Alvan & Ahez – Fulenn
Now this, lady and gentlemen, this is more like it. Those of you with long memories will remember Brittany’s attempt at Eurovision glory in 1996 and that did quite well. Some of you will remember the Breton song in 1999 that I mentioned on the reviewcast of that contest, what do you mean you have not listened to it??
– in short it was robbed by one of the singers coming in a touch too early on one of the verses, but that too was marvellous.
The 2022 vintage is a mix of the two, and by God I’m loving it … and that’s not at all like me, because I don’t like ethnic shit. This, however, Is BRETON ethnic shit – a whole different flavour. To me, Balkan ethnic songs try too hard and say “Oh Hai, we’ve been wronged for this reason and we’re gonna tell you a story about it” – essentially all Balkan ethnic Eurovision songs have been three-minute whinges. This ain’t no whinge. This comes at you from the first beat and despite knowing no Breton, it reminds me of one of my favourite songs of all time:
and that’s one of the best reasons for liking a song – it takes you back to your happy place.
It is, apparently, about the Breton legend of a young woman who emancipates herself from societal norms by dancing at night bathed in the light from a bonfire, which means that the song will have Celtic-inspired staging and fire all over the place. Couple that with the driving (and frankly relentless) beat, and it has all the makings of a classic.
It is one of the great Eurovision imponderables as to what makes a song resonate with the viewing public, and this has all the ingredients and in a contest that has several identi-kit songs. This has certainly broken the mould enough to get noticed.
Phil’s Score. 12 Points
Any song about dancing in a forest is fine with me. I love that the different languages are starting to come back. Maybe the UK can send a song in Welsh or Gaelic one of these days!