"Eurovision-2021" - we recall the performance of the Ukrainian group "Go_A" with the song "SHUM"
«SHUM" (or simply "Noise”) is a song by the Ukrainian group “Go_A”, with which the guys represented their country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021! The competition was held in Rotterdam and as a result of it "Go_A" took fifth place in the final, scoring 364 points. This performance was the second in the history of Eurovision (if we take into account the song "Nightingale", with which "Go_A" were supposed to represent Ukraine in 2020, however, due to the pandemic, everything was moved to 2021...), performed entirely in Ukrainian... Many viewers noted the originality and individuality of the melody. The team members themselves emphasized that their creation personifies the “awakening of life in a global sense” and serves as a tribute to Ukrainian culture…
About the song
In 2020 the Go_A group was supposed to perform at Eurovision with the song Nightingale, but due to the pandemic, the international competition was postponed to 2021... This time the band opted for a more restrained style, performing the song "SHUM"... Perhaps - this is one of the brightest songs of this year! The peculiar name and the performance itself refer us to Ukrainian folklore, only in electronic form ... Vocalist Ekaterina Pavlenko uses a vocal technique reminiscent of a controlled scream that you won't soon forget... This is a dynamic electronic song with a pronounced folk groove and vocals, accompanied by a catchy melody performed on a sopilka - a Ukrainian flute.
It is noteworthy that the song is based on the traditional Ukrainian "vesnyanka"! Vesnyanki were part of pre-Christian spring rituals associated with the beginning of spring and the approach of spring field work... Yes, this year Ukraine surprises, seduces and delights! By the way: The lyrics of "SHUM" contain various typical folk agricultural and animistic motifs. The band members themselves describe the meaning as "to awaken and call spring and hasten the awakening of all living things after winter":
“SHUM is the awakening of life in a global sense. For our ancestors, spring symbolized the awakening of life itself ... We all see what we are doing with this world, with nature and life, and if we continue to do this, there will be nothing left for our children. And yet, nature can exist without people… well, you know. So for us, The Noise is a call to look around and realize that we all need to make this world a better place. But we must do it together. We invoke the spirit of Noise to wake sleeping people and bring them joy and light…”
Speech
The song was written by two members of the band, Taras Shevchenko and Katerina Pavlenko, and belongs to the musical genre Folktronica, which is a bit techno-like and very much in line with a song that tends to do well in the Eurovision Song Contest! As for the competition, it was a successful evening for Ukraine and the Go_A group itself, as they not only put on a strong show, but also did enough to score the points needed to get into top 5! For the first time in the history of Ukrainian participation in the contest, the group chose a song entirely in Ukrainian! Technically, this could be the second Ukrainian song (remember the song "Nightingale”, which brought the group victory in the national selection of 2020!) However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Eurovision 2020 did not take place ...
A music video was also filmed for the song, featuring the band and people wearing head-to-toe protective gear, including hazmat suits and face masks:
“In 2021, this ancient tradition takes on a different meaning. During isolation and in full gear - we remind everyone and ourselves that a person needs to be in society, feel part of something bigger and not forget to rejoice! Our new release is dedicated to the integration of the archaic into the present... We really wanted to pay tribute to Ukrainian folklore and show that everything Ukrainian is cool, interesting, and there is something to love about it! It is not something secondary and meaningless. We want to pay more attention to our culture and roots, after all, this is very important. We strive to convey our love to the rest of the Ukrainian people…”
A little about the group
"Go_A" is an electro-folklore group specializing in modern retelling of traditional Ukrainian stories that have already been passed down from generation to generation, by word of mouth ... The name of the group means "return to the origins": a combination of the English word "Go" with the Greek letter "Alpha", symbolizing the beginning of everything ... The history of the band began in 2012: just then, through bold experiments, Taras Shevchenko and Katerina Pavlenko realized that Ukrainian folklore and electronic music are a perfect fusion… Today the band has its own YouTube channel, which is subscribed to almost 100 000 users! At the same time, the views of the video for the song "SHUM" reached more than 5 million ...
