The Albanian act and song was chosen on 22th December through the 63rd edition of their annual song contest "Festivali i Këngës". Like last year, the jury awarded the festival's main awards, however the selection of their Eurovision representative was made through a combination of jury and televoting. Going to Basel will be the duo Shkodra Elektronike with the song "Zjerm" (Fire)
Shkodra Elektronike consists of singer-songwriter Beatriçe Gjergji and songwriter-producer Kolë Laca who now live and work in Italy. The duo's name harks to Shkodër - a city in northern-Albania where both members grew up. The 'elektronike' refers to their passion of creating, re-interpreting or interpolating folk songs and melodies with modern instruments and technologies. Their first songs were only released during 2020 and, after competing against some of Albania's most famous and established act, were therefore seen as a shock winner of the festival.
The song is a mid tempo dance number written in the northern dialect of Gheg Albanian. It is mainly constructed of three parts; an initial verse and chorus sung by Beatriçe, a spoken word part lead by Kolë and finishing with more chorus from Beatriçe including added improvisation to create a crescendo. The juxtaposition between Beatriçe's strong visual and vocal identity against Kolë rather monotone, melancholic vocal and his plain styling makes this show very intriguing. The beat and folksy earworm which weaves in and out behind the tune is extremely infectious. This, coupled with Beatriçe's voguing during the instrumental, makes the whole song and performance engaging and memorable. The way the song starts and ends with the ethnic earworm grounds the song from start to finish.
The song, although an early release on the 2025 timetable, has already become a firm fan favourite. The simplistic staging of the song and performance gives them a bedrock of sincerity that is evident whether or not you understand their words. In fact, the words call for peace, harmony and hope on both a personal and planetary basis. Furthermore this not only speaks against the state of politics worldwide but also calls on the not so distant past of Albania itself. The only additional comment/questions I have about the future interpolations of the song is whether the duo will change anything based on their FiK performance. The visual show is simple but effective and I hope its essence is kept. Personally, the addition of the orchestra added extra qualities to the track, as did the live call-and-response backing vocals in the verses.
ARTIST - Shkodra Elektronike
SONG - Zjerm
WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Beatriçe Gjergji, Kolë Laca
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