Eurovision season is upon us again, and the continent has once again proffered an interesting selection of tunes to be blared into the homes of more than 150 million people in May. This year, I decided to follow all the action from the start, and one song in particular called out to me immediately. With theatrical vocals, technical musicianship and a metal-inspired guitar solo, there was no doubt that Bird of Pray was a bona fide prog rock song.
I couldn’t stop listening to it and dreamed that it would win Vidbir, Ukraine’s national selection for Eurovision. Although it faced stiff competition from the pop contingent – including an impressive performance by Masha Kondratenko – the Ukrainian public elected to send a more unique song that would stand out from the sea of pop music at Eurovision. My dreams came true when Ziferblat were announced as the winners, and that prog would once again be represented at Eurovision, as it was by Voyager in 2023 and Gåte in 2024. But just who are Ziferblat? I’ll let the band’s press brief answer that:
Ziferblat – made up of Daniel Leshchynskyi (vocals), Valentyn Leshchynskyi (guitar) and Fedir Khodakov (drums) – is a band representing the new generation of Ukrainian music. Their sound seamlessly blends the deep musical backgrounds of each member with professional production and heartfelt lyrics.
Formed in 2015, the musicians struck a delicate balance between originality, lightness, and multi-instrumentalism. Having come into the spotlight in 2023, the band won numerous Ukrainian awards and, on their second attempt, managed to win Vidbir and secure the opportunity to represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2025.
I wanted to dig deeper and understand how much progressive rock meant to this exceptionally creative group, and was fortunate enough to get ahold of them after their Vidbir victory…
Hello Ziferblat! Thank you for speaking to me, I’m a huge fan of your song Bird of Pray. How are you feeling after winning Vidbir?
Valentyn: Hello! We are very excited. It has been our childhood dream, and we’re happy that we’ve finally made it.
Fedir: Hi! We’re happy and can’t wait to start this special journey. Now, we are more focused on our work than ever.
Has it sunk in yet that you’ll be going to Basel in May to represent Ukraine?
Valentyn: Mmm… still feels like I’m dreaming. But when we started preparing our show number, I think I finally came back to reality. We have some tough weeks ahead.
Daniel: I was always sure we would succeed. The time and place just happened to align perfectly.
What are you most looking forward to about being at the Eurovision Song Contest, and what are you most nervous about?
Valentyn: As I said, it has been a childhood dream. We’ll enjoy every moment, for sure. I want to see other artists and make new friends. I think this is the most important thing for true musicians.
Daniel: I will be singing. I’m a bit worried about my live performance, but I’m preparing for it. I expect to gain a new experience from this competition—something you can’t buy in a store.
What are your favourite songs from the other countries so far? I’m quite fond of Klemen from Slovenia myself, his ballad brought me to tears.
Valentyn: Well, I just realised that I’ve seen him before — I mean, Klemen. He presented the points from Slovenia last year or the year before, I can’t remember. The song is so emotional, I really like it. And to be honest, I don’t have any favourites—there are a lot of great songs.
This isn’t the first time you tried to go to Eurovision, and you placed 2nd at Vidbir last year with Place I Call Home. In this way, you’ve followed the tradition of Wig Wam and Voyager who also failed to win their national final in one year but came back with a stronger song the following year and made it to Eurovision. I believe the last two Vidbir winners also had the same luck. How long has going to Eurovision been a dream for you?
Valentyn: Ha! It’s cool that you mentioned Voyager in our case. I mean, they’re a prog rock band, aren’t they? I didn’t know they made it to the final on their second attempt.
Daniel: It was a dream, but it was also a goal. I don’t remember a time when my brother and I didn’t have a goal that we were systematically working towards.
What does Ziferblat mean and how did you come up with this band title?
Valentyn: Nothing too important, I’d say. But it’s something about “time.” We mix a lot of styles from different musical decades, so maybe that’s why this name suits us.
Daniel: The band’s name is a play on words, with its basic meaning derived from the German word “Zifferblatt,” which means “clock face.”
Did you write Bird of Pray specifically for Eurovision or did that idea come later?
Valentyn: Yes. I mean, when I started writing the instrumental part, mm… I’m not sure I was thinking about Eurovision. But then the idea came to me, so I wrote the rest of the song under those circumstances.
What is the inspiration for the lyrics in Bird of Pray?
Valentyn: I tried to incorporate elements of Ukrainian traditional music—like choir and bandura (you can hear it at the very beginning of the song; it’s a traditional Ukrainian instrument). As for the lyrics I wrote, they also sound traditional to me. This song is about hope. The bird is a symbol—an ancient symbol of freedom and peace.
Bird of Pray is a deep, emotional reflection on the realities that the Ukrainian people face daily. This song conveys homesickness, pain, loss, and prayer all at once—words of support and the search for inner strength. The powerful narrative within the song is composed to resonate with the sense of hope that lives in people’s hearts.
Bird of Pray is full of symbolism. The central image is a bird, which personifies freedom, rebirth, and the anticipation of change. It becomes a harbinger of spring and a symbol of the cyclical nature of life, instilling confidence in the future.
It’s a personal story for every Ukrainian; a song-reflection on events that have unfolded over many years. The main message of Bird of Pray is hope for change. Like a phoenix, this bird burns only to rise again from the ashes. Through music, Ziferblat once again reminds the world that Ukraine is fighting resolutely and remains invincible in its battle.
