The 2024 edition of Latvian Eurovision selection Supernova is fast approaching, and Jazzi had the chance to speak with ECTO for an interview. ECTO is competing in Supernova 2024 with his song “Outsider”.
Hi ECTO, I would just like to start things off by asking you to introduce yourself?
Hi! My name’s ECTO, I’m a 21 year old musician from Liepaja, Latvia. Before venturing into popular music, I used to attend a classical music school, specializing in playing the piano. I released my debut EP “Waves” in May of last year, then released a single “liquid bones” last November and voila, now I’m in the Supernova final 🙂
Before we continue, let’s start with a quick icebreaker by just asking if there is one thing about yourself that not many people know about?
I’ll actually mention two things – I’m actually fairly decent at cooking haha and the other one regarding Supernova specifically – because of tight schedules and everything, I actually submitted my song 10 minutes before the deadline 🙂
Can I start off by asking, what made you want to participate in the Latvian Eurovision selection?
Participating in Supernova and Eurovision has been a dream of mine for many years now, so I’m super glad that I am in a position now to make it actually happen. I’d been considering participating for multiple years, but this summer I set out to actually create a song for Supernova, then I polished some details for the song in autumn and submitted the song.
You will be participating with the song “Outsider”, what the song is about and what would you like the audience to feel when listening to it?
“Outsider” is about feelings of solitude and alienation, but also about feelings of freedom and finding strength within yourself. I think it’s important to remember that even in the most hopeless situations, there’s a way out.
When I am sending this, we are only a few days away from the final. How are the preparations going for that?
The final preparations are going quite well, we’re changing some things around, regarding movements and camera angles. I had some more cool ideas, that unfortunately could not be implemented, but I think nevertheless the performance is going to be an improvement from the semi final.
What would it mean for you to win Supernova and represent your country at Eurovision?
It would be spectacular, I love Eurovision and it would be such an honor to represent my country in arguably the biggest music competition in the world.
Moving onto Eurovision, what are your earliest memories of the contest, Do you have any favourite songs? Either from Latvia or from any other country
My first Eurovision memory would have to be Latvia’s 2008 entry – Pirates of the Sea “Wolves of the sea”. Absolute banger, still gets me pumped to this day 🙂 And overall, I’d say my favorite Latvian Eurovision entries would have to be Walter’s & Kazha’s “The War is not Over” and Aminata’s “Love Injected”.
To get to the final, you had to first compete in the semi-final last Saturday, how did it feel to reach the final?
It was a phenomenal feeling when the hosts announced I had made it into the final 🙂 Before that we were super nervous, when they announced us, it was also feeling of relief haha
You have a few songs on your Spotify other than Outsider, are there any other songs in your discography that fans of Outsider should go listen to?
I would say, if you want something in a similar line as Outsider, feel free to check out “liquid bones” or “Spotless”, but if you want something a bit tamer, you can check out the song with rock elements “Waves” or piano ballad “Emerald”.
What is one thing that you have learnt from taking part in the national final, that you will take with you going forward?
This has been such a great experience and I hope to be able to do it again, some other year. Moving forward, I’ve learned to trust in myself and my instincts more and I’ve also learned how to work on a team better! I’m very grateful for this opportunity also because of the exposure – I’ve received lots of super nice comments and most importantly – there are now more people than ever that genuinely like my music! It’s such a great feeling honestly and I’m super thankful.
Thank you for this opportunity, and good luck in Supernova 2024, Is there anything you would like to say to the International viewers over at That Eurovision Site?
Dear, That Eurovision Site viewers, thank you for reading this! Hope to see you in the final this Saturday – I’ll be performing fifth, for anyone wondering haha 🙂
Also a big thank you to “Liepājas kompleksā sporta skola” for letting us rehearse in their building
Who is ECTO
ECTO is a 21 year old singer-songwriter from Latvia. He has been pursuing music all his life. Before the release of his Supernova 2024 entry “Outsider” he has also released a few other bits of music. He released his first EP “Waves last year, he has also gone on to release a follow up single to that EP “liquid bones”.
Latvia’s Eurovision Journey
Latvia made their Eurovision debut in 2000, finishing 3rd with “My Star” by Brainstorm. They have performed at every contest since and managed to win in 2002. Marie N sang “I Wanna,” scoring 176 points and bringing Eurovision to Riga in the process. Latvia also managed to finish in the top 10 two more times, in 2005 and 2015.
Latvia’s most recent entry on the Eurovision stage was Sudden Lights, who performed “Aijā”. The song failed to qualify from the semi-final, finishing 11th with 34 points from the televote.
What do you think about this Supernova 2024 entry? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky as we prepare for Eurovision 2024!
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: LTV/Martin Goldbergs
Rory Gannon