Comprised of five friends with a shared love for jamming together, indie outfit Future Culture approaches hip-hop, jazz and other genres from a uniquely Ukrainian perspective. We had the opportunity to hear from drummer Andrii Lytvynenko, who alongside vocalists Daria Remez and Oleksii Bodnar, guitarist Andrii Shulakov, and bassist Oleksii Rudenko, will compete at Vidbir 2025 for the chance to represent Ukraine at Eurovision this year with the song “Waste My Time.”
What are your individual musical backgrounds, and what brought you together to form Future Culture?
All of us come from very different musical backgrounds. For example, Dasha, Oleksii R. (bass) and Andrii S. (guitar) have formal musical education. Dasha studied choral conducting, as far as I know, while Oleksii R. and Andrii S. also studied at a conservatory. On the other hand, I (Andrii L., drums) and Oleksii B. (vocals) don’t have formal music education – we’ve been self-taught our whole lives. We are also multi-instrumentalists, composers, and two of us are also mixing engineers. What unites us is our love for music, and the fact that music is our life. We’ve been involved in it for as long as we can remember. In fact, we’ve known each other for a long time, and have crossed paths many times in different projects, collaborations, and bands. But beyond that, we’re simply friends who enjoy making music together. Future Culture is a project where we can do whatever we want – there are no boundaries, just complete creative freedom.
Why did you decide to enter Vidbir – and potentially Eurovision – this year? Has Eurovision been a goal of yours for a long time?
Last year, I worked with the band Ziferblat as an arranger, and this year as well. I arranged their song “Place I Call Home” for Vidbir 2024. I’ve known the guys from Ziferblat for a long time, and I saw how much participating in Vidbir helped them grow – both creatively and in terms of recognition.
This year, I suggested to the members of Future Culture that we should also submit a song for the national selection. One of our jams led to the creation of “Waste My Time,” and it felt like the most fitting song for a wider audience.
To be honest, Eurovision was never our goal, and we didn’t really follow it closely before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
What was your reaction to finding out you were a finalist?
We were, of course, pleasantly surprised, but at the same time, we had confidence in the song. We were pretty sure it would at least make it to the longlist, and personally, I had a strong feeling it would reach the shortlist too – which it did. But that doesn’t take away from how exciting it was, because it’s always a great feeling when your music is recognized, understood, and appreciated.
Your YouTube channel describes your sound as “jazzy hip-hop.” Where would you say Future Culture fits within the current Ukrainian music scene?
In reality, this kind of genre isn’t very developed or widely explored in Ukraine – people don’t listen to it that much. However, in Kyiv, this direction is growing. For example, there’s a movement called Fusion Jams – a collective of musicians that organizes improvisational jam sessions, where you can hear a lot of similar genres revolving around modern jazz, funk, hip-hop, and more. But overall, we still remain part of the underground scene. We hope Vidbir 2025 will change this.
The music video for “Waste My Time” takes place at a house party, blending a cozy, home-movie feel with surreal elements (such as a cat speaking with human lips). Can you share the concept behind the video? What was the filming experience like?
The main idea behind the video was to capture the atmosphere, message, and vibe of the song. “Waste My Time” is essentially an anthem for a house party – when you gather with your closest friends, do nothing, relax, and just enjoy the moment together. For Ukrainians right now, these moments are incredibly rare, precious, and meaningful. The filming process was super easy – it hardly felt different from a real house party with close friends. As for the surreal and humorous elements – that’s the signature style of our one and only director and editor, Shah Talifta.
I also must ask – whose cat is that, and what’s her name?
She belongs to our vocalist, Dasha. Her name is Zizi!
Does she know she’s a music video star?
No, not at all. She was completely at ease at the party, and at one point during the shoot, she even insisted on using a flower pot as a litter box.
A message under the music video for “Waste My Time” on YouTube reads: “Don’t be afraid to waste your time with loved ones, because being able to do so is the greatest treasure of all.” Can you elaborate a bit on the meaning behind the song?
The idea for the song came to me when I was relaxing at home with my wife after a long and exhausting work week. We had some serious plans, like going to the theater or doing something “productive” with our weekend; maybe engaging in some kind of active leisure. But we were so tired that we ended up just staying home and lying on the couch all weekend.
At one point, my wife jokingly said, “Well, we wasted another weekend,” and that made me think: actually, we didn’t waste anything. This kind of rest is just as important, if not more so, than active leisure. The ability to truly relax, let go of thoughts, do nothing, and fully recover is incredibly valuable.
That’s the message of the song – it encourages people not to be afraid of “wasting” time with their loved ones, to do so without guilt, and to recognize that this is a crucial skill. If you don’t allow yourself to rest and reset in time, burnout can come very quickly. And in the context of war, this ability to recharge is more important than ever.
Which artists are you most inspired by, both musically and personally?
Five artists that inspire the five of us are: Hiatus Kaiyote, John Frusciante, Frank Ocean, Stevie Wonder, and R. Stevie Moore.
How about the Eurovision artists that inspire you? What are some of your favorite songs from past editions of the contest – Ukrainian or otherwise?
Jamala is a huge inspiration, as well as Verka Serduchka, and the band Greenjolly. Honestly, everyone who has ever represented Ukraine at Eurovision is incredible to us in their own way.
I know you’re busy this week preparing for your live performance. Can you describe your staging in one word?
White.
Besides Vidbir, what are your plans for 2025? Where and when can fans check out more of your music?
We have big plans for 2025! We’re already working on an album that will surprise everyone – it’s going to be highly eclectic, covering a wide range of genres. We also plan to shoot a music video (maybe more than one), and of course, play live shows, because performing live is our main thing.
Vidbir 2025 will take place this Saturday, February 8 at 17:30 CET. Future Culture will perform fourth in the running order.
Are #YOU excited to see Future Culture perform on Saturday? Let us know on our socials (@escunited), Discord, or at our forum.
