Our editor Matt spoke to Go_A who were due to represent Ukraine in this year’s Eurovision.

How did Go_A form a band?

In 2011 on a trip to India, band member Taras had an idea to form a band that would combine modern electronic music with ethnic motifs, with the first attempt to work with musicians happening the following year in 2012.

At the end of 2012, in December, Go_A released Koliada. (Christmas carol) which you can see below:

The band gained attention after the release of their next single Vesnianka, (Веснянка) which won the National competition ‘The Best Track in Ukraine’ 2015. For six weeks, the song stayed at Number one on the 10Dance chart of the Kiss FM radio station in Ukraine, and was also awarded ‘Discovery of the Year’ by the radio station.

In late 2016, Go_A released their debut album #Idinazvuk (Іди на звук; Follow the tune) under the label Moon Records. The album consisted of ten songs, including the successful “Vesnianka”. 

In early 2017 Go_A released a Christmas single “Shchedryi vechir” (Щедрий вечір; Generous evening) in collaboration with Katya Chilly which you can see below:

In early 2020, it was announced that Go_A were among 16 acts participating in the Ukranian National selection Vidbir with their song “Solovey”.

The band performed in the first semi-final of Vidbir, which took place on 8th February , where they placed second behind KRUTЬ and qualified to the National final.

On 22nd February, Go_A got the chance to represent Ukraine at this year’s Eurovision by winning both the public and the jury vote of the National final Vidbir.

Although this year’s Eurovision has been cancelled, as we announced back in March Ukranian broadcaster UA:PBC asked Go_A if they would like to represent Ukraine next year, and the band agreed.

In our interview below we spoke to Kateryna and Taras from the band who spoke about how they wrote their entry this year. The band also spoke about how they will write some new songs for next year, with viewers at home getting the chance to pick their favourite which they will go on to perform at next year’s contest.

Kateryna spoke about how she learnt her vocal technique which she learnt from her Grandma, which had been passed down from generations of her family.

Go_A spoke about how they continue to plan to perform at next year’s Eurovision in Ukranian, which they spoke about in more detail in our interview below:

Below we’ve put links to Taras’s and Kateryna’s favourite films:

He Died With A Felafel In His Hands

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

Below you can see Go_A sing their song at the Ukranian Naional Final Vidbir:

What do you think of Ukraine’s song this year? Let us know in the comments section below!