With the song "Stefania" the Kalush Orchestra are well on their way to winning the hearts of the audience at this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Turin on May 10, 12 and 14, with their music and of course their resounding message.
The song consists of rap verses in a combination of folk refrain and hip-hop beats, while it is dedicated to the mothers of the band members. Like all Kalush Orchestra songs, it is based on true experiences.
"It's a song for my mother," says frontman Oleh Psiuk. "It's the best thing I've ever done for her."
As a surprise, the organizers of the Ukrainian national final invited the mother to the night for the first time this song.
In times of crisis it is natural and next to isolate yourself from everyday life, to review, to focus on basic survival or even to put your head in the sand. All this is normal and completely understandable to do.
But there are those who manage to be inspired even in the darkest times, those who manage to continue, guided by the instinct to help in a change and bring to the fore something hopeful after so much pain and destruction.
In the case of the Ukrainian band Kalush, it's all of the above: in a very short time, their mission as artists representing their country at this year's Eurovision Song Contest has become the faces and voice of a nation going through unbearable moments. In the midst of a war that the rest of the world is watching with bated breath, the Kalush have decided that it is now more important than ever to stand with their heads held high, to dream and to fight for their beliefs.
Kalush, is the name of a small town where the band's frontman, Oleh Psiuk, also known as The Psiuchyi Son, comes from. They were formed in 2019, when Igor Didenchuk and MC Carpet Man (Kylym Men) responded to an Oleh Facebook post where he was looking for members to create a band.
And so the band came to life, creating a unique mix of rap with folk elements without losing its Ukrainian authenticity - or as they like to call it: folk and groove. With a larger family, the Kalush became the Kalush Orchestra, with the power of two more musicians: Tymofii Muzychuk and Vitaliy Duzhyk. Their first single, "Shtomber Womber", was released in December 2021.
"He has never won a rap song in the history of Eurovision"
Regarding their decision to take part in Eurovision, the Kalush Orchestra said:
"It was a collective decision. The desire was born when we wrote our first song as Kalush Orchestra. We thought that this music should be heard in Europe. Like any music competition, all participants take part in the experiences and to win.
Why do we want this victory? Well, throughout the history of Eurovision, we have never heard of a rap song winning. Eurovision is also an experiment - and usually new things are successful. We want to show how cool the combination of rap with Ukrainian folk sound is! "
In addition to influencing the sounds of their country, the Kalush Orchestra show off their roots in their costumes, wearing traditional "Hutsul keptar" vests, a pink hat reminiscent of a typical Ukrainian style or even dressed as Hutsul molfars (molfar = magicians, shamans). and therapists in western Ukraine).
The clothes of each member of the band have black and red details. In their own words: "Red in one hand symbolizing love and black in the other symbolizing pain. "Black is a symbol of the darkness and fertility of the earth."
