ESC+Plus has talked to Behind The Moon, semifinalists of the Lithuanian national selection for Eurovision 2016, “Eurovizijos”. The band is competing with the song “Did it all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=29&v=RRDca2o7j3o
Hello! First of all, thank you so much for your time and congratulations on having been selected to take part in the Lithuanian national selection for Eurovision 2016!
E+: Can you tell us about you, your musical career and important achievements?
Our band consists of a group of talented people, few who have made a name for themselves in the music industry in our country. While only being 14 years old Ugnė (vocals) participated and won the best vocalist title in competition in Zarasai and at 15 she first participated in Eurovision preliminary rounds with her own written song. The song was produced by one of the most famous guitarists in Lithuania. Mr. Jumbo who is most well-known for being one of the few Charvel guitars signature artist and the only one in all of the Baltic region. The bassist – Augas is a real explorer, constantly traveling around the globe and planning to enrol to a jazz conservatory in New York. The current youngest band member is our drummer Martynas who is 17 years old as of writing. A son of a famous musician, passionate, hard-working and talented, he is already high in demand by many other local and well-known musicians.
Before we even decided on a band name we have already been performing in various youth outdoor festivals, radio shows, interviews and other gigs and shows here in Lithuania. In a short span of time our song writer and vocalist Ugnė has already written over a 100 songs, so the band may have some chance in defining luck in its favour.
E+: What impelled you to take part in “Eurovizijos 2016”?
Since we know ways how to improve and have some knowledge concerning music business our high-prioritised goals raised towards Eurovision are mainly focused on our progression and reaching out a wider audience with our music. Though Eurovision’s popularity in Lithuania can be “polymetric” in some cases and mostly directly influenced by our countries involved accomplishments and failures in it, we believe in the success of our product and are ready to compete with heads held high.
E+: How did you feel during your first performance at “Eurovizijos 2016”? Did you expect to get a ticket for the next round?
During our first performance on the Eurovision stage we felt like fish in water because we were doing truly what we can do best and despite all the professional decorations, lighting and an abundance of cameras it wasn’t anything we haven’t dealt with before, so we had some overall control of our excitement. Although we were really emotional while watching the broadcast when we were performing. Seeing the voting and our bands name jump up and down in the brackets felt more like a sports race competition rather than a song contest and was very, very exciting. The firm hope that we can pass on to other preliminary stages has been since that day when the producers contacted us confirming of our approval to compete. We don’t however let it go to our heads, but having motivation is important.
E+: What it would mean for you to represent Lithuania?
The idea that we could possibly represent our country in the Eurovision finals would be great honor, both as civilians and musicians. We may be a small country, but we value national achievements very seriously.
E+: Can you tell us about your song? What is the story behind the lyrics?
The song itself is simply about one’s inner struggle and conflict with oneself. It is about the failure to accept certain mistakes or actions made towards someone else in the past. The “vibe” that we try to convey is that feeling when you feel like you are being torn in to pieces inside. It explores the same thematic ground that everyone is more or less familiar with – failure to be at peace with yourself.
E+: Why do you think your song has to be selected for Stockholm? What are you strengths to reach the top in the competition?
Our song should be picked to participate in the Eurovision finals in Stockholm because it is premium quality built pop rock with a catchy verse, hot rhythm and characteristic guitar riffs. Balanced for rock, live music fans and the majority of other music enthusiasts. Though it’s worth mentioning that while we still are young and energetic we feel driven and passionate towards what we do. We like a well thought out, polished visual style and interesting outfits, we invest in that.
E+: Will you change anything in your stage performance for the next round of “Eurovizijos 2016”?
Acknowledging the jury’s feedback and our own need to improve we wait for opportunities and try to get every chance to improve. Even though if we start out with a clear intention of how the song is supposed to be performed it may change and evolve during the various stages in Eurovision. We thought we had everything figured out for the first filming, but we ended up drastically changing many aspects of the performance for the second filming – various areas like outfits, led monitor visualizations and etc.
E+: Do you usually watch Eurovision? What are your favorites songs in the history of the competition?
We’ve been watching the Eurovision trials and finals every year since childhood since the first time Eurovision aired in Lithuania when Ovidijus Vyšniauskas was representing us in 1994. In Lithuania everyone here is somewhat a Eurovision expert more or less like a basketball coach, so you can probably guess how important this event is. You could say it’s a third “religion”. Our Eurovision top list would be something like: Ugnė – Lordi, Augas – Tom Jones, Mr. Jumbo – Brainstorm, Martynas – WigWam.
E+: If you could choose a Eurovision former participant to sing along with, who would it be?
Eurovision had a lot of great performers and artists… We don’t think picking one out would be even remotely easy. If we had to assemble a “dream team” band from all the ones that have appeared we would probably pick: the drummer from Lordi – Kita (he’s awesome), Andrius Mamantovas the leader of “LT United” band, which represented Lithuania in 2006, Ferman Akgul from band “Manga”, Reynard Cowper from “Brainstorm” and finally ByeAlex from Hungary. It would be an amazing band. It would be even more amazing if we could get together and have a jam session!
E+: Besides Eurovision, what are your plans for this year?
The band goals for this year would be to release a few new videos for new songs, constantly play live when given the chance, do some acoustic performances and play abroad, not just in Lithuania!
E+: Finally, can you send a message for our readers and Eurovision fans?
We want to remind everyone what was once very nicely said by J. Lenon – that we shouldn’t fight and wage war and instead have hope that peace can unite us. We wish you all the most positive emotions, new sounds and great experiences when watching the Eurovision performances. We – Behind The Moon, hope that you will back us up and give us a chance to spread our music to a wider audience! 🙂