- Year of foundation – 2013
- City – Uman, Kyiv (Ukraine)
- Language – Ukrainian, English
- Genre – indie rock, indie pop, alternative rock
Lineup:
- Evgeny Moroz (vocals);
- Olexandr Oliynyk (drums);
- Dmytro Levchenko (bass guitar);
- Nazar Slobodyanyk (guitar);
- Ivan Smirnov (guitar).
Former members: Serhiy Gonchar (drums).
History of the band
The Unsleeping is a Ukrainian musical group consisting of five members from Uman and Kyiv. The musicians define their genre of work as bedroom punk. They also call themselves “virtuosos of the pop Olympus.” Officially, the history of the group was started in the summer of 2013. Then Dmytro Fisher (former guitarist, producer of the group), Nazar Slobodyanyk (guitarist) and Yevheniy Moroz (vocalist, band leader) joined forces for a common goal - creating music. The first song Zombie was written. During this period, the name of the group was also born, which solidified the identity of the group.
At the end of 2013, bass guitarist Ivan Smirnov joined The Unsleeping, who suggested performing together at a school holiday. This moment was decisive: from a spontaneous trio, the musicians finally moved to the level of a full-fledged band. Bright prospects for development in the Ukrainian music industry opened up. Although the band members themselves did not immediately understand the seriousness of their creative attempts.
Only after graduating from university did they realize that they wanted to devote themselves to music on a professional level. Previously, this dream seemed unattainable - the musicians lived in different cities, which made regular meetings and rehearsals almost impossible. When everyone finally came together in one city, everything fell into place. The artists began to actively rehearse, work on new material and realized: this is not just a hobby, but a business worth dedicating their lives to. Thus began a new, professional stage in the band's history.
Creative path
Having recorded several singles, The Unsleeping realized: it was time to release a mini-album. The Somnia album was released in 2016. A feature of the release was that it was posted only on SoundCloud. At that time, the performers did not yet fully understand how the music industry works: who to write to, how to promote their tracks, where to find listeners. They only knew that there were popular platforms where you could upload your music — and it immediately became available on the Internet.
At the beginning of 2018, the band's lineup underwent important changes: drummer Oleksandr Oliynyk joined the team. The new member added new energy and dynamics to the band's sound. Already in March, the musicians presented a video clip for the song You Drive My Four Wheel Coffin, which became a real breakthrough for the band on the way to popularity and recognition among a wider audience. The new track attracted attention with a large number of bright urban metaphors and a fresh sound.
The real start of The Unsleeping's professional activity was the release of the mini-album Deviatve in 2018, vocalist Yevgeny Moroz. The release marked the transition from the search for their own style to a conscious musical direction, opening up new opportunities for the band in the music industry. And already in 2019, the band achieved one of its first large-scale successes - they won the APPS Music & SZIGET Festival 2019: Awards, which opened the door for The Unsleeping to the international stage. The musicians got the opportunity to represent Ukraine at the Sziget Festival 2019, one of the five largest music festivals in the world. The event became a landmark in the band's career. The performance at the prestigious event not only raised the status of The Unsleeping, but also helped them find new fans and make themselves known to a wider audience.
The charisma of the members, the original concept of creativity, new hits became a powerful driver on the way to undisputed success and won new fans. The band appears on various live shows. It releases the singles "Prypusm", DEDVED, "Zhyty", "Ne Splyu". The most popular hit Ptaha Fred is released in 2020. In 2024, the band performs at the "Brudnyi Pes" festival and the Mirage Camp concert. Epilogue from DTF Magazine. In the same year, the musicians present the mini-album "Pyrozhok z lyubov'yu, zlistyu". And then - a new stage in the life of the band begins: the first full-length album "Spravzhniy Bedrum Punk" is released. Among the "chips" of the release:
- first fits (guest verses with OTOY and Palindro);
- vocals by guitarists Nazar Slobodyanyk and Ivan Smirnov;
- alternative rock sound is complemented by post-rock, indie, piano and acoustic guitar tracks.
Awards and distinctions:
- “Golden Pheasant LiRoom” – nomination “Best Indie Album 2018”;
- Jäger Music Awards 2020 – nomination “Track of the Year” (song Ptaha Fred).
Interesting facts about the band:
- in The Unsleeping’s creative output – many English-language songs.Some of them have not yet been officially released, others are heard at the band's live shows;
- the band members have other occupations, so they combine music with work;
- before the majority of releases, the musicians create conceptual video clips in the format of short films;
- The Unsleeping performed on the stages of the largest Ukrainian festivals Atlas Weekend, Faine Misto and the Sziget festival in Hungary;
- the track "Zhyty" is heard in the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2;
- in 2023, The Unsleeping had the idea of organizing a foreign tour, but for objective reasons the plans were not implemented.
