The Art Of Music

Friday, November 5, 2021

Interview with James Scanlan

Biography + fun fact (and please a photo too, if you don’t mind)

Hello! My name is James Scanlan, I’m 31 and I live in London in the United Kingdom. I love

to learn and have many passions, including travel, writing, languages and of course, music

and the Eurovision Song Contest!

Travel and exploring new places are very important to me, and I am very fortunate to have

visited 62 countries and territories on 4 continents. I’ve always been fascinated by the world

around me, even at a very young age, and am always looking for new places to learn about

and visit. My travels have also greatly influenced my writing and my most recent work,

Europe in a Day: Day Trips to the Continent (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Europe-Day-Trips-

Continent-ebook/dp/B086K3MDXN) was published last year on Amazon Kindle. Looking at

budget travel to 30 different countries and territories around Europe, the book includes both

world-famous cities such as Prague, Amsterdam and Budapest and lesser visited places like

Liechtenstein and San Marino. Europe in a Day also has a website

(https://europeinaday.wordpress.com/) that continues to explore the continent with new day

trips to countries such as Albania and Belarus. In addition to this, I regularly publish

translations of different words and phrases in 50 languages on the website and host a

Birthday Eurovision every summer among all the countries featured in the book and on the

website – which means that places like the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar and Vatican City also get

to cast their votes for the winner!

I’m also one of the Senior International Editors over at Eurovision Ireland

(www.eurovisionireland.net), a fan site dedicated to the Eurovision Song Contest. There, I’m

probably best known for my two YouTube series: #ReVu2, where I give my quick-fire

thoughts on the songs heading to that year’s contest, and the Best of Eurovision, where fans

vote in our polls to crown their favourite entries from a particular country and I talk viewers

through the Top 10 picks. I also taught a lesson on Northern Sami for fans of the Norwegian

band KEiiNO and am currently developing a series of lessons to teach Eurovision fans

heading to Turin some Italian.

Fun Fact: I’m fascinated by foreign languages and speak 13 languages to varying degrees of

fluency. The way that languages work, different grammars and scripts, the way they

conceptualise the world and express ideas… it’s all utterly amazing to me! I have a rather

extensive library of foreign language materials with resources in things like Luxembourgish,

Manx, Alsatian, Romansh Sardinian, Occitan, Uzbek… and Europe in a Day’s website

translates words and phrases into a range of languages including less widely spoken ones

such as Monégasque and Greenlandic. I love being able to speak the local language when I

travel, even if it’s just a few pleasantries and have had some amazing exchanges in Albanian,

Polish and Russian, despite not really being able to speak any of them!

Let's start the interview.

Have you grown up in a music family or weren't your parents interested in

music?

Oh definitely! While no one in my family plays an instrument (even though my dad dabbled

with guitar well before I was born), there has always been music in our home. The radio was

on constantly growing up and both my parents love music – albeit it very different kinds! My

mum loves music from the 60s and 70s, R&B, Motown, whereas my dad was more into rock

and the likes of Neil Young and Lead Zeppelin. My mum sang to us all the time as children

(and still sings to her grandson), so music has always been a part of my life from the moment

it started!

Why do you love music as much as you do?

I think for me the fact that it’s always been a part of my life growing up means that I can’t

imagine a life without music! It’s just always been there! I love how it can tap into our

emotions so easily and make us feel on top of the world, or utterly heartbroken. You can be

having a really terrible day, but when you play one of your favourite songs you can’t help but

be lifted by it and have it change your mood completely – I mean, how amazing is it that

sound can do that to us?! I also love music’s ability to transport us through time. You hear a

song you haven’t heard for years, maybe even one you’ve forgotten about and instantly

you’re taken back to a different time and place. A song that reminds you of someone the

moment you hear it. That melody that was the playlist on a special trip that you’ll never

forget. The music that was playing the moment you realised you’d fallen in love… honestly,

it’s nothing short of magical what music can do to us!

For how long have you been listening to music, and what genre(s) do you like?

