Everything mixed again...

Once again it will be a time for total mashup - mix post with different kind of songs and music.
The Eurovisions are coming, Emeli Sandé would be coming to Berlin (I know I should go and see her!) Moby lauched some super relaxed relaxation music (it's actually good for falling asleep), Austra has released a new album called "Future politics" (and they would be also coming to Berlin next week!)...

But first I will chop Eurovisions into pieces...noo...I will not. I will just pick my favorite Finnish song and one from Sweden. Mostly it will be again another year of sad ballads about world peace and over the top glitter blast!

Okay okay, so there's always quite hmmm... "interesting" acts competing in Eurovisions. This year I was super happy about the Finnish contestant Norma John with the song "Blackbird" and yes, it's a ballad with a darker tone. But still works, good song and great piano playing.

Norma John - "Blackbird"

The song starts at 0:37

http://areena.yle.fi/1-3949137

And the Finnish/Swedish Krista Siegfrieds tried to go to the finals in Melodifestival in Sweden. She totally should have gone to the finals but oh no...but she did well!

Krista Siegfrieds - "Snurra min jord"

Bring on the Swedish disco pop!

https://youtu.be/NCW6c5r9aq0

Don't worry that was the ESC part of the post and yes you did survive without glitzer bombs!

Now your task is to imagine a summer morning, early around 05:00 or 06:00 o'clock. The sun is rising and it's already warm and suddenly you hear this song and start to dance!

Rysy - "Crystal love"

Rysy is a duo from Poland and you can hear more of their music here: 

https://soundcloud.com/rysymusic

The next one is from Clap! Clap! they are from Italy. Definitely interesting, bit strange music but will have to listen more to know..but this song was pretty cool! The new album from them is called "A thousand skies"

Clap! Clap! - "Ar-Raqis" and "Black Acre - Nguwe feat. Bongeziwe Mabandla"

The next artist is from Sweden (the promised land of awesome music!)
This artist is called Dorisburg aka. John Alexander Berg and I got to listen the album "Irrbloss" and I really really liked the whole album. Really amazing music. Should buy the album too some time. If you want some pretty chill (well it's officially labeled under techno, but who cares!) but not boring music you should check this album, It's kinda hard to pick my favorite songs from this one because they are all really great!

See (hear) for yourself! I totally love these!

Dorisburg - "Irrbloss"

And okay a second one is a must!

Dorisburg - "Votiv"

And well...third one never hurt anyone...it's more from the techno side..

Dorisburg - "Gloson"

This music totally gets a "hjärtan" from me! You can find out more music from this awesome artist here: https://soundcloud.com/alexanderberg


Now if you know Kings of convenience this sounds pretty familiar...I just can't help hearing them in this song..the musician is Baba Stiltz with a song called "Baby"  hehheee...also from Sweden! Heja Sverige! The song is from the "Is everything" EP.

Baba Stiltz - "Baby"

You can find more music from him here: https://soundcloud.com/babastiltz

If you feel tired from your working day then you should totally hear this song while drinking tea or something soothing...it will be a moment of bliss! The artist is called Lung Dart from the album "As I lay drying" with the song "Healthy functional tissue".  Peace out!

Lung Dart - "Healthy functional tissue"

I can't really figure out the lyrics but there's a part with "you need a woman.."

Found out more here: https://soundcloud.com/lungdart

You can buy the album here: https://lungdart.bandcamp.com/album/as-i-lay-drying

Here's a short info about the duo from their Bandcamp page:

"Lung Dart are Tim Clay and James Rapson - together they make textural, layered music that’s deeply soulful and melancholic, utilising live instrumentation as well as field recordings captured on their phones ranging from sounds of the bowels of Wembley Stadium at 4am to the bellowing wind coming off the Leicestershire hills and broken machinery. The result is a collage of sound inspired by 
the likes of Arthur Russell, Bjork, Lonnie Holley and Scott Walker, with hints of Connan Mocakasin, Windy & Carl and James Blake all influenced and shaped by the world at large. "

The next artist is Akira Kosemura but he has unfortunately only preview songs on his Soundcloud page but still totally worth of checking! Beautiful and calm music!

https://soundcloud.com/akirakosemuraofficial

Wild beasts is also a totally new artist for me. He has also only preview songs on Soundcloud but you should check them and go to Spotify (where you can listen to them all)

https://soundcloud.com/wildbeasts

The next artist comes from South Africa and I have so far heard only one song from her but it is so awesome! The artist is Nonku Phiri and the song is "Regrettables"




Okay and I will end the post with some sleepy music...Moby with "Long ambients" which you can buy or get for free if you want! It's suuper relaxed "quiet" music.

