The Slovenian song was premiered on January 20th during a special show called "Misija Malmö" then the official video being available online. A month previously, RTVSLO revealed that they had chosen their singer and song internally. The Slovenian song for Malmö is "Veronika" sung by Raiven.
Raiven (aka Sara Briški Cirman) has an extremely well rounded arts background. She has studied (to degree level) classical, opera and jazz music as well as being an award winning harpist. She has performed in many festivals, orchestral collaborations as well as performing operas by Humperdink, Rossini, Handel, Bizet and Bernstein just to name a few. Raiven's debut album "Magenta" came out in 2017 followed by the EP "REM" which were both released to critical acclaim. In 2020 she performed with her own composition "Ti" with the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra at the Ljubljana Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet. In 2022 she premiered an electro-opera-pop project "Doloroso" However, she is probably most known for her many entries to the Slovenian "EMA" - the former mechanism to chose the Slovenian Eurovision song and act. She placed second in 2016, third in 2017 and second once more in 2019.
The song - written in the Slovenian language - has a moody, dark electro quality and is very dramatic. In interviews prior to the song's release, Raiven talked the inspiration of the song - the legend of Veronika Deseniška. She was the wife of Frederick II who was was accused of witchcraft. After a trial she was found not guilty, but was drowned anyway. The song has a primal quality, a good chanting outro and an instrumental balance between electro and folk. The first part of the song is slightly understated and starts quite low in the register. Verse two completely changes tune and starts to become vocally stronger for Raiven. The ending is a little unexpected and doesn't quite reach the frenzied or vexed ending one might expect. This being the official video, the song feels very produced, and very intertwined in the mix, and certain parts could sound much more chilling and urgent when sung live.
The music video is very cinematic; full of camera changes, sweeping shots and use of light and dark. The visual embraces the four elements - earth, fire, water and air - and uses these in different ways but nearly always feeling like trapping forces. She also has the support of some dancers who keep very close to her. I feel that the music video, as evocative as it is, almost overshadows the song. At times, I feel like the song stayed in my brain more when I turned away and didn't watch the video. The inspiration of the song is so strong and I want to be able to feel that emotion and sense of urgency through the camera. Right now this feels like a very slick and well made video but more needs to be made on stage. The live performance needs to really sell the character of Veronika as a mythical/historical figure or as a metaphor for feminine strength and power. I hope that Raiven has an effective and eye-catching staging idea - I feel like the stage being almost in the round could be used to her strength.
ARTIST - Raiven
SONG - Veronika
WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Sara Briški Cirman, Bojan Cvjetićanin, Klavdija Kopina
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