I’ve been listening to music practically since I was born! As I said before, the radio

was always on in our house growing up and my parents had quite different tastes in

music, which I think they both passed on to me and my brothers! My taste in music is

really eclectic – which often surprises people! Many suspect that if you’re a

Eurovision fan, you have a very specific taste in music that centres on pop and

schlager. If you say on top of that you like music written for stage shows, things like

Elisabeth: Das Musical and Les Misérables, that’s not too much of a stretch for them

– but when they find out I really enjoy things like symphonic rock, indie, classical, folk

music… that confuses them no end! My love of languages has definitely played into

my love of music and I’m always amazed how different emotions and feelings can be

so exquisitely expressed through different languages: the melancholy of Albanian,

the romance and poetry of Italian, the bittersweet yearning of Bosnian… I think last

time I counted, my MP3 player had songs in at least 40 different languages covering

a whole range of genres!

For how long have you followed Eurovision and/or Melodi Grand Prix?

My earliest Eurovision-related memory is singing along to Gina G‘s Ooh Aah Just A

Little Bit – which means I would have probably been 5 or 6 years old! I remember

seeing Marie N’s winner’s reprise in Tallinn back in 2002, but the moment I count as

my first “proper” Eurovision memory was seeing Ukraine win the 2004 contest with

Wild Dances. I was amazed by Ruslana’s energy and captivated by the performance

–that was the moment that I remember think “I really need to watch this show next

year!”. Even all these years later, being someone for who the contest is such a big

part of my life, I still smile when I think back to the teenager who caught a glimpse of

that song by chance and that’s where it all started! Wild Dances clearly left an impact

on me as it also became one of the first singles (remember those?) that I ever

bought!

Admittedly, I never used to be a big fan of watching national selections – I know that

sounds strange for a Eurovision fan, but my reasoning was this: you hear a song in

the national selection, you fall in love with it, want to hear it all the time… then

something else wins and goes to Eurovision in its place. So you then watch the

contest, knowing what could have been and it takes away the magic a bit. There was

a time when I’d only pick a handful of songs to listen to before the contest and leave

the rest as surprises for the big night – but of course, working for Eurovision Ireland,

I can’t do that now and know all the entries backwards by the time rehearsals start! It

was thanks for Eurovision Ireland that I started following national selections more

closely – in fact, my first outing working for Eurovision Ireland was as a camera man

for them at Skopjefest in November 2014! I’ve physically been to national finals in

North Macedonia, Romania, the UK and Moldova as part of my work for Eurovision

Ireland and have watched countless others through the internet to live blog them.

Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix is definitely one of my favourites, I’m just always so

impressed by the standard and quality of the songs, Norway always put on an

exceptional show! I also have a soft spot for Dora, the Croatian national final and of

course, Skopjefest!

Which are your favourite songs from Eurovision and Melodi Grand Prix? You

can name 1 to 5 songs. Can you explain why you chose this song/these songs

as your favourite songs from ESC and MGP?

Oh goodness, what a question! I have SO MANY!! Literally by year, by country, by genre,

by language… I could probably give you a Top 250 all by myself! My choices for any Tops I

give always change within minutes of me giving them as there are so many songs I like, but

at this particular moment I’ll go with: -

 Never Forget (Iceland 2012)

This dramatic and mystical sounding ballad captivated me the moment I heard it in the

original Icelandic. I’m still convinced had it not performed in English (and not directly after

Russia in the running order), it would have scored much higher – it really deserved to! I love

the music, the imagery… and who doesn’t love a haunting violin solo?!

 Rapsodia (Italy 1992)

I mean, where do I even start with Rapsodia? It’s a masterpiece! Mia sings with such

conviction and emotion, it’s just incredible! Yes, the bittersweet lyrics pull at your

heartstrings, but it’s just so beautiful and heartfelt – I had to listen to it again as I was writing

this, it’s that amazing!

 Hajde Da Ludujemo (Yugoslavia 1990)

Earlier I talked about songs that can make you feel better no matter how low you’re feeling

and Hajde Da Ludujemo is definitely that for me! It’s infectiously catchy retro bubble-gum

nonsense, but it’s utterly brilliant! Is it bad I know all the words to this? (And probably most

of the dance routine too?!) It’s one of the few songs guaranteed to get me on a dance floor, as

some of my friends will attest to!

 Quédate Conmigo (Spain 2012)

Another exquisite ballad performed with such conviction and emotion, this is not only my

favourite from Spain’s Eurovision back catalogue, but one of my all-time favourite songs

ever. Rarely leaves a dry eye in the house and I still maintain that had this entered a year

earlier or later, it would have given Spain a 3 rd win! Stunning!

