Once, a little-known rapper Oleg Psyuk created a post on Facebook in which he posted information that he was recruiting performers for his group. Not indifferent to hip-hop, Igor Didenchuk and MC Kylymmen responded to the proposal of the young man.
The musical group received the loud name Kalush. The guys who literally breathed rap decided to prove themselves. Soon they posted their first work on YouTube video hosting.
The video clip was remembered by rap fans with the Kalush accent of the Ukrainian language. The song "Don't Marinate" gained about 800 thousand views. And the most interesting thing is that in the search engine they are looking for the song "Don't marnuy."
Childhood and youth of the founder of the group Oleg Psyuk
Oleg Psyuk was born and raised in the small provincial town of Kalush, which is located near Ivano-Frankivsk. The creative pseudonym of the rapper sounds like Psyuchy blue. Oleg is the owner of a unique and inimitable flow.
At school, the young man studied very mediocre. After graduating from an educational institution, Psyuk entered a local college.
In order to somehow live, Oleg worked as a sales agent, worked at a construction site and a confectionery factory.
At the age of 19, Oleg decided to get a higher education. To do this, he moved to Lviv, studied at the Forestry University at the Faculty of Automation.
The prospect of working in logging ceased to please him even in the 1st year of study. Psyuk dreamed of rapping on stage. Oleg received a higher education, but to this day he cannot forgive himself for spending 5 years on this unnecessary business for him.
After receiving his diploma, Oleg returned to Kalush. In his spare time, Psyuchy Sin worked on creating musical compositions with rapper Nashiem Worryk, even released a DIY release "Bag". However, this is a completely different story, which is not related to the creation of the Kalush group.
On the way to popularity
The first tracks of the young rapper were not appreciated by rap fans. But they received a lot of laudatory comments from rap gurus. In the first tracks, Oleg powerfully described the realities of life in Kalush.
He described poverty, the problem of drug addiction and alcoholism without embellishment. In addition, Psyuk raised the topic of poverty in his works.
Oleg Psyuk is a modest and non-public person. Very little is known about his childhood and youth. And even the first works of the Kalush musical group do not make it possible to unravel the phenomenon of the owner of the best male flow in Ukraine.
The second participant Igor Didenchuk is only 20 years old. The young man was born and raised in provincial Lutsk. Igor received his higher education in Kyiv at KNUKiI (Poplavsky University) at the Faculty of Musical Art. Interestingly, Didenchuk can play 50 musical instruments.
In Kyiv, they also found a third member of the group, who has a creative pseudonym Kylymmen. The guy says nothing and hides his face in a suit with Ukrainian carpet ornaments.
Psyuk says that the third soloist is a collective image of Ukrainian hip-hop with a post-Soviet past. Young man dances modern dances.
The beginning of the work of the Kalush group
The musical group Kalush is a real diamond of Ukrainian hip-hop. Interestingly, the rappers who joined the group rap in a special Kalush slang. Few people understand their manner of presenting tracks. However, this does not stop rap fans from listening to the tracks of ambitious Ukrainian rappers.
The debut musical compositions of the Kalush group are released with the powerful support of rapper Alyona Alyona. Another owner of a powerful flow supported the Kalush group on her Instagram, and also announced the launch of a new label.
The video clip "Don't Marinate" was filmed by the guys on Kalush Street by the Basket Films team. The clip maker DELTA ARTHUR helped the guys to create this video - it is this person who is the author of most of the video clips of the singer Alyona Alyona.
The clip appeared on the network on October 17. The date was chosen by the Kalush group for a reason. A year later, the singer Alyona Alyona presented the video clip "Fish", which turned the girl into a real star. The artist later suggested calling October 17 Hip-Hop Day in Ukraine.
Psyuk writes exceptionally high-quality and conscious music. The Kalush group completely refuses to write about beautiful girls, expensive cars and crime.
The texts of the group are based on personal stories: drug addiction, low-paid work and the bustle of the provincial town of Kalush.
Oleg says that he gave up drugs and alcohol a long time ago. Now only sports and that's it. However, echoes from the past make themselves felt.
Psyuk has publicly stated that in his works he will never advertise cigarettes, drugs and any other harmful and low-quality products. The mission of the group is to kindly influence the minds of young people.
The second single of the Kalush group and success again
In 2019, the group presented the second single "You drive". As well as the debut composition, the video clip scored a little less than half a million views.
The number of positive comments has skyrocketed. Here is one of them: “Kalush, along the way, is the capital of the Ukrainian turnip!”.
After the presentation of the second work, one of the largest and most prestigious American labels Def Jam drew attention to the Ukrainian musical group. The label is part of the Universal Music Group.
Interestingly, this is the first time that a little-known Ukrainian band has signed a contract with Def Jam. The label decided to take on the “promotion” of the Kalush group, and now the work of Ukrainian rappers is available on almost all streaming platforms.
Music critics have no doubt that the Kalush group has every chance to gain a foothold in the market. The Flow editor says rappers are fun to watch because they're built from controversy. There should not be such a group at all, but it has appeared.
“From the very beginning of the creation of his project, Oleg Psyuchy did not strive to win a multi-million army of fans. And this is the whole taste of the Kalush group.
The guys are trying to merge trap with Ukrainian ethics, and folk dances with a break. This is a breath of fresh air for domestic hip-hop.”
Kalush group now
In 2019, the musical group Kalush and performer Alyona Alyona presented an incredibly beautiful and sensual video clip "Burn".
Within two weeks of posting the video clip, it was viewed by more than 1,5 million users. The shooting of the video clip took place in the Carpathians. The number of comments has exceeded. Here is one of the musicians' fans:
"Yes…!!! Ukrainian music really goes to a new level! And most importantly - no swearing and depravity! Beautiful and pumping! Success performers!!! And I, perhaps, will listen to the track one more time.
