Only three weeks are left before Europavox Campus’ big European finale! To learn even more about our four finalists (Gabriel Rosu from Romania, Swane Vieira from France, Astroturf from Norway and elen in wavs. from Germany) we asked them to select a few tracks that represent them the most. Influences, memories, songs to wake up to or to defend a cause. From Kendrick Lamar to Muse or Sexy Sushi, discover our finalists’ playlist !
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Swane Vieira
Zaho De Sagazan – ‘Tristesse’: To make your hair stand on end.
Sexy Sushi – ‘Non c’est définitif’: For all the weekend warriors to sing at the top of their lungs, and to take the place you deserve (and because Rebeka Warrior is a person).
Rosalía – ‘A Palé’: For the flames that this queen sets alight, and the most badass of icons.
Doja Cat – ‘Boss Bitch’: To listen to in order to feel like a powerful bad bitch.
Eloi – ‘Flamme’: For that melancholy taste you get when you imagine shooting a film, your head against the window, the headphones far too loud, and that fire burning high at the same time.
Sevdaliza – ‘Oh my god’: Because composing such beautiful and complex things is a life goal.
Yseult – ‘Indélébile’ or ‘Rien à prouver’: I’m still hesitating between ’Indelebile’, which is certainly one of the most beautiful love songs of all time, and ’Rien à prouver’, which makes you feel so powerful that you want to cry.
Sorry, I know I’ve sent in more than five, but there are still so many of my favourite artists missing from the list!
Gabriel Roșu
Kendrick Lamar – ‘Mother I Sober’: The songs from Kendrick’s last album are discussed and analysed by psychologists. He manages to be vulnerable, introspective, to put his finger on the wound and delve deeper into the trauma that is the basis of a pattern that can be found in everyday life, a habit, etc. Although the whole album is personal, in general, we all suffer from the same fears and anxieties.
Masego – ‘Mystery Lady (Sego’s Remix)’: It’s vibes!
D’angelo And the Vanguard – ‘Really Love’: I admire D’Angelo.
Macanache- ‘Rup Stilu’: Macanache is one of my favourite Romanian rappers.
Ben L’Oncle Soul – ‘Sky Has Open Doors’: Superb.
Astroturf
Alvin’s pick (Guitarist): The Darkness – ‘Black Shuck’: Hearing this for the first time was a real breath of fresh air for a young me. The riffs, the guitar sound and the soaring high vocals was what caught my ear the first time I heard it, and they’ve been my favourite band ever since.
Susanne’s pick (Vocalist): AC/DC – ‘Back in Black’: Before becoming the vocalist in Astroturf, I hadn’t worn black clothes in years. However, dressing up in black and discovering a different, more badass and empowered side of myself has been a journey I wouldn’t want to be without. For this reason, and because it’s the song Alvin is trying to teach me on guitar, ’Back in Black’ seemed fitting. It’s also the best song to wake up to in the morning.
Amina’s pick (Bassist): Foo Fighters – ‘Monkey Wrench’: The Foo Fighters have long been a great inspiration to me, and this song in particular. This song is a powerful and energetic rock song that contains many elements: a catchy guitar riff, pumping bass, and driving drums at a high tempo. These are elements that I highly value in rock music.
Ivan’s pick (Guitarist): U2 – ‘Vertigo’: From one of the first CDs I bought. Driving guitars, a catchy chorus, and original production are, for me, some of the most important elements behind a good rock song!
Henrik’s pick (Drummer): Muse – ’Hysteria’ : My first introduction to how individual instruments can contribute to creating iconic musical expressions and carry songs in their own way. The song also taught me how important bass can be.
elen in wavs
Nai Palm – ‘When the Knife’: I struggle to find words for the appreciation I feel for this woman. Nai Palm inspires me so much in many ways. Also in this case I’m madly in love with her voice and ways of singing, she breaks all mental boundaries of “casual singing” in my brain, and makes me be surprised about my own voice when I sing along with her songs. Nai also has a band called ’Hiatus Kaiyote’, which I honour at the same level, but I chose a song from her solo project, because its intimate arrangements inspired me the most for my own solo project. Especially ’When the Knife’ lifts me up the most of all the tracks on this album.
Kaki King –’Second Brain’: I discovered Kaki King on my travels and she became one of my greatest idols and my therapeutic musical guidance.
Jaala – ‘I love you (DJ Set)’: It’s really hard to pick a most inspiring Song by Jaala, but I just love Jaalas voice as well as the great drummer Maria. They inspire me so much with their arrangements, stage presence, whole look and their dreamy-dark mood. I think it’s magic how they manage to make the complexity of their music sound smooth like butter. Jaala proved to me that there IS a middle-path between rock, jazz, (dream-)pop and soulful singing, each of which are genres ro musical aspects I love to listen to. I always thought I would have to stick to one genre, but Jaala showed me how to break these borders.
When I listen to her, I find myself taken back and rooted within myself. I love how purely she expresses emotion in her mostly instrumental pieces of art.
Macie Stewart – ‘Finally’: Another great woman that inspired me with her arrangements – especially the live sessions, which are mesmerising to watch.
Esperanza Spalding – ‘One’: She’s just… Whoa. What can I say? She’s such an awesome bass player and composer. It’s truly inspiring to see her perform and just slay the bass.
All of the main artists that I’ve named are women, and this also plays a big role for me in my musical journey. Women* are still highly underrepresented in the music scene, as well as on instruments like electric guitar, bass, and drums, but also in musical production, sound techniques etc. All those things seemed impossible to do for me, at least as an option in my head. It’s not necessarily that I doubted I could do it, but there are also so few role models. That’s why female* musicians played a very big part on my journey. They gave me faith and proved to me that, of course, we can do it! Why not? They motivated me to learn the drums and start producing. Great appreciation for all the women* out there breaking borders!