They came close to representing Ukraine at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest and now Ziferblat will finally get the chance to represent their country with their song ‘Bird of Pray’. Read on to learn more about Ziferblat, their musical career thusfar and their journey to Eurovision 2025.
Who are Ziferblat?
Ziferblat are an art rock band consisting of twin brothers Danyil (vocals) and Valentyn Leschinsky (guitar), as well as drummer Fedir Khodakov. Having formed in 2015, the group released their debut EP ‘Kinoseans’ (‘Cinematic Session’) in 2017 which has been described by Ukrainian rock music site Skyrock as “a mixture of theatrical music and classical rock”. To promote the EP, Ziferblat went on a short tour in Ukraine and participated in music festivals in both Ukraine and Lithuania. In 2018, the band won the award for new groups at the long-standing Ukrainian rock festival Taras Bulba Festival.
Further success came for the band in 2019 when they auditioned for the X Factor with their song ‘Vnochi’ (‘At Night’). Ziferblat impressed the judges and were ultimately mentored in the Groups category by Andriy Danylko, best known amongst Eurofans as Eurovision 2007 participant Verka Seduchka! While the band did not progress to the finals, their X Factor participation brought them fame and recognition in Ukraine. You can watch their X Factor audition below:
In 2023, Ziferblat released their debut album ‘Peretvorennya’ (‘Transformation’) which mainly consists of songs composed by the band from 2019-2020. In this same year, the group won the award for Best New Names in Alternative Music at the Muzvar Awards which are independent awards for artists in Ukraine.
Vidbir and the Journey to Eurovision
Despite competing in Eurovision for the first time this year, Ziferblat are no strangers to trying. Danyil and Valentyn have both described themselves as huge fans of the contest and proudly boast to having never missed it since 2004! As a result, the band have attempted to represent Ukraine at Eurovision three times through the Ukrainian national final Vidbir. Their first attempt in 2023 saw them make the longlist of participants but not the shortlist.
Their 2024 attempt was far more successful: not only did Ziferblat make the shortlist, they ultimately placed second overall with their song ‘Place I Call Home’. Ziferblat proved to be the jurors’ favourite act, securing the maximum 11 points with them but placing fourth with the voting public. Tension surrounded their televote result as that year the Diia app crashed, meaning Vidbir fans could not cast their votes straight away. To make up for this, the deadline was extended by a day to allow the public to vote. Jerry Heil and alyona alyona were far and away the televote favourite and had placed second with the jury, meaning they would be the ones to represent Ukraine with their song ‘Teresa & Maria’.
However, not to be deterred, Ziferblat returned for Vidbir 2025 with the song ‘Bird of Pray’. Sonically, the song combines elements of prog rock, musical theatre and a 70s-inspired sound alongside traditional Ukrainian elements. Lyrically, the song tells the story of Ukrainians who have been separated by the ongoing war, which began with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022, and the hope that Ukrainians will achieve freedom and be united again which is why the song is called ‘Bird of Pray’ and not ‘Bird of Prey’.
Their 2025 effort would prove to be more popular with the Ukrainian public, achieving the maximum 10 points with them and placing second with the Vidbir jury. They were finally off to Basel!
Eurovision 2025
In preparation for their participation in Eurovision 2025, Ziferblat have revamped ‘Bird of Pray’ with the help of Anton Chilibi who helped to produce both ‘Teresa & Maria’ and Eurovision 2022-winning ‘Stefania’ by Kalush Orchestra. Speaking about the revamp and their decision to work with Chilibi, the band said:
We deliberately sought out someone with experience in creating songs specifically for Eurovision. This ‘cosmetic overhaul’ allowed us to integrate elements that we hope will resonate with the Eurovision fan community. We added orchestral parts in the choruses, giving ‘Bird of Pray’ an epic feel, and introduced pauses at the beginning of the track to create intrigue without revealing the full essence of the composition in the first few seconds.
In order to promote their entry ahead of the contest, Ziferblat have also performed at the Eurovision in Concert pre-party in Amsterdam and will perform in the Spanish pre-party in Madrid.
Ziferblat will perform in the first half of the first semi-final on Tuesday 13th May in between Spain and Sweden. Ukraine have qualified for every grand final they have been a part of and will surely be hoping to keep this trend going. While we’ll have to wait until May to see if they’re successful, we’re certainly wishing them the best of luck!
You can follow Ziferblat on social media!
Instagram – @ziferblat_band
TikTok – @ziferblat_band
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