CZECHIA 2023

The Czech final "ESCZ 2023" was held on January 30th at the CT TV Studios in Prague and hosted by Adam Mišík although the result of said production was not revealed until February 7th. The winner was selected though app voting: 30% of the score coming from internal Czech voting and 70% from the international audience. The voting window was open right up until February 6th. The winning act was the girl group Vesna with "My Sister's Crown"

Vesna was formed in 2016 and was the idea of the groups' founder Patricie Fuxová. The groups encompasses folk song writing and instrumentation but with a modern sensibility. The band is named after a pagan Slavic goddess. They released their first song in 2017 which was recorded with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. After a line up change in 2018, the group was announced as 'Discovery of the year" at the Anděl awards - the Czech equivalent of the Grammy. During the covid-19 pandemic, the group worked on a new album called Anima . It was released in October 2020 and focused on animal archetypes, and balancing the male-female worlds. Along with Patrici,e the current line up consists of Bára, Markéta, Olesya, Tanita and Tereza.

Although the song is mostly in English there are also parts in  Czech, Bulgarian and a Ukrainian refrain, During the national final the six-piece were dressed in a modern style and all very individual. There was plenty of movement on the small stage by the three singers but everything seemed really natural and reactive rather than over stylised and forced. The song starts with chant which then becomes more urban. The verses are more staccato, almost rap-like, and the lyrics are quite pointed - either between the girls or directly to the audience. The pre-chorus shows another change in direction before going full tilt into a fully-sang chorus. There follows a rapped verse in Bulgarian then back into the pre-chorus/chorus which is followed by a short bridge before a longer rendition of the final chorus. The ending is not unexpected but is a little uneventful.

The song is vocally and visually catchy. The live version is also much more punchy and direct than the studio version where their voices are mixed much more smoothly. The different rhythms and languages keep you on your toes and the chorus particularly - even though in Ukrainian - almost invites you to join in. The individual characters in the group have time to shine and even though they have different styling it works because the song is about the appreciation of everyone's identity and having solidarity. This almost feels like a second part to Manizha's "Russian Woman" or a slightly less racy/more intellectual "We are Slavic". The fact that these two songs qualified from their semi-finals suggests a positive route to the final for this entry.

It needs to be said that the ESCZ staging was not particularly big or impressive and their particular set up worked for that purpose. I hope they can replicate a similar 'sisterhood' feeling on a bigger stage because we know that this message works. The music video for this song is very stylised with lots of colourful costumes and characterisation and maybe they can bring some of this vibrancy to their backdrops rather than their actual performers. I can also imagine translations of some of the part being graffitied onto the backdrops as they sing as well as lots of crown imagery. Whatever they do I feel they need to keep the mood more relatable down the camera to the voters at home. This is such a great mix of cultures and styles and I think a lot of people will find this engaging, accessible as well as charismatic and a cultural window into Czech music.

ARTIST - Vesna

SONG - My sister's crown

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Patricie Kaňok Fuxová, Kateryna Vatchenko, Tanita Yankova