Samo Mi Se Spava by Luke Black.
I just want to sleep, says Luke Black. 31 songs into this year’s Countdown, Luke, I hear you.
Luke starts his performance having a lie down, atop what appears to be a giant orchid. If he has nodded off, then what is playing out on stage seems like some kind of fever dream. He’s surrounded by dancers at first lifeless connected by tubes that plug into their backs which Luke, having bothered himself to get up, uncouples from them and they become more animated.
The music is dark and electronic. It feels a bit industrial at times. There’s some kind of Transformer like robot on the screen behind them all, with references to gaming throughout the song. Before we know it it’s game over and the performance is done.
Thematically there are elements of the fear of losing yourself, maybe slipping away entirely if you fall into a deep, deep slumber. Perhaps it’s the ultimate call to be woke; literally.
Maybe it’s the Konstrakta effect in full force; the Serbian final seemed chock full of more creative presentations like this one. I’m all for it, though whether it helps its chance of qualification I’m less sure. It’s quite early out of the gate too, so could be surpassed in the memory by some of the 2023 Contest’s likely biggest hitters. It would be a shame if such originality wasn’t rewarded though. I want to see more risk-taking after Konstrakta’s spectacular pay-off for doing so last year.
My marks: 7 points
Thank you! My favourite song this year (though few people get it).