Check for yourself! Good night and sleep well!

http://moby.com/la1/

Eurovision song contest!

Eurovision song contest. The early meeting of artists around the Europe. Eurovision unites a lot of people but also divides at the same time people into two camps. One's who travel where ever Eurovision is going to and those ones who switch it immediately off. I have watched Eurovision song contest since I was teen, so it kind a became a tradition to me in a way, but have skipped several years too. I wasn't really watching it because of the music, but more because of all the stuff what they came up. Every year it had to bigger and crazier stage technique or props. Ship out of costumes, entries out of the most strangest things, backup dancers in costumes in every possible color imaginable (with butterfly wings also, check 2010) and the glitter on top of it all. And crazy light plans! I think it's the craziness of it all together what makes me watch the competition.

The first Eurovision song contest was held at 24 May 1956 in Switzerland and there were seven competitors from different countries. The most famous Eurovision song must be "Waterloo" from ABBA with they won the competition in 1973.

The music is quite often more euro dance style, ballads, save the world songs, or a very strange combination of styles. There has been pirates, super heroes, awkward dresses with bad taste. Often the singers don't have any voice neither, but it feels already like part of Eurovision. They try to cover it with most strangest ways. It's always interesting to see which language the artists have chosen to sing...leather costumes, tear apart costumes etc..It's also awkward to listen when Turkey or Bosnia Hertzegovina are singing in English.

I think the first competition that I remember that I watched was in 2000 when Olsen brothers won the competition with "Fly on the wings of love" or atleast I remember the winner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9q3i5lqmmg

Here's some favorites from the years.

Tatu was a very controversial at it's own time they performed 2003 in the Eurovision. For all those who thought that they were a couple read this, copied from Yahoo. It was a big big publicity scam. It's such a cheap and low trick.

"This sounds weird but it was a concept created by a psychiatrist. He somehow thought a lesbian group might be sucessfull because it was more of a fantasy. The group acted as a couple on stage while in real life they had their personal straight lives. It was all a show. One of the got pregnangt, I dont know what happened to her. At some point people began speculating about their personal life and so the truth came out." -Apollo-

It's even worse now especially in the light of this year, when the mayor of Saint Petersburg wrote the anti gay law. Read more from New York times: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/world/asia/anti-gay-law-stirs-fears-in-russia.html

"Under the new law, which passed 29 to 5, “public actions directed at the propaganda of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexuality and transgenderism among minors” will be punishable with fines of up to $17,000. The law defines propaganda of homosexuality as “the targeted and uncontrolled dissemination of generally accessible information capable of harming the health and moral and spiritual development of minors,” particularly that which could create “a distorted impression” of “marital relations.”  -New York Times- 

The song name "Not gonna get us" gets a new meaning.

t.A.T.u -  "Nye ver, nye boysa"

They had later in 2009 an interval act with "Not gonna get us" at the Eurovision.

t.A.T.u - "Not gonna get us"

And one big hit from them was "All the things she said"

Zeljko Joksimovic - "Lane moje"

Hari Mata Hari - "Lejla"

And the same year Finland won with Lordi - "Hard rock hallelujah"

Sopho Khalvashi - "Visionary dream"

I remember that after watching this video I was totally convinced that I have to go to visit Georgia some time! Here is the Eurovision version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMC8xSKdOwA

Same year there was the craziest contestant so far. VERKA!

Verka Serduchka - "Dancing Lasha Tumbai"

That year Serbia won the competition with:

Marija Šerifović - "Molitva"

I was just thinking Charlie's angels when I was watching this video!

2008 Finland had Teräsbetoni competing with their song "Missä miehet ratsastaa"!

One legendary song from them is "Taivas lyö tulta" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSR2E2qXl3M&feature=related

2009 Estonia was my favorite with Urban symphony. It was great to hear them singing in Estonian which is a very beautiful language.

Urban Symphony - "Rändajad"

But that year Norway won the competition with

Alexander Rybak - "Fairytale"

2010 Germany, Lena won with "Satellite" with the sweetest German accent ever!

The next year she went also to the finals with "Taken by a stranger"

The lyrics in the Eurovision song contest are always something very very strange. Song names like "Ding dong", "I'm still alive", "Dum Tek Tek", "Haba haba", "Boom boom". And she's coming out of a boxing glow!

