Semifinal 2
SEMIFINAL 2
https://youtu.be/xo5NGTwViws?si=3ScEQgViWhfHNucZ
To start off Semifinal 2, we bring you the whispering offstage (Borean? Novaran?) coughs the nation of Veria! Ceithir-mionnaichte (literally “Four-sworn”) is a Ruinaithic folk metal band that incorporates traditional Verian pipes and whistles into their music. Shouting Aloud is one of their recent releases, and the band reportedly chose to put it forward for Urthvision due to its distinctive bagpipe sections. The song’s lyrics, sung in Staynish, were written as a celebration of the Verian Isles’ fighting spirit. In a recent interview, piper and flautist Eòin mac Goraidh stated that he hopes Ceithir-mionnaichte‘s music helps to "expand interest in Verian culture and musical tradition around the world” whether or not their entry makes it to the end of the Urthvision Song Contest.
https://youtu.be/UC7QzXPnt6k?si=c8J9Avc9lG1W2XsH
Due to the lack of interest with other artists, Marchella Lando was picked out to compete for the 4th time in a row for Blueacia!. This time she isn’t going solo but with a close friend of hers Will Simpson. He is a somewhat famous soul singer in Blueacia and Marchella wanted this time to share the spotlight with one of her closest friends. Marchella has said that “whatever will happen this edition of Urthvision, I will not return for a very long time. I’ve done this 4 times now, it’s time for someone else.” Marchella and Will will sing the song Spirit of the Night. The song is about finding love and then going out at night and doing the craziest things together since it’s fun and “who can remember it in the morning”. Let’s hope and see if Lando can bring happiness to Urthvision for one more time and maybe bring Urthvision back home.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWQzjZk2VSU
Next up we have… um… whispering backstage (Who let them into Urthvision?) ahem… we have the Federation. Performing a Codexian translation of their hit song Chère Madame Fontaine with a twist of their lyrics we have Collectif du Temple. Collectif du Temple has been a indie rock band in the Federation for nearly a decade now. Their hit song is about the Federal Prime Minister Léonce Fontaine, the second FPM of the Federation and her moderately controversial policies during her leadership of the country. In a twist to go along with the Codexian translation. They changed the pronouns of the song, more towards a masculine terms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDNDVtoJhik
Now we have Packlivania with their entry by Jablajhid. Jablajhid is one of the few all-human Packilvanian music groups, and one of the few still to achieve any sort of international notoriety. Since their formation, the band’s music has become progressively more popular among younger Packilvanian audiences. Jablajhid first gained global attention after a series of viral music videos, and their Packilvanian lyrics have lent their songs a unique style for foreign listeners. Much of Jablajhid’s music is inspired by the band members’ own experiences of life in the sprawling working-class neighborhoods of Bingol at a time of accelerating social shifts in the Sultanate. Their works deal heavily with everyday change, nostalgia, and a generation’s hopes for the future, a style that is exemplified in Behet Ghol Midam’s tale of a bittersweet breakup.
https://youtu.be/BYmZogQwUGQ?si=zapRIKxoNr-hROqL
This entry is from the small and relatively unknown Auroran island nation of Dewnania, it’s actually their first entry into Urthvision! Please enjoy this Cava band singing in the beautiful Terghyntek language. This is Gwrello Glaw by An Brederedh (Let it Rain by the Brotherhood)!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnJrMTDgTBs&pp=ygUhaSBwdXQgYSBzcGVsbCBvbiB5b3UgYW5uaWUgbGVubm94
Up next we have Reni from Tarseen. Reni sings from the point of view of a devout wife that catches her husband whispering sweet words to another woman. She’s deeply in love with this man and can’t let him go and he takes this to his advantage and drives her mad. In her delusion she turns to Tiefling sorceress in the desert to make him only hers. Here is The Sorceress.
https://youtu.be/S6YYs4kFePY?si=mMSH40bb9gRwtTuq
This next entry was the winner of the 2023 Sayqidi Festival of Melodies (SFM), 16-year-old Elina Arzumanyan is proud to represent her Haqmi roots and hometown of Haraman in an international competition on the scale of Urthvision. She hopes to make Aparapat proud with her song, sung in Haqmi, DANCE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efmfOdCw6Ek
We now move to the West Borean Federation: the country which, it appears, was responsible for causing the great synthesizer and keytar shortage of the 2020s. Aikuszin Tselleu has been a pioneer of Borean synthpop for the past twenty years, and has probably single-handedly kept both manufacturers of instruments and hairspray in business throughout any lean years they may have had. And tonight he’s also keeping us in business with his latest hit song: Automatic Man.
