest music video, “Bittersweet,” was supported by German car maker Opel in return for featuring its car in the video.

In Ukraine, Brunettes Shoot Blondes’ songs “Nothing At All” and “Tomorrow” were used in the commercials of Nova Poshta, the country’s biggest private express delivery service. Another song, “You Broke My Heart,” plays in a commercial of Watson’s retail chain. Despite the success, the band never got signed.

Even now Brunettes Shoot Blondes doesn’t have a producer. Their families and friends help with shootings and songwriting. When the band needed actresses for the “Bittersweet,” they used their own wives and girlfriends.

While the band is still in the beginning of its path to a platinum record, it unexpectedly got recognition from Ukraine’s President Administration.

After the success of “Knock Knock,” Kovaliov was chosen to be among the first people in Ukraine who received a biometric passport at official ceremony in the President’s Administration. Kovaliov recalls it was “unusual.”

“I was there among volunteers, international contests winners, receiving the passport for a music video on YouTube,” he says.

Brunettes Shoot Blondes will perform in Kyiv in Atlas music club on June 5, 8 p.m. Tickets are Hr 100-300.

Kyiv Post staff writer Yuliana Romanyshyn can be reached at [email protected]