Armenia: Emmy - "Boom Boom"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vafSfZYHIOg&feature=fvwrel

My ultimate un-favorite is Jedward, from Ireland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXouSYabDig

Maja Keuc, presenting Slovenia took part 2011 with "No one". But I liked the Slovenian version better.

Here is also the English version just for comparison.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGZHr-C-Vs8

Jea! And now the 2012! My favorite to win is Sweden with Loreen - Euphoria, other good ones are Estonia Ott Lepland - "Kuula", Bulgaria: Sofi Marinova - "Love unlimited" , Cyprus Ivi Adamou - "La la love", Finland - Pernilla Karlsson - "När jag blundrar", Israel - Ibazo: "Time", Slovakia: Max Jason Mai - "Don't close your eyes", Ukraine: Gaitana - "Be my Guest". The strangest entry this year must be Russia with Buranovskiye Babushki "Party for everybody".

Pernilla Karlsson - "När jag blundrar"

Ibazo - "Time"

Sofi Marinova - "Love unlimited"

And the biggest favorite:

Loreen - "Euphoria"

She was also the only one of the artists who met some opposition members of Azerbaijan in Baku and it became into the news. Behind the Eurovision there were things happening, before the contest some of the opposition member were brought or captivated. The Baku city was cleaning unwanted members away, and also destroying some houses that were still inhabited so that more than 4000 people had to flee from their homes.

Here's some more information about what is/was going behind the competition in Baku.

BBC - Panorama: Euvosion's Dirty secret

Loreen visits the organization Civil Rights Defenders in Baku

UMK - Uuden musiikin kisa - Eurovision song contest

Don't be scared of the name. I think I finally found something great from Eurovision, they have changed now the rules. There's professional jury in the preliminary contest who decides which songs go further. I think in this way we will get to hear more interesting pieces. There was some cool competitors in the Finnish contest.

I found a singer with a beautiful voice! Aili!

Here's a song that I've played on repeat for some time. These songs have also beautiful lyrics!

Aili - "Minun taivas" (My Sky)

http://satumaa.yle.fi/umk/kilpailijat-2012/aili-mun-taivas

(Click on the video under Minun taivas)

Check also Aili's soundcoud for "Lastaa laivasi"

There were also some totally crazy songs that made to the semifinals in Finland. It feels like a very strange mix of console games and, and euro pop. There's almost no word for it! It's nuts, but has still something fancy in it!

"The present so cheap it felt like a crime, I opened the box in the middle of the night just to make it sure it was working right. I got hooked on Wii, wii, wii"

Captor "Hooked on Wii"

http://satumaa.yle.fi/umk/kilpailijat-2012/captor-hooked-on-wii

You can check their myspace page for some more stuff:

http://www.myspace.com/560950772

One nice surprise was Kirahvi nimeltä Tuike:  "Sinisulkien viimeinen"

http://satumaa.yle.fi/umk/kilpailijat-2012/kirahvi-nimelta-tuike-sinisulkien-viimeinen

And you can listen their album "Lehtipeitteen suojelijat" (2010) from bandcamp and buy the digital album for five euros only, or check spotify: "Askeleet rannalta" and "Vaapukkamehulaulu" are also nice one from their album.

http://kirahvi.bandcamp.com/

And of course we need some "purkkapoppia" - chewing gum pop! The lyrics are crazy and so also the song names: "Askaa", "Pu pu pu pussaillaan" and "Kultsipuppeli"

Lasmatic - "Askaa"

http://soundcloud.com/lasmatic

This whole thing reminds me remotely Annie - "Chewing gum"

Where the lyrics go also:

"Oh no, Oh no, you've got it all wrong,

you think you are choking but you are chewing gum"

Well actually the lyrics go like this, but I prefer the version how I heard it always!

"Oh no, Oh no, you've got it all wrong,

you think you are chocolate when you are chewing gum"

The was one quite nice one still...but it's bit too rock/pop for me: Seamus - "Like soldiers Go"

http://satumaa.yle.fi/umk/kilpailijat-2012/seamus-soldiers-go

One nice candidate who also was competing in Voice of Finland surprised me.

Great voice! I think we will hear more from her!Check her webpage here: http://www.seljasini.com

Selja Sini - "Pack up"

Selja Sini - "Puun Alla"

Part of lyrics in English:

"If we could climb

Way up high

We could see it all

And each other too"