The Azerbaijani song was revealed on February 19th with the music video premiere on the official Eurovision youtube channel. A few days previously, ITV (the Azerbaijani broadcaster) announced details of the act that had been internally selected. Going to Basel is Mamagama with the song "Run With U".
Mamagama an Azerbaijani band founded in 2021 and the trio currently consists of Sefael Mishiyev, Bahruz Efendiyev and Allahverdi Gumbetli. Their music style is inspired by traditional music but has a more pop/rock influence. Their Eurovision entry will be their 6th single release. The band won first prize in the international section of the 2022 edition of the Kënga Magjike festival in Albania and were in contention as the Azeri Eurovision act in 2023.
The song starts with a short verse followed by a lengthy refrain. After this comes the pre-chorus followed by the chorus and a short instrumental. This is then cycled through once more although this time the refrain and pre-chorus are much shorter and finishes, rather abruptly at the instrumental at the end of the chorus. The video has a retro scientific theme with a Blade Runner/Tron backdrop and a narrative on the lines of Frankenstein with the singer being created and brought to life by the other members. As well as an interesting visual, there is also a little bit of humour in the video in particular with the dialling phones and floppy discs as well as some slapstick with the robotic dancing and the singer falling off the tables. At the end, the band plays together very briefly and are dressed in black and white baggy casual clothing with jackets over the top.
On first listen, I was surprised by the modern nostalgic feel this has in its construction. The arrangement is cool and minimal plus the use of the saz (a traditional Azeri instrument) in the music-only parts almost gives the song a country edge but does feel a little bit shoe-horned in to be honest. The singer's voice is intriguing and has a nice modern yet retro edge. He has a much higher register than I expected which made the very beginning of the first listen interesting. The music has a feel of late '70s early '80s disco or could be a companion piece for Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" or something from the "Off The Wall" album. In Eurovision terms, it also reminds me of Ben Dolic's 2020 song "Violent Thing". The video presentation obviously raises questions about how this will look on stage. Firstly I am unsure if this video version will be the exact same cut used in Eurovision as the ending is abrupt and leaves you feeling confused. Also, the video setup is very interesting I can't see them transferring this to the stage. That said, neither do I want their stage outfits to look like the end part either. Finally I hope the singer, if not all three of them, can take on a bit of movement control or choreography as this is the type of track you want to see people dancing to. This is a great radio song and I hope the staging fits and lifts the song even higher.
ARTIST - Mamagama
SONG - Run With U
WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Hasan Hayadar, Sefael Mishiyev, Roman Zee
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