Modern Ukrainian musicians have broadened the country's horizons, finding success in nearly every genre. Each niche has its own standout artists and milestones, which we highlight in this article.
Vopli Vidopliassova, or simply VV, is Ukraine's merriest band and has been calling tired Ukrainians to dance at the end of the working day since their first album Tantsi (1989).
VV brought Western-style rock'n'roll to Ukraine and made it accessible to all. From their underground origins, they soon evolved into mainstream national stars and were among the few first to export Ukrainian rock abroad.
The band toured Europe, the US, and Israel. Afterward, Oleh Skrypka, the vocalist and composer, and his bandmate Oleksandr Pipa, bass player, decided to stay in France. During their French period, the two played with local guitarist Philippe Mozha and drummer Stefan Mouflier.
However, living outside of Ukraine was hard for both musicians.
Their return home in 1996, followed by the album Muzika (1997) with its smash hit Vesna, strengthened the Ukrainian public's sympathy for the band even more. It was rather symbolic to see such a warmly welcomed band abroad choosing Ukraine over other places.
Thus, it has been not only their talent, but their choice of Ukraine, its language, and its people that made VV such an inspiration to the first generations of artists in independent Ukraine.
If any Ukrainian band is responsible for establishing a formula of merry rock for the masses in the Soviet Union, it was Braty Hadiukiny, or Hadiukin Brothers, from Lviv.
Founded in 1988, the band took inspiration from Vopli Vidopliasova, sharing a similar spirit and achieving notable success. However, Hadiukiny's satirical tone struck a different chord, resonating against the backdrop of the Soviet Union's dissolution.
Even though their music mixed rock with blues, reggae, and folk, their delivery and lyrics were most appealing. Their use of the Russian-Ukrainian hybrid dialect known as surzhik made them sound familiar and genuine.
In 1989, they won second place in the rock category at the Chervona Ruta Festival, which quickly catapulted them to popularity. However, what mattered most to them was the newfound freedom to play rock in their own country. After growing up in a climate of musical repression, the band members were planning to "go crazy for at least five years."
Thus, their first amateur-recorded cassette, Vsyo Chyotko! appeared very quickly in 1989. According to the words of one of the founding members, Serhii Kuzminskyi, it secured them an unexpected all-Union popularity after Alla Pugachova happened to have a copy.
The band is still active today. In 2016, they performed several Ukrainian shows with the band Public Image Ltd., and in 2023 the collective had a big Ukrainian tour, presenting their new war-related songs which are yet to be released.
This Kyiv-based group preceded Ukraine's independence but was able to capture the country's free spirit in its pure experimental manner as early as the late 1980s.
Almost all the band's founders, Svitlana Nianio (vocals and keys), Oleksandr Kokhanovsky (piano), and Tamila Mazur (cello), except for Evhen Taran (guitar), came from Glière Music College and thus had academic backgrounds.
Writing lyrics in Ukrainian was their principal choice while writing avant-garde music with Ukrainian ethnic motives was simply what worked out best between the four of them. The band's unique sound was based on nothing more than their own vision and skills, requiring no labels. However, some characterized the band as a baroque dark-folk, Ukrainian ethno-gothic, or alternative acoustic.
Their most famous album, Manirna Muzyka, came out in 1990 with Poland-based Koka Records. At the time, this music label was nurturing the growth of many experimental Ukrainian artists who had no other options beyond self-distribution, like Foa Hoka, Kazma-Kazma, Viy, and Ivanov Down. Altogether, they created a robust, revolutionary, and influential alternative music scene, unseen before and admired still.
As Tsukor's path was linked to Poland, the collective's influence was felt within. Soon, they became a big inspiration for the Polish legendary band Księżyc, which in turn influenced various local and foreign musicians.
Viy is one of the oldest bands of independent Ukraine and one of the country's first (if not the first) dark folk projects. They appeared in dark times indeed but managed to survive them with the help of the aforementioned Koka Records.
Based in Kyiv, this band was a part of a big local scene that was arising amidst the new times. Their first eponymous cassette was released via Koka Records, and so they joined their artistic cohort. Dmytro Dobryj-Vechir, one of Viy's founding members, was also linked to the vivid prog-rock project Banita Baida, which was founded in 1989 but is no longer active.