 Après Toi (Luxembourg 1972)

Easily one of my favourite winners of all time, Après Toi is a highpoint even from the Golden

Age of Eurovision. Classy and beautifully performed, I also (surprise, surprise!) love the fact

that Vicky Leandros recorded versions of this song in French, German, Italian, English,

Spanish, Greek and even Japanese – and while double checking which languages she’d

recorded it in, I just found out that the song inspired covers in Serbian, Slovak, Norwegian,

Turkish, Czech… this just keeps on getting better and better!

I guarantee if you asked me again tomorrow, I’d probably give you a different list! As you

can probably see, I’ve got a thing for music with ethnic flourishes, drama and emotional

ballads!

Do you have any thoughts about Eurovision Song Contest 2022 Season?

Oh yes, several! The last time Italy won the contest was the year I was born, so this will be

the first time I’m old enough to remember an Italian-hosted Eurovision. I’m very happy to

see Montenegro back in the fold, I’ve enjoyed a lot of their entries and feel like they’ve been

so criminally underrated over the years – we always see something different from them,

which is something to be applauded!

I’d like to see more countries opting to sing in their national languages this year. When we

consider that out of the past 5 winners, 4 of them contained at least some non-English lyrics,

this strange idea that a Eurovision song needs to be in English for universality is shown to be

wrong – music is a universal language itself. You don’t necessarily need to understand the

lyrics, you feel emotion in the music, in the voice, in the performance… Barbara Pravi noted

during the 2021 final that the Top 3 songs were all in languages other than English, which

proves there is a thirst for such things across Europe!

Also, even at this early stage I strongly suspect Switzerland and Malta will be ones to watch

for the trophy... just a feeling I have! Switzerland seem to have fallen in love with the contest

again and after two Top 5 finishes in a row, so I feel like they’re fine-tuning for a 3 rd win. As

for Malta, I think they’ve been hungry for it for so long that after all the hype this year around

Destiny, they’ll be doing whatever they can to win!

If you have any more Eurovision or music related things to tell me, feel free to

tell as much as you want.

I’ll just end by saying I know a lot of people around the world snort at Eurovision for

being some crass TV show that they see as being bitterly unfair because their

country didn’t win. But I still think it’s incredible that this idea of using music as a way

to build bridges and connect us all still thrives over half a century after it was

conceived. I’ve made so many friends all over the world through Eurovision and one

thing that connects us all wherever we come from, whatever language we speak,

whatever we believe… it’s our love for music. All these pleas for love, peace,

understanding and acceptance that make us feel and touch our souls with sound…

like I said before, music is magical!

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Interview with Aleksander Holt (myself)

Interview with Aleksander Holt - 2. November 2021

Biography of Aleksander Holt + fun fact

Hello, my name is Aleksander Holt. I am a 15 years old boy from Norway. I was born on 28th September 2006. I live together with my family (mom, dad, and my brother). I'm calling my grandma every day to talk about what I did at school, for example. I live in a big city in Norway called Fredrikstad. I am the administrator and the founder of The Art of Music.

My hobbies are biking, shooting, and volunteer youth leader for some churches in Fredrikstad. I started to practice biking when I was 4-5 years old, with my dad helping me. I have biked to school almost every day since 5th grade (August 2015-). I started as a shooter in November 2018. I went to shooting until March 2020, when corona came and stopped it. So I returned in September 2021, and I am shooting every Wednesday.

I have been a volunteer youth leader for four churches in Fredrikstad since October 2021. I started as a VYL because I am a social boy. I also like to talk and meet new people. The first event was a camp from 22nd to 24th October 2021. The event was for those who wanted to be VYLs, to unite and be more known with other teenagers (14-16) that also wanted to be VYLs.

Facts about myself:

I was born with so-called hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is when you suddenly get too much fluid in your head. It will not have a solid shape, which means it will expand until it is hard. My operation happened between April and June 2007. I have also operated my feet in the summer of 2011, but I don't remember why.

Fun fact about myself:

Many people get surprised when I tell them that I am only 15 years old.

Let's start the interview.

Have you grown up in a music family or weren't your parents interested in music?

