Kalush Orchestra

Kalush is a Ukrainian rap band founded in 2019.  The band was named after Kalush, soloist and founder of the group Oleg Psyuk’s hometown.

The band’s first music video for the song “Ne marynuy” was released on their official YouTube channel on October 17, 2019.  The video was shot on the streets of Kalush.

After the release of the second music video “Ty honysh” in November 2019, the band Kalush signed a cooperation agreement with the American hip-hop label Def Jam, which is part of the Universal Music Group. On December 9, 2019, a video for the song “Hory” was released. In 12 days, the video garnered 1.2 million views on YouTube.

In 2021, the band’s debut album, “Hotin”, was released. On July 23 of that year, Kalush and rapper Skofka released their second album, “Yo-yo”.

In 2021 a parallel project was started – KALUSH Orchestra. Unlike the main band, this band will focus on rap with folk motifs and Ukrainian authenticity. Both groups have common members. Multi-instrumentalists Tymofiy Muzychuk and Vitaliy Duzhyk joined Oleg Psyuk (vocals, lyrics) Kilimmen (DJ) and Johnny Divny. Another musician, Igor Didenchuk, has played in Kalush from the beginning and went on to focus on the Kalush Orchestra.

Kalush Orchestra competed in Vidbir, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Stefanai”. IThe band took a second place. However, the band got a chance to represent the country in the competition due to the disqualification of the winner of the final – Alina Pash. At the moment when Russia invaded Ukraine, the band became the hot favourite to win the contest. They won the contest with a landslide.