KALUSH frontman Oleg Psyuk – about the collaboration with Okean Elzy, songs about the former and ignorance from the TV side

“Today” we talked with the frontman and founder of the group Oleg Psyuk and learned about the beginning of the creative path of KALUSH, the meaning of the tracks and new ideas.

By the way, “Okean Elzy” delighted its fans with the news about the tour. In June 2022, the group plans to perform in the capital.

Note that Oleg is not public in life – he talks about himself mainly in songs. But nevertheless, the rapper shared with us about the team, the content of the compositions and the difficulties that were at the beginning of his career.

Creation of a group thanks to the Network

In 2019, the then little-known rapper Oleg Psyuk wrote a post on Facebook that he was recruiting talented people to his group. Hip-hop fans – multi-instrumentalist Igor Didenchuk and MC Kilimmen – responded to the offer of the frontman.

So the guys began to create music together that “rocks” the vast majority of young people.

Made a group due to the fact that I like synergy. I rap, but I don’t play instruments. The group has Igorek, who plays 50 musical instruments, but does not rap. We also have a man named Kilim, who does everything else: he sings, dances, and is simply a jack of all trades, – said Psyuk in an interview with Segodnya.

The group was named after Oleg’s hometown – Kalush. As the singer himself explained, it’s all because he is a fan and a patriot of the city.

All the most interesting things that happened in my life were in Kalush. All the greatest adventures that could have been, added the artist.

However, according to Oleg, his the path in rap started even before the group… In Kalush, he rapped with his comrades in the yard.

Before the group I tried myself in rap for 12 years. For 10 years in Kalush I read constantly with the boys in the yard. Then the boys started jumping off the rap because of families, earnings, and so on. And I stayed and started writing further, and now I finished it, – said the rapper.

Style, image and slang – KALUSH chips?

The band members are bright and harmonious. They have an interesting style, they use Kalush slang in their tracks, which not everyone understands, but everyone likes it. However, according to Oleg, he does not consider these components to be chips.

Probably all together: slang, image, and style… I do not do phishicsI live this way, I am what I am. This may seem like a gimmick for someone, but for me these are just familiar things, – said the rapper.

Regarding the style, Psyuk admitted that they did not create any idea for this, they just liked the image they used for the first video.

There was no idea. Pink Panama was on the first video. I liked this bow, and so did the team.… We decided to use it in the next videos, and it caught on so much that I was only in it at all.

However, with Kilimmen, according to Oleg, the idea changed for a long time.

The idea with Kilim changed for a long time. At first, it had to be a man in a carpet mask, and then we slightly updated the image and thought that it would be our Ukrainian Superman – Kilimmen.

But the slang, as explained by Psyuk, he always used in the text. According to the artist, “because of this, the music is great, because it comes from the heart.”

From the first single to new tracks

In October 2019, KALUSH posted its first works on YouTube “Don’t marinate” and “You’re chasing”… It is interesting that the video for the first track was filmed on the streets of Kalush.

Fans immediately appreciated the songs and noted that they have a special Kalush accent and content.

According to Psyuk, the basis of the songs – depends on the topic… The artist emphasized: he writes about what happened to him in reality.

If my kent wanted to leave me, I wrote a song about it. I had a situation that I met a girl from Instagram, whom I barely recognized, because she is different in life – I also wrote a song about it. About long-term and short-term relationships. He wrote an album about my relationship with drugs. I write tracks about everything.

In 2019, KALUSH and alyona alyona, who supported the team from the very beginning, presented, in the opinion of many fans, an incredibly beautiful and sensual video clip “Gori”, which was filmed in the Carpathians. After that, a powerful wave of fame came to the group.

Then the band began to release songs in a more romantic style. Tracks such as “Zori” and “Dodomu” were to the liking not only of rap fans, but also just music lovers. Psyuk explained that KALUSH is constantly looking for something new, and therefore they do not write tracks in the same format.

If done in the same style, then it does not cling as much as before. AND I am constantly looking for myself in new guises. Only then does the music really catch me when I always make it something different from the previous one, – added the singer.

Connected songs

KALUSH releases are different from each other, but they are united by one thing – a life story… And the track “Mala at 19” is no exception. The fans liked the song so much that they began to actively re-sing it on video and post it on the Web, but what is its meaning?

This is the search for my white-browed girl. History, as I searched for it all year round. Before that, I had a long relationship. Then I looked, I found a lot of things wrong, – the rapper explained.

But the single “I won’t forget”, as Oleg noted, is just the prehistory of the new hit.

This is the background to all this. I dedicated it to my same ex-girlfriend whom I dated for a long time. Everything is connected for me, – the artist emphasized.

Collaborations with other artists

В KALUSH there are many common tracks with other artists: аlyona аlyona, Christina Soloviy, Jerry Heil, “Okean Elzy” and others. According to Oleg, sometimes the group can offer to sing together, and sometimes one of the artists.

With each in different ways: who is me, and to whom I am. аlyona аlyona I suggested. We already knew each other before. Still, rappers know each other. Svyatoslav (the leader of the Okean Elzy group – Ed.) Had a demo of the song “Peremoga”. He already threw it off to me almost ready, and so I flew with a verse, – the singer explained.

Quarantine and group “explosion”

Although KALUSH originated in 2019, it started on a large scale in 2020 – during quarantine time. And this is another test.

There were all sorts of moments. It was such that I was somewhere in a secular get-together, and there TV channels take interviews from everyone, but I do not. I myself approached and offered, I say: “Do you hear, interview a normal kid.” And many were mortified. To some he was imposed, but to someone it did not work. Now everything is different. Until there is this hype, then everyone does not care: cool music do you make or not, what position and opinions, – Oleg recalled.

The artist previously stated that in his works he would never promote cigarettes, drugs and other harmful products. But the mission of the group, according to Oleg, “make sure that Ukrainian rap is listened to not only in Ukraine, but all over the world“.

Spoiler from KALUSH

All fans are looking forward to new tracks and clips from their favorite band. And Oleg Psyuk delighted his fans with a spoiler that soon something new and unusual awaits them:

December 3 will be released release of the new group KALUSH. There will now be two groups. One will be completely different from the one that everyone is used to. That is, the KALUSH that exists will remain the same, and the second will have a slightly different music, images, participants.

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