As you may have noticed, we’re a progressive rock magazine, but I’m also a big Eurovision nerd. I singled out your song for having a “prog rock” feel as soon as I heard it, with technically proficient musicianship, an interesting rhythm that utilises triplets, and a metal-inspired instrumental section. The riff during the verses reminds me of Sheep by Pink Floyd. As a drummer myself, I spent a couple of weeks trying to figure out what Fedir was playing during the chorus because it was that challenging and complex.
Valentyn: And you’re right! The verses of Sheep inspired the verses of Bird of Pray. We used it as a reference in the studio — great that you noticed! It’s one of my favourite songs from Animals.
Fedir: I’m really pleased that you liked the drum part. I’m probably the only person in the band who was inspired by metal. In the chorus, I wanted to play something more interesting than just a bass drum on the quarter notes. This part came together during our jam: the ride cymbal plays a broken pattern with accents on the last triplets, and the hi-hat opens on beats 2 and 4. I hope that helps! 🙂
I wanted to know if the three of you have any progressive rock influences, or if you’ve managed to make a prog rock song by accident. Who are your musical influences?
Fedir: Progressive rock and metal have had a huge influence on me. I grew up listening to bands like Dream Theater, Genesis, Dredg, The Mars Volta, Tool, Meshuggah, Porcupine Tree, and Textures, and they became a huge part of my self-expression.
Valentyn: If you listen to our non-Eurovision stuff, I’m sure you won’t have any questions left! Yeah, of course — it’s my favourite genre. Genesis, Yes, and King Crimson have been a big part of my musical journey.
Daniel: This is the music of my youth. I wouldn’t say it has a decisive influence on me now, but the compositional talent of Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel will always be an inspiration to me.
What lessons did you learn from Place I Call Home that you brought into writing Bird of Pray?
Valentyn: I wanted to create something more complex. I mean, Place I Call Home doesn’t sound like Ziferblat to me. You know, we have a song called Zemlya (Earth), which we released in 2022. I wanted to do something like that—something huge, something with theatrical vibes.
There was a meme picture which I’ll share here:
This is after Masha was awarded 8 points from the public vote. Fedir looks happy because your victory was mathematically guaranteed at this point, but it seems as if Daniel and Valentyn still weren’t sure if Molodi could beat you. What was going through your heads at this point of the voting?
Valentyn: Hah. I think this is a great example of how photos don’t always show what you might think. Because I was the only one of the three of us who was counting. As soon as 8 points went to Masha, I immediately understood that we had won—and I told Fedir. Then I started pretending to be serious and nervous, because it’s not great to celebrate before the official result. But Fedir… he started smiling. And Daniel… I think he was completely out of the game, just waiting for everything to be over (smiling).
What are your all-time favourite Eurovision songs?
Valentyn: Euro Neuro from Montenegro (2012) for sure. I mean.. what a song. Just listen to it. You’ll understand. And Lena Meyer’s Taken by a Stranger (Germany 2011). And of course Sobral (Portugal 2017). His victory was the strongest to men. My opinion.
Daniel: I have a lot of performances at the Eurovision Song Contest that have left a mark on my heart. Usually, these are melodic and beautiful songs. One of my favourites is a performance by the Norwegian band Secret Garden in 1995. That song, Nocturne, had so few words but so much music. Unbelievable. I really love Lena Meyer’s performance in the home arena with the song Taken by a Stranger by 2011. And although this is not the song with which she won the Eurovision Song Contest the year before, this song was ahead of its time.
What is your goal when you get to Basel? How much would it mean to you to qualify for the Grand Final?
Daniel: Our first goal is to reach the final calmly and without nerves. This is something our Ukrainian community takes pride in — we have always made it to the Eurovision final.
Do you have any ideas for your staging and choreography at Basel or will that come in time?
Daniel: We’re preparing the number right now. We’re using the resources we can afford at this stage of our careers.
With Eurovision coming in May, you’re about to have a lot more eyes on you. How will you prepare for this level of fame?
Daniel: We’ve always handled the pressure well. Our main goal is to have new material ready by May so that new listeners have more to discover and get to know us better.
Do you have any plans post-Eurovision, or will you take things one step at a time?
Daniel: Of course, we have many plans, and we know exactly how to implement them. But I’m not ready to talk about them yet — I want to be fully prepared first.
It’s interesting that you’ve chosen to revamp the song for Eurovision. The intro verse is now bolder and simpler while the final chorus has more of an orchestral flair. Why did you choose to make these changes to the song?
Valentyn: We deliberately looked for someone with experience in creating songs specifically for Eurovision, which is why we brought Anton Chilibi on board. He has worked with Jerry Heil, Alyona Alyona, Kalush Orchestra, and others. This ‘cosmetic renovation’ allowed us to integrate elements that we hope will resonate with the Eurovision fan community.
For example, we added orchestral parts in the choruses, giving the song an epic scale. We also introduced pauses at the beginning of the track to create intrigue without revealing the essence of the composition in the first few seconds.
Additionally, we slightly simplified the chorus, as the original version was overloaded with vocal parts. This adjustment made Danya’s voice sound more distinct, while we made the backing vocals less prominent to give the track more depth and dynamics.
Thank you so much for speaking with the Progressive Aspect and I wish you the best of luck for Basel. We’ll be rooting for you!
LINKS
Ziferblat – Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok
