They are from Norway, Romania, Germany and France: after four regional auditions carried out in their respective universities, the finalists of Europavox Campus, the European musical springboard for students, are preparing for the grand final, which will take place in La Coopérative de Mai on the 26th of April. In the meantime, let’s discover those four new talents!
Last February, you could feel a breeze of excitement in the hallways of these four European universities. Between Bergen (Norway), Regensburg (Germany), Constanţa (Romania) and Clermont-Ferrand (France), 20 bands or solo artists competed in Europavox Campus. Each university organized its regional finale, during which a jury selected the artist that will represent its college on the 26th of April at the European finale. Rock, pop, rap, punk, folk, soul, electro-pop… a display of European musical diversity fuelled by the fiery creativity of student years was on display, with high quality shows and promising new talents. But a choice had to be made. Please meet the four winners : elen in wavs (Germany), Swane Vieira (France), Gabriel Roșu (Romania) and Astroturf (Norway)!
elen in wavs (Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule – Regensburg, Germany)
The first thing that strikes the listener when discovering elen in wavs, is her voice: velvety, warm, as if it was whispered in your ear, a caress whether she sings or she uses spoken-word. Before enrolling in a music course at Regensburg’s university, the German artist was completely self-taught, never took singing classes, and learnt songwriting bit by bit after buying her first guitar at 18. Now, she explores the world of digital production and Ableton, but her soft songs, drifting from neo-soul to indie-pop, still keep this precious electric guitar at their core. A quest for simplicity and emotions.
Swane Vieira (Université Clermont Auvergne – Clermont-Ferrand, France)
Psst, a little bird told us that Swane Vieira is preparing her first EP, a solo project created in her living room, for which she sings and produces everything. Stories of queer deconstruction, fury, love, revealed through electro-pop music that knows how to get angry at injustice, as a way to remember the era this Clermont’s student has to evolve in. This reflection on gender and struggles, aptly named ‘Theory Marry Me?’, will be released this spring.
Gabriel Roșu (Universitatea Ovidius din Constanța – Constanța, Romania)
Gabriel Roșu paints, writes poetry, and studies theater at Constanța’s university. This all-round artist is also a musician, has been singing since he was a child, and even participated in Superstar, the Romanian version of Britain’s Got Talent or American Idol. He’s a free and creative spirit that seduced our Romanian partners. And we can understand why: you just have to listen to « Lady Lady », the slow dance song he performed during his Europavox Campus’ audition – a slightly raspy voice, a bit of incense and a lot of soul.
Astroturf (Western Norway University of Applied Sciences – Bergen, Norway)
We all love a romantic story. Susanne and Alvin, the founders of this band, started to write songs together when they fell in love. Today, Astroturf is composed of five musicians, on stage and in the studio, working to highlight their unstoppable choruses, guitar solos and 80s rock influences. Efficient, thrilling, but also aware of the world they live in. Instead of producing polluting and somewhat useless merchandising, the Norwegian band sourced second-hand stores and asked their friends to donate old t-shirts that they upcycled and printed their logo on. Respect.
See you on the 26th of April at La Coopérative de Mai !