No, I did not grow up in a family that sings or dances. But I grew up in a family that listens to a lot of music. My family watches a lot of music competitions like Idol, The Voice, Maskorama, MGP, and ESC. Now I do not talk much with his father about how genres of music he likes or not, but I know he likes Rock and Roger Waters. My mom listens mainly to pop like me.

Why do you love music as much as you do?

Music has always been a part of my life, ever since I was born in 2006, because it gives me the feeling that I am never alone, and that I always have someone who takes care of me, likes me, makes me feel included, better. It also makes me united with people from all over the world. Music gives me different emotions such as sadness, angriness or happiness, while other songs give me no emotions at all. I am mostly a fan of songs where I understand what the song is about, with good lyrics and melody. If the music does not give me any emotion, I do not know if I think the song is good or not ...

So how long have you been listening to music, and what genre(s) do you like?

I've been listening to music for as long as I can remember. Music gives me a feeling that I am never alone and that I have many people around me who also like the same as me. It also helps me focus better sometimes. Music has always been a part of me, and will always be in everything from sad to happy, good to bad, fun to boring days.

My favorite genre is pop and rock. Pop music and ballads give me memories of the "old days", it also gives me more strength. I have a feeling that I would have been depressed if I had not had any music to listen to when I am alone because when it is completely quiet I feel sad and lonely. I also love artists like KEiiNO, Within Temptation, Nightwish.

KEiiNO is a group consisting of Tom Hugo, Fred Buljo and Alexandra Rotan. Alexandra is the frontman in the band and sings most of it, while Tom Hugo is more than a chorister, but he is also a frontman with Alexandra and Fred. Fred is both a rapper and a joiker. KEiiNO is named after Fred's hometown, Kautokeino. I became known with KEiiNO after they participated in the Melodi Grand Prix in 2019, and won the televote in Eurovision 2019 (finished in 6th place). Within Temptation (Dutch band) and Nightwish (Finnish band).

How long have you followed Eurovision and/or Melodi Grand Prix, and what is your favourite song(s) from Eurovision and Melodi Grand Prix? You can name 1 to 5 songs. Can you explain why you chose this song/these songs as your favourite songs from ESC and MGP?

I started watching Eurovision and Melodi Grand Prix, as a 12 and 1/2-year-old in 2019. I love Eurovision and Melodi Grand Prix because of the unity between people from all over the world, the discovery of new artists, songs, genres, etc.

Five random Eurovision songs I like:

1. Ireland 1987 - Johnny Logan - Hold Me Now

What I like about the songs is the lyrics, the meaning, the melody, and the structure of the song. It starts weak and vulnerable, and builds up to more powerful, while still being just as vulnerable.

2. Norway 2019 - KEiiNO - Spirit In The Sky

I like the song because the unity of the band members: Alexandra, Tom, and Fred, is magical. When Alexandra sings, I goosebumps. Her voice is so incredibly beautiful. Tom Hugo is often the chorister but he also sings as a frontman with Alexandra. While Fred joiks and raps. When we put together Alexandra's voice, the lyrics, the melodies, the chorus of Tom Hugo, and the yoik of Fred, the songs become magical.

3. Netherlands 2013 - Anouk - Birds

I like this song because it is very vulnerable just like Hold Me Now by Johnny Logan. The song starts calmly and relaxing, it also gets more power in the choruses and gives me chills.

4. Sweden 2014 - Sanna Nielsen - Undo

I love this song, the voice of Sanna, the lyrics and the melody of the song are magical. I love all the power she puts into the song. I do not have much to complain about. Although the song is not my all-time favorite, I think the song is one of the best songs that Sweden has ever sent to Eurovision.

5. Norway 1995 - Secret Garden - Nocturne

I have very little to comment on this song except the song is simply ABSOLUTELY MAGICAL, that a song with almost only melody (violin) can be so good. I have no words ...

Do you have any thoughts about Eurovision Song Contest 2022 Season?

To be honest, I have no thoughts regarding the Eurovision 2022 Season, but I'm sure there will be good songs, good artists, good shows, variety in the songs, and a big party for all of us Eurovision and MGP fans.

Okay thank you so much for the amazing interview, Aleksander. And thank you also for using some of your time to talk with me.

The Art Of Music

Friday, November 5, 2021

Eurovision 2022 - Calendar

Interview with James Scanlan

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Interview with Aleksander Holt (myself)

"It's All Coming Back To Me Now" - Alexandra Rotan and Adam Douglas

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