The Ukrainian representative at this years contest are Go_A, the band consists of: Kateryna Pavlenko, Ihor Didenchuk, Taras Shevchenko and Ivan Hryhoriak. and their style is the combination between modern electronic music and ethnic sounds. Last year they won Vidbir with “Solovey”And this year they will be singing “Shum” 
Taras Shevchenko was a guest at the radio show “Вікенду Нової Музики” (Weekend of New Music) at  Radio Promin, where he revealed that the Eurovision version of “Shum” is ready and the final version of the video and the song will be presented in early March.

A lot of people found their special meaning in the lyrics of the song. There is the ethnic part, embedded in “Shum” which we took as the basis of the song, there is the ritual itself, but there are thoughts which people insert in it now, given the current situation in the country and the world and that happened because of the atmosphere of our music video.
Taras Shevchenko (Go_A) for Weekend of New Music

When asked about the changes which could be expected Taras said that it’s certain some things will change but he things those won’t be drastic ones revealing that clothes and choreography could be changed and there will be less fog on the stage, but claims that the atmosphere created by the video will be sustained. About the idea behind the video he said that it wasn’t to show that they are in protective suits rather to rethink the situation with the ceremonial tank relying on the ancient Ukrainians who tried to make  tanks for a large number of people, because they believed that the more people involved, the more chances they had to successfully summon spring. They believed the more people were involved in the summoning process the more successful it will be so Go_A went for the same thing in their music video. They wanted to show that even though many people were tired of certain quarantine restrictions if the people worked together, then at the end they will be able to dance, enjoy life and remembered us that we are always part of something bigger.

Taras also reflected on the songwriting camp where their Eurovision entry came to life, as it was his first time attending one and using it as a method of song creation, about the language and their songs being the ones to feature the Ukrainian language after 10 years and first time having songs sung completely in Ukrainian language. He discussed about the scenarios in which the contest could take place,  Eurovision rule changes with allowing pre-recorded backing vocals on the backing tracks and live on tape performances. 

About their preparation so far Taras said:

We are now in full swing preparing our Eurovision entry. Official Eurovision video for the song “Shum” is being prepared. The song needs to be up to three minutes for the contest, these are the rules and we already cut the song shorter, we did that with tears in our eyes. Before we did it our followers from Ukraine and other countries began to send us their ideas for shortening “Shum” because they wanted to help us. It was very nice of them. In addition, we have daily work in the band – we also prepare new songs, go to interviews, do some other organizational things , because we work without producers, without managers, without PR. We actually do everything ourselves, so there is a lot of work and little time.

Listen to “Shum” below

Don’t forget to check out our Live Q&A with Taras and  Kateryna  from Go_A below

What are your expectations for the final version of “Shum”? Let us know in the comments below and at our social media links!