A Platform for Ethnically and Culturally Inspired Music
ABOUT
The starting point of reggae style in Ukraine can be considered the formation of the band The VYO in Kobeliaky, Poltava region in 1991. The core team was made up of guitarist Sergey Pidkaura and singer Miroslav Kuvaldin. Within 10 years of existence, the band's musicians occasionally diverged and converged; they were joined by other participants. In 1995, The VYO became the winner of the "Red Rue" with the song "Ganja." The peak popularity of their music came at the time of cooperation with the artistic agency "Territory A" and the rotation of clips in the eponymous hit parade. Contemplating the colorful appearance of Miroslav (who has Nigerian roots), the audience could not believe that the guy was born in eastern Ukraine and "speaks so well in our language." The song "Zori" ("Each of us can do something…") became a manifest of Ukrainian Rastafari.

Today, the band The VYO is:
- Miroslav Kuvaldin – singing
- Sergei Pidkaura – guitar
- Ilya Klimov – keyboards, sequencer
- Sergei Chehodayev – bass
- Alexander Unytskiy - saxophone
- Denis Gritsenko - trumpet
- Vasyl Solomyaniy - drums