Next up we have AJ Wicklow from Llygad Duw. AJ Wicklow, a half Aivintian performer from the countryside outside Cewri, Llygad Duw, rose to national popularity with music containing religious references within a mortal context, but soon began to branch out, bringing his form of alternative blues to the country with further cultural references and themes of passion and love. In a Week explores these themes with an account of a person and their lover decomposing together in the woods. The idea of death as a return to nature is central to Llygadian culture and religion, and the romanticization thereof is part of Wicklow’s place in the cultural canon.
https://youtu.be/UipzszlJwRQ?si=m8tjOPlIN3iEyU1h
Now we go to Concord with the band Eventyret. Eventyret is a band from Nyveldet who become popular not just in their own region but in the entirety of Norgsveldet for their religious songs. Mixing traditional folk and rock music into their songs, with Ulvedalen being no different. With Ulvedalen being a song about an infamous varg from the Nori Saga. Here is Ulvedalen (The Wolf’s Valley).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Or6QqKGQ0
Now from Axdel we have Treeclawz. Formed in 2004, Treeclawz are renowned for their weary, soulful, pan-genre hip-hop, and this entry is no exception! Collaborating with South Hills rap artist Eli B. Vos, this track was inspired by the frustration and creative demotivation they faced when they were under corporate management, harkening back to their simple days as a small independent band. Here they are, playing Windmill (Feel Good).
https://youtu.be/Vw6qPWhjevk?si=K-EjMHANBxIDqeD-
Lágrimas del Río (Tears from the River) is Peragen’s fifth entry on the Urthvision Songfestival. Palomita will embody no other than the Peragen, Pora, Tumpi and Shams rivers, whose waters, their tears, either by themselves or by the agriculture they make possible, have nurtured hundreds of generations and have provided them with all they needed. The rivers comfort their children with an “eaea” lullaby, while, in echoes, they narrate how a desperate mother wishes for physical immortality by traveling to Olune, so she can watch for her son “all nights but one”. The song itself is an echo of Impelanta’s legendary troubling parenthood, and a reinterpretation of Peragian mythology around Olune and the divine rivers who have fed Peragians from birth to death.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJHe-iZ5HSI
Up next is the entry from Alksearia! A Vesienväller immigrant after the nuclear meltdown disaster, Jere has been breaking records within the Alkari music community. A music charts dominated by Metal and Rock songs, this song has stayed at the number 1 national charts for 3 months. His music is electrifying and passionate. Clubs all across the nation play his song at night to electrifying crowds. Even Queen Dorothea has been seen dancing to his music. Now, it is time for Jere to cha cha cha his way into the hearts of Urthvision with his song Party.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okeq6elcdxM
Now we have the Aldaar entry! Nuur Sahiik came out of basically nowhere in 2023, releasing his second album (and first he helped produce) to national and even global acclaim for his acoustic sound and original lyrics. With an upbeat folk style and messages that are simultaneously dark and optimistic, Sahiik puts Aldaar’s musical tradition on full display and to great effect. Dial Drunk, off the album Stick Season, is fundamentally a song about love, and specifically being in love with someone who you’ve hurt in the past. It explores themes of repentance and sorrow, but also of change and moving forward. Dial Drunk symbolizes being at your lowest point and carrying on regardless, making this song by Nuur Sahiik the perfect song to represent Aldaar at Urthvision XX.
Next up we have the entry from Volkheim. The song I Am What I Am by Philomena Vaughn is among the few non-Volkisch songs from Volkheim, holding a significant place within the LGBTQIA+ community of Volkheim (which is small and often isolated in clusters across the country). The song therefore symbolises a sense of acceptance, community, and coming together for those in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Now comes the time, the time where you all vote for which of these amazing artists will make it to Urthvision XX. You will vote for your favorite songs, giving each 1-12 points. I can’t wait to see who you all pick!