Winter Wheat

Prayer for Ruby Elm

Oleh Zaychenko chose the name Bring Prudence because he wanted to be right next to Bring Crosby and Bright Eyes on his clickwheel iPod. It wasn’t until many years later that he realized Bing didn’t actually have an “r” in his name.

After moving to the Chicago suburbs from Ukraine in 2003, Zaychenko started writing poems and recording songs into his cell phone to cope with isolation. By 16, he saved up enough money from his Dunkin’ Donuts job to buy Jasmine — his only acoustic guitar to date. 

Having played in several high-school and college bands (Bad Bad Hats, Pursued By a Bear, Win Win), Oleh decided to move to Brooklyn and focus on Bring Prudence. In 2010, he released his first EP, Engineers, pioneering the “electronnui” sound, which he defines as “electronic music but sadder.” His melodic EP Aliens followed suit in 2013, earning praise from The Current, BIRP, Indie Rock Cafe, Recent Music Heroes, Echolalia Radio, and The Bomarr Blog. 

Zaychenko’s next release was profoundly impacted by Sparrow Night — a weekly mixed-media workshop of local Brooklyn musicians, artists, and poets held in the kitchen of his Crown Heights apartment. Zaychenko would write and bring in a new song every Sunday. The resulting album, Red Horses, explored themes of seduction, alienation, and loss of innocence over sparse acoustic arrangements, supplemented only by the lush bass and piano of Jared van Fleet (Beirut, Voxtrot). 

Described as “smooth, striking vocals running loosely over his simple acoustic guitar” (Impose Magazine) and “a body of work that can be dissected into witticism-thoughts” (Elevatrtrax), Red Horses (2016) gained wider exposure for Bring Prudence on the New York singer-songwriter stage, leading to performances at venues like the Bowery Electric, Pianos, Cake Shop, Rockwood Music Hall, and the Way Station.

Prayer for Ruby Elm

John K. Samson