Viy's songs about Ukrainian magic, Cossacks, and the nature promptly made them important at home. Even though they toured Europe and garnered interest abroad, they were not able to get much traction. It was another story, however, in Ukraine.
In their early years, Viy played hundreds of concerts across Ukraine and were frequent radio guests throughout the 90s. Their music captivated audiences with its unique fusion of styles and instruments, from cello, flute, and banjo to ancient tools like the kopuz and gong. Today, they still draw media attention, with Neformat ranking their debut album among the top 10 most significant Ukrainian dark folk albums
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One-of-a-kind Kyiv artist Katya Chilly made waves across the pop scene with her appearance. Her uniqueness seemed far beyond this world, yet deeply resonated with those who recognized something distinctly Ukrainian in it.
People called her the rusalka of Ukrainian show business due to her renowned 1996 album, Rusalky in da House. Whether intentionally or not, it revived interest in the rusalni pisni of Ukrainian folklore, even though the entire album cannot be characterized as traditional: it is all hidden in Katya's energy, voice, and lyrics.
Even though she brought her own universe to big stages instead of fitting in, this has never obstructed her from winning the masses. In 1996, she was chosen as the best pop artist at the giant Chervona Ruta music festival in Kharkiv.
"My music is cold and hot at the same time, and a bit harsh, briefly---an electroflesh."
These words Katya said in 2005, after gaining the attention of BBC, MTV, and audiences abroad. While foreign audiences may not have understood her folklore lyrics, her songs still enjoyed impressive popularity, as she played over 40 concerts in the UK alone.
In 2024, her long-lost album Son, recorded and spread exclusively in closed circles in 2001, finally saw the world on streaming services. It was a very timely release, however, right at the peak of the Ukrainian cultural revival sparked by the full-scale invasion of 2022.
Highlighting bands' influence on generations, we also mean the generation of musicians. Many Ukrainian bands were inspired by both the musical approach and commercial success of prog-metal powerhouse Jinjer.
From a memorable artist of Ukraine's underground music scene, Jinjer grew into one of the country's most popular bands abroad.
Founded in the small city of Horlivka, Donetsk Oblast, Jinjer brought their music across the world, from the Americas to Japan. However, they are also, of course, famous at home. In 2013 and 2016, Jinjer was named the best Ukrainian metal band by the local award The Best Ukrainian Metal Act.
2016 was an especially big year for Jinjer, as they were signed by Napalm Records and released their first album with the label, King of Everything. From that moment on, their popularity abroad began surging, as they gained hundreds of thousands of listeners all over the world. Soon, the band's vocalist, Tetyana Shmayliuk, would be featured in almost every list of top female extreme vocalists.
Now, the band headlines festivals and performs alongside legends like Metallica, Evanescence, and Within Temptation.
These two bands are currently some of Ukraine's most well-known artists abroad, performing their signature ethnic music at concerts all over the world. They both got their starts at the DAKH Contemporary Arts Center in Kyiv.
DahaBrakha was founded in 2004 and has since become one of the most successful Ukrainian bands at home and abroad. Their path is a great example of growing out of the niche: from local ethnic music festivals in Ukraine to playing at the UK's Glastonbury Festival, one of the biggest in the world.
Their style may be tagged as folk-pop while the band self-identifies as ethno-chaos. Their shows are known not just for their music, but for their expertly-crafted dramaturgy. Their usage of a vast array of instruments, like the darbuka, tabla, didgeridoo, accordion, djembe, bugay, and zgaleyka, also adds to the picture.
If DakhaBrakha used their background in theater as an accent to their music, Dakh Daughters have fully blended the two genres of art, bravely exchanging the best features of both.
Dakh Daughters, an all-female multilingual 'freak cabaret' ensemble, emerged later on the Ukrainian scene. Each of their shows is an emotional blast. There is no music genre this team will not challenge, be it reggae or hip-hop.
In their songs, the Daughters use the poetry of Ukrainian authors, from Lina Kostenko to Yevhen Pluzhnyk, even sometimes sampling from Shakespeare, like in their most famous Rozy/Donbas composition.
The bands' visual flair and artistic skill suggest a connection, as both share the same member, Nina Garenetska, and emerged from the DAKH collective. Yet what they produce is different at the core.
This article was produced in partnership with the Ukrainian Institute, Ukraine's major cultural and public diplomacy institution.
