Kazaky is a Ukrainian

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

boyband, made up of Kyryll Fedorenko, Artur Gaspar and Artemiy Lazarev. Assembled in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

in 2010 by former original member Zhezhel, a skilled

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

, the group has released two albums and several singles so far. In 2016 the group announced they were disbanding saying "It's time to create new interesting things" with the group members pursuing solo careers. In 2019, the group reformed with two new members Vlad Koval and Evgeny Goncharenko.

History

2010–11: Formation and Single releases

The band is originally made up of Kyryll Fedorenko, Artur Gaspar, Stas Pavlov and Oleg Zhezhel. The group's first single, "In the Middle", was released at the end of 2010, earning them the "Breakthrough of the Year" award at the 2010 Myway Dance Awards. The video features the four group members dancing in boy clothes at first, and then transitioning into a more androgynous look with their signature stiletto heels. It quickly went viral on

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. It was then followed by the video for their second single, "Love," shot in black & white, which furthered their online popularity. In June 2011, the group performed at the

DSquared² Dean and Dan Caten (né Catenacci; born December 19, 1964) are Canadian fashion designers, radio personalities, and businessmen. They are identical twin brothers and the founders and owners of Dsquared², an Italian luxury fashion house based in ...

Men Spring/Summer 2012 runway show. On 16 July 2011, they made their American debut at Club 57 in

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, and performed their third single "I'm Just a Dancer" for the first time. In August 2011, original member Pavlov left the group and was replaced by Italian singer

Francesco Borgato Francesco Borgato (born September 5, 1990 in Venice) is an Italian recording artist, dancer, choreographer, ex-member of Ukrainian pop group Kazaky. Biography Early dancing career Born in Venice, Veneto, Italy, Francesco began his dancing caree ...

2012–13: Departure of Zhezhel, ''The Hills Chronicles'' and ''I Like It''

With this new line-up, they released two more singles, called "Dance and Change" and "Last night" until they released the group's debut album ''The Hills Chronicles'' on October 22, 2012. In 2012, Kazaky are featured as cameo as background dancers in the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

music video "

Girl Gone Wild "Girl Gone Wild" is a song by American singer Madonna from her twelfth studio album, '' MDNA'' (2012). She co-wrote the song with Benny Benassi, his cousin Alle Benassi (known together as the Benassi Bros.), and songwriter Jenson Vaughan, whi ...

". On February 26, 2013, Borgato announced his departure from the group to pursue a solo career. Former original member Stas Pavlov rejoined the group immediately after Borgato's departure, and he is featured in the group's new track and video, "Crazy Law", released on March 4, 2013. It will serve as the group's first single of their second studio album, titled ''I Like It'', which is set to be released in two parts. The first part has been released on June 9, 2013, while the second part has been released on December 12, 2013. The follow up singles were "Touch Me" and the promotional single "Doesn't Matter", both released in 2013. On December 12, 2013, founder Zhezhel announced on their official Facebook page that he won't perform with Kazaky anymore, leaving them as a trio, thus he added that he will continue to produce the group's music and choreographies. He stated he won't leave Kazaky.

2014–15: Second departure of Pavlov and Singles

In 2014, original member Pavlov left the band for a second time and was soon to be replaced by new member Artemiy Lazarev. In 2014, the follow up singles "The Sun", "Magic Pie" and "Pulse", which music video has been shot by director Radislav Lukin, and the promotional single "Horizon" have been released. On September 29, 2014, Kazaky were featured in the song "Strange Moves" by The Hardkiss, to be released as a single with a music video. Zhezhel makes a special cameo appearance in "Strange Moves" alongside his former bandmates. In 2015, the final single from ''I Like It'', titled "What You Gonna Do", has been released. In the same year, the group makes a dance sequence cameo in the video for

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's music video "

Paper Light (Higher) "Paper Light (Higher)" is a song by Swedish singer Loreen. The song was released in Sweden as a digital download on 5 March 2015. The song was written by Loreen Talhaoui, Tom Liljegren and Alexander "Alex" Ryberg and produced by Liljegren and Ry ...

". Their single "Milk-Choc" has been released in 2015 as the lead single from their upcoming third studio album.

2016: Disbanding and 2019: Return

In June 2016 the band announced they would be disbanding due to each member wanting to take different creative paths individually. Kazaky has stated that the band cannot exclude the idea of them not coming back together again to create something for the fans. The group has since been posting updates on their "Kazaky Official"

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page about their individual activities such as solo concerts and collaborations with other artists. But on June 24, 2019, finally after more than three years, Kazaky come back together posting a new video on YouTube of the song "Push" where appear two new member Vlad Koval and Evgeny Goncharenko. The band dedicated "Push" to the "entire LGBTQ community" that had supported them over the past nine years. The reason for the song is the CSD in Kyiv. Other singles were published in the same year like "Inside My Body", "Hands up" and "We Should Be Like No One Else".

Other endeavours

Fashion

Because of their daring and unusual fashion sense, the band has been featured on a number of high-profile publications, such as ''

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'', ''

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'', '' GQ'', ''

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'' and ''

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''. After Anna Osmekhina created their fashion for the "Love" music video, Kazaky hired her to design their outfits and style their videos. However, the group has also received and worn fashion from DSquared² and

Thierry Mugler Manfred Thierry Mugler (; 21 December 1948 – 23 January 2022) was a French fashion designer, creative director and creative adviser of Mugler. In the 1970s, Mugler launched his eponymous fashion house; and quickly rose to prominence in the fo ...

. Their

high-heeled shoes High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels, are a type of shoe with an angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the wearer appear taller, and accentuate th ...

are all , and they are designed to allow them to dance comfortably for their stage performances. The group has a penchant for elaborate, decadent and very structural costumes, or alternatively very skimpy outfits meant to enhance the physicality of their performances.

Artistry

Music

Kazaky's sound draws on house, synthpop,

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

and dance. Their tracks feature monotone, loopy, manipulated vocals and dance-driven, layered beats with electronic bleeps and prominent bass lines.

Style

"''Kazaky''" is Ukrainian for "

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

". The Cossacks had a very prominent role in the shaping of Ukraine's national history and culture. However, the band claims that their name has nothing to do with the Cossacks, but that it is a derivative form of the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

word ''Kazaki'', which they claim is a popular word in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. All four members are trained dancers, and the group is famous for their elaborate, acrobatic and spectacular choreography routines, which feature perfectly synchronized and complex dancing moves executed on high heels. Artur Gaspar is especially known for his signature leg lift, which he often performs live and in videos. The group confronts gender norms by fusing masculine and feminine attributes together, most notably by regularly wearing

stiletto heel A stiletto heel, or just stiletto, is a shoe with a long, thin, high heel. It is named after the stiletto dagger. Stiletto heels may vary in length from 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) to 25 cm (10 inches) or more if a platform s ...

s in videos and live performances.

Members

Oleg won't perform with Kazaky anymore, but he will continue to produce the group's music and choreographies.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Singles (As featured artist)

Promotional Singles

Filmography

Music videos

Tours

*The Pulse Tour (2014-2015)

References

External links

kazaky.com
the group's official website * {{Authority control Discographies of Ukrainian artists 2010 establishments in Ukraine House music groups Musical groups established in 2010 Ukrainian synthpop groups Ukrainian pop music groups Musical groups disestablished in 2016 English-language singers from Ukraine Musical groups reestablished in 2019