The Kalush group has an official Instagram page. Judging by the photos, the guys are not very interested in this social network. Yes, and the number of subscribers is insignificant.
In February 2021, Ukrainian rappers presented their debut full-length album to fans of their work. The record was called HOTIN. The LP topped 14 tracks. On guest verses there are Alyona Alyona, DYKTOR and PAUCHEK.
In the summer of 2021, Kalush, together with rapper Skofka, released their second full-length LP. The joint was called "YO-YO". In 2022, rappers continue to actively "roll" a concert tour in Ukraine.
Launch of the KALUSH Orchestra project
In 2021, rappers launched the KALUSH Orchestra project. The artists emphasized that they plan to "make" assorted, which will include rap and folklore motifs. The new group will exist in parallel with the main project.
The debut work was called "Stomber vomber". On the wave of popularity, the song Kaluska Vechornytsia (feat. Tember Blanche) was released.
The main members of the team were Oleg Psyuk and Johnny Dyvny. Multi-instrumentalists - Igor Didenchuk, Timofey Muzychuk and Vitaly Duzhik are also invited to the line-up.
KALUSH Orchestra at Eurovision
In 2022, it became known that KALUSH Orchestra will take part in the National selection for Eurovision.
In 2022, Ukrainian rappers continued to delight with the release of cool musical novelties. They presented the track "Sonyachna" (with the participation of Skofka and Sasha Tab). Within a week of its release, the song had over half a million views.
Around this period of time, the premiere of the track from Kalush and Artyom Pivovarov took place. The guys released a video and a song based on the verses of the Ukrainian poet Grigory Chuprynka. The joint was called "Maybutnist".
In February, the premiere of the track with which the rappers intend to go to Eurovision took place. Kalush Orchestra pleased with the release of the composition Stefania. "Stefaniya's song is dedicated to the mother of Oleg Psyuk," the members of the group said.
Scandal in the winery of the national selection for Eurovision
The final of the national selection "Eurovision" was held in the format of a television concert on February 12, 2022. The performances of the artists were evaluated Tina Karol, Jamala and film director Yaroslav Lodygin.
"Kalush Orchestra" performed under number 5. Recall that the frontman of the band dedicated the track "Stefania" to his mother, who, by the way, came to support her son.
The performance of the artists made the audience wildly delighted. The judges also expressed their sympathy. In particular, "Kalush Orchestra" received "respect" from Tina Karol. She also noted that they are countrymen. “Yo, Kalush, I am your countrywoman,” the singer shared.
But Lodygin noted that during the performance, a “vinaigrette” took place on the stage. Yaroslav suggested that it would be more logical if the guys took the stage as part of Kalush. Jamala also expressed her concern. She said that perhaps European listeners would not be ready to accept the work of the Kalush Orchestra.
The judges gave Kalush Orchestra 6 points. The audience turned out to be much more “warm”. From the audience, the team received the highest mark - 8 points. Thus, the Ukrainian team took 2nd place.
After the national selection, the leader of the group went live from the official Instagram account. It turned out that Psyuk is sure that the voting results were fabricated. He sought a dialogue with Yaroslav Lodygin.
After the announcement of the results, Psyuk, in the presence of media representatives, turned to the jury member, member of the board of Suspіlny Yaroslav Lodygin:
“We really wanted to look at that “ominous” card, where the audience sympathy. And when we entered, they closed the door right in front of us, holding this card, and did not open it for a long time. Then they opened it, said: we won't give it to you, and closed it again. Then they came out and said: we don't have this card. What do you think about falsification? And why is this happening?
According to the leader of the Kalush Orchestra, they intend to sue. Fans and rather authoritative representatives of the music industry who are convinced that Aline Pash "helped" win. There were also those people who advised the guys to drink valerian and adequately accept defeat.
As a result of a series of events, the Kalush Orchestra will represent Ukraine at Eurovision
Recall that the first place in the national selection went to Alina Pash, and the second - "Kalush Orchestra". After the victory of the artist, they began to harshly “hate” her. Fans, including the Kalush Orchestra, were sure that Pash's appearance at Eurovision was unacceptable.
The media continually discussed that Alina illegally visited Crimea in 2015. The artist is included in the Peacemaker database. Soon, she provided the necessary documents that confirmed that the singer acted within the framework of Ukrainian law, but later it turned out that they turned out to be fake. Pash wrote a post about how she and her team did not know about the falsification of documents. She had to withdraw her candidacy from participation in Eurovision. On February 22, 2022, it was revealed that the Kalush Orchestra had agreed to replace Alina Pash.
“Finally it happened. Together with the Public, we have decided some of the nuances and are ready to lead our country to success together! It is a great honor to represent our state! We promise we won’t let you down,” the musicians write.
After it became known that it was the Kalush Orchestra that would go to Eurovision, the public "cheered up". In social networks, short videos have already been cut from an interview with the band's frontman, Oleg Psyuk. In an interview, he admitted that he used drugs. However, the musicians hold themselves with dignity, and the fans of the artists believe that victory is behind the colorful Ukrainian musicians.
Kalush Orchestra became the winners of Eurovision 2022 in Turin
In the finals of the Eurovision music contest, the Ukrainian team deservedly took first place. As a result of voting by the international jury and the audience, Kalush Orchestra brought Ukraine victory in the song contest and the right to host Eurovision 2023. It is difficult to overestimate the moral support of Ukrainian society at such a dramatic moment. The victory of the Kalush Orchestra at the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin gives hope for the best to millions of people around the world. The track Stefania won the hearts of many music lovers.
