Many Ukrainians found Ziferblat‘s Vidbir victory an example of how a new generation of Ukrainian musicians have found their way in the country’s music industry. But the band’s win has also had a rather unexpected by-effect on the music of Kyiv-based indie group 5 vymir.
Those who have followed Ziferblat for a little while know that indie rock band 5 vymir has been a long-time influence on the group’s music. In 2023, they even released a single which they nicknamed an ode to the band. However, unlike Ziferblat, 5 vymir never had their big break despite being popular among musicians in Kyiv.
Shortly after Ziferblat took the Vidbir trophy from host Timur Miroshnyshchenko, the band’s lead singer Danyil Leshchynskyi said:
“After the large-scale invasion, a lot changed. What Suspilne now does, for us, for us all. What the jury does and what the viewers do. We are developing Ukrainian culture. We had momentum in 2014. Molodi and us were talking about it. Back then, there was a Renaissance of Ukrainian music. But not everything turned out well then.”
“Several bands that I loved: 5 vymir, Tik Tu, they did not receive the amount of recognition as they should have. Right now, there’s Renaissance number two and we should not lose this chance. Thank you all for that.”
In the days after Vidbir, a video that dissected the music Danyil mentioned in his winner’s speech went viral on Ukrainian TikTok.
Subsequently, 5 vymir’s music went viral on Spotify. By Saturday, six days after the final, the band had four of their songs in Ukraine’s Viral 50 chart on the platform. And by Monday, their signature song “Мало слів” ranked fourth in the list, ahead of Ziferblat’s own Eurovision bid and all other Vidbir songs. The original single version of that song was released in 2015 – talk about a sleeper hit!
5 vymir went on hiatus in late 2021, but have came back to social media following the renewed attention their music is receiving. In a short statement on Instagram, they thanked Ziferblat and wished them luck.
Ziferblat’s Vidbir win has become a victory for Ukraine’s now thriving indie music scene. This also showed when the independent music platform Slukh – which is currently on hiatus as most of its staff is in the Ukrainian army – posted something on social media for the first time in five months:
Ziferblat considering a revamp of “Bird of Pray”
Meanwhile, Ziferblat are gearing up for Eurovision. In an interview with Radio Promin, the group’s lead singer openly discussed the idea of revamping “Bird of Pray” before the contest. Later, in their Telegram channel, the band put this question towards their fans.
On Saturday, the three finally signed the contract with Suspilne that formally classifies them as the country’s Eurovision 2025 act.
Would you like “Bird of Pray” to stay the same as it currently is or do you think it needs a little revamp? What do you think of Ziferblat as Ukraine’s representatives? Let us know in the comments below!
I like it how it is. No revamp, please.
A revamp to make it feel more cohesive would be great!
I’m glad its getting a revamp