Yuri Hustochka

Yuri Olegovich Khustochka - Ukrainian musician, bassist of the group 'Esthetic Education', former member of the group 'Okean Elzy'.

Place of Birth. Education. Born in Lviv in a family of the director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Lviv. Graduated from the Lviv Economic Institute with a specialization in 'Finance and Credit'.

Musical Career. He started playing guitar at the age of 14. After the first rehearsal of his first band in November 1991, he switched to bass.

From 1991 to 1994, he played in the group 'Klan tishiny' (the band played depressive art-rock).

In 1994, Yuri Khustochka founded the band 'Okean Elzy', which became the most popular and commercially successful band in Ukraine.

Since 2004, he has been a member of the band 'Esthetic Education'.

About the project 'Esthetic Education'. A Ukrainian band with an international lineup. Founded in 2004 by former members of the rock band 'Okean Elzy' Yuri Khustochka (bass) and Dmitri Shurov (keyboards), as well as the Belgian director and photographer Louis Frank (vocals), who lived in London. At that time, Louis could often be seen in Moscow as his wife worked there - actress Dina Korzun.

In December 2004, the band released their debut album 'Face Reading'. The album was recorded relatively quickly, but it still took about six months to complete. 'This album was recorded at home on a laptop, in our free time,' the musicians recall. 'Back then, we didn't know each other well and weren't quite sure what we wanted. We just wanted to make music together. Therefore, the album was very diverse, very different in mood and content.'

At the end of 2004, the band went on a mini-tour through Europe, performing in clubs in London, Leeds, Paris, and Rennes. After a performance at the London club 'Splitz', one of the songs by the 'Estheticians' was even included in the compilation 'Spitz Live Record 2'.

In 2005, the band quickly began to gain momentum. At the invitation, they played as the opening act for Moby at his concert in Kyiv at the Sports Palace and performed at the Serbian 'Exit' festival. This was followed by regular trips to Moscow, where the band could often be seen not only in clubs but also on festival line-ups. In the autumn, the maxi-single 'Leave Us Alone/Machine' was released, and the two main songs topped the charts in Ukraine and Russia. After the release, the band visited almost all major cities in Ukraine for concerts.

The band's songs became very popular among filmmakers. The 'Estheticians' are featured in the soundtracks of 'Happy People', 'Hottebich', and the Brazilian short film 'Alguma Coisa Assim'. The most well-known work in cinema is the song 'Unbelievable' from the film 'Orangelove' by director Alan Badoev.

The year 2007 was the most intensive year for the band. The work on the new album, the main recording of which took place at the 'Brick Lane Studio' in London, where 'Queen', INXS, 'The Clash', Madonna, and Seal worked, was completed. At the beginning of the year, rumors began to spread that the band was ending its existence. This was fueled by the fact that the singer Louis Frank moved back to London from Kyiv, and the keyboardist Dmitri Shurov was often seen in the studio of the Russian singer Zemfira, where she was recording her new album and touring Russia and Europe with her.

In April, 'Esthetic Education' presented 'Werewolf'. According to the band, the album was the first real album of the band, thoughtfully created and linked by a unified concept.

Additionally, the band performed at the 'Maxidrom' festivals in St. Petersburg and 'Sziget' in Budapest and held a joint concert with Zemfira.

Discography: 'Face Reading' (2005), 'Leave Us Alone/Machine' (Maxi-Single, 2005), 'Live At Ring' (2006), 'Werewolf' (2007).

Although 'Esthetic Education' did not announce their dissolution, their activity practically ended after 2008. After the release of the single With you in 2008, the musicians practically stopped collaborating.

Yuri Khustochka also has the 'French' band - Million Kopek. There is also a project called StereOrpheo - broadly Ukrainian, founded with the involvement of Ukrainians: actor of the theater DAKh Dmitry Yaroshenko, drummer Andrey Nadolsky (ex-Piano Boy), and keyboardist Marina Voznyuk. The fifth member of the band is the musician's wife Helen Abdén.

Family. Yuri lives with his wife in Paris, and they have two children.

16.10.2023.