Latexfauna

Year of foundation – 2015
City – Kyiv (Ukraine)
Language – Ukrainian
Genre – dream pop, indie pop, synth pop, indie rock, funk rock, funk

Line-up:

Dmytro Zezyulin – vocals, songwriter;
Ilya Sluchanko – guitar;
Olexandr Dyman – bass guitar;
Olexandr Mylnikov – keyboards (ex-Practical Senses);
Maxim Hrebin – drums.

The band’s sound producer is Anton Derevyanko.

Former members: Kostyantyn Levytskyi (guitar).

History of the band

Latexfauna is a Ukrainian music band that creates compositions in the chillwave genre. The band was founded in 2015 by three students of the Institute of Journalism of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv – Dmytro Zezyulin, Oleksandr Dyman and Kostyantyn Levytskyi. They met at the institute and started playing pop-rock. Although they could not call their work professional at that time. Later, conflicts arose between the members and the band broke up.

Five years passed and Dmytro accidentally met Oleksandr. Dyman, tired of the office routine, convinced his friend to return to music. For Zezyulin, it was a long-standing dream – since the age of five, the guy wanted to become a singer and lead a music band. The name was chosen in such a way that it would be googled and would be bright and original.

Interestingly, at the beginning of their creative journey, the band members saw themselves as representatives of the creative underground culture. Music did not bring significant income, so the artists earned money in other areas. The leader of Latexfauna has significant experience in the advertising industry. Dmytro worked as a creative director, a journalist at Gazeta po-Ukrainsky and in the PR industry. Other members also combined music with work. Latexfauna guitarist Ilya Sluchanko founded the cleaning service “Clean House”. And drummer Maksym Hrebin is connected with IT. Even during concert tours, the friends had to take time off from their main jobs.

Creative Path

The Latexfauna band first attracted the attention of a wide audience of music fans with the release of the single “Ayahuasca”. The track was broadcast on the radio "Aristokraty". According to Dmytro Zezyulin, the sound of the song went through nine options for arrangement. Until Oleksandr Dyman suggested a rhythmic beat with a djembe, which eventually became the basis of the final version of the composition.

The band's performance on Radio "Skovoroda" gathered about 600 listeners. And the stage debut took place in 2016 at the "Respublika" festival. The band's creativity won the hearts of new fans. And already in October of the same year, the musicians held their first solo concert at the Kyiv club Mezzanine. The group's repertoire at that time consisted of six tracks. In June 2017, the band began cooperation with the Moon Records label and continued its path to wide recognition and popularity.

In a few years, the band moved from chamber Kyiv concerts to performances on the Atlas Weekend stage and all-Ukrainian tours. In 2018, opening the performance at the Belive festival at the Olimpiyskyi, Dmytro Zezyulin ironically called his band “a Kyiv band that no one needs.” However, just a month before that, Latexfauna had already gathered its first sold-out crowd on the Atlas stage.

The band’s style and development

4 years after the release of their debut album Ajahuaska, in 2022, the band Latexfauna released the album Senbernar. The album was immediately called the band’s most diverse work. The album included both previously released tracks and six new compositions. The band dedicated the work to the first director of Latexfauna, Bohdan Utses, who passed away in 2018.

Regarding the band's unique style, it is worth noting that with the appearance of the first hits "Surfer" and "Ayahuasca", Latexfauna actually became a kind of ambassadors of surzhyk in modern Ukrainian culture. The author of the lyrics, Dmytro Zezyulin, called the original approach "aestheticization of surzhyk".

Social activity

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Latexfauna musicians have given many charity concerts both solo and in collaboration with other artists and stand-up comedians. Auctions are held as part of the performances, the funds from which go to electronic warfare equipment, smart cars and other things needed by our defenders.

Interesting facts about the band:

Latexfauna's music is always a journey into the world of escapism. Distant galaxies, mysterious civilizations and legendary figures come to life in the group's songs. Among the lyrical heroes born from the imagination of Dima Zezyulin are the men of the Ayahuasca tribe, the ancient hero and spaceship Odyssey, the Viking and commander Ivan Bohun, an ancient Greek warrior, an Arctic explorer and a bandit from the Wild West;
Speaking about the concept of songwriting, the band leader notes: the material should in no case be relevant and topical. Creativity should remain inexplicable, illogical and free from obligations - this is its essence. The artist does not owe anything to anyone, he simply does what brings him pleasure.
Latexfauna's compositions have always attracted the attention of colleagues in the music department. So, a cover of the hit Surfer sounded in the performance of singer ChristinaSolovy. And at the presentation of the band's debut album, stars Jamala and Yevgeny Galich were present.

The most famous video clips of the group: