“Sudden Lights: From Childhood Dreams to Representing Latvia at Eurovision 2023”

LTV: When and how did you realize that music was what you wanted to do?

Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis: Music has always been very close to my heart, I started playing the violin at the age of six, gradually I also got to know other instruments – piano, guitar. I never thought of doing anything else. I studied violin at the Pāvuls Jurjānas Music School, then guitar at the Jāzeps Mediņš Riga 1st Music School, and currently I am studying guitar at the Jāzeps Vītolas Academy of Music of Latvia.

Kārlis Vārtins: I probably realized this in the last years of music school, when I got to know my three colleagues, bandmates, friends. It was a time when we had lessons in solfeggio and music literature, but one day we thought that we could ask the attendant for a class where we go to play not what is written, but songs that we like ourselves. We started playing pieces of “Brainstorm” and “Coldplay”, showing love for music in a different form. We realized that we can play what we want, so it continued until we realized that we can also write our own music.

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Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis: I have wanted to do music from a very early age, I remember how my brother Karl and I used to climb on a small table in the living room and hold concerts for our parents. I was about five, six years old when I listened to “Brainstorm” tapes. Music has been my dream since a very early age. I played the clarinet at the Pāvul Jurjānas music school. I finished the music school so successfully that I was invited to study at the secondary school, which in turn then took me all the way to the Jāzeps Vītolas Latvian Music Academy, which I graduated from last year.

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Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis: I knew that music was what I wanted to do since I was a child, but the last impulse was after high school. I realized that I want to do this thing really seriously and together with these guys. All four of us graduated from Pāvuls Jurjānas Music School. Now I study at the Academy of Music.

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What has been your highlight in music so far?

Kārlis Vārtins: One of the brightest moments was definitely in 2018, when “Prāta vētra” invited us to warm up the concerts in the big “Skārdas drum tour” – it was a leap into completely new horizons, because we were relatively inexperienced, having only played a couple of concerts, taking part in “Supernova” for the first time. And here suddenly we are driving in a bus, we look at the big concert venue and stage in Jelgava and realize that this is serious – thousands of people will have to go play right away.

Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis: That summer was full of adventures, we were able to learn from “Brainstorming”, to see how the great work is done. It was really both valuable and very interesting.

Kārlis Vārtins: And quite recently there was the second highlight – we won “Supernova” and now we will go to Eurovision.

Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis: My most vivid musical experience is definitely connected with the group “Sudden Lights”, and I would say that the greatest experiences happen when creating new songs, because in those moments there is magic, an interaction between the four of us that no one could have predicted before. Those moments are beautiful and magical, because in the end, you don’t believe that what you hear is our creation.

In what three words would you describe the band Sudden Lights?

Kārlis Vārtins: Energetic, I would like to say also stylish and definitely friendly.

Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis: Friendship, because I believe that it must be a basic component in a successful music group, because otherwise it is very difficult to survive the first years. Therefore, friendship is the cornerstone on which everything rests. There is also an internal rivalry within ourselves – between all four in various ways and areas. We like to make fun of or tease each other sometimes. And I would say that it is important to feel this sporting excitement in the creative process. The third word is nonsense. All kinds of stupid things that we can only do with each other that other people might not understand. Yes, in this team you can feel free about anything, even your most stupid idea.

Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis: Energetic, family-oriented, powerful.

Is there an interesting but little-known fact you can discover about yourself?

Kārlis Vārtins: I guess singing in the shower is not original, but I do it often. I also know how to whistle with my hands – Andrejs taught me, so sometimes I stand out at events with what others can’t.

Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis: I like to eat bare onions with salt. Taste! That might be the weirdest thing about me.

Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis: I drink freshly squeezed orange juice every day.

Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis: This is a fact that I got laughed at in the group – I’m a big bather, I really love baths and water in general.

What emotions, lessons and experiences do you want to have at Eurovision?

Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis: At the Grand Eurovision, I would definitely like to experience stress and learn to deal with it. I look forward to the many encounters that are sure to come.

Kārlis Vārtins: Stage experience – this would be important for me as a musician who is still following his musical path. We all aspire to the big stages, and the Eurovision stage, the event, the big attention will give us a boost that will probably help a lot in future concerts as well. I would like to gain confidence in myself, being on the biggest European stage.

Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis: I have heard from the previous representatives of Latvia in Eurovision that it is the biggest stress in life, and I would like to enjoy it. I think that the ability to digest this stress and turn it into your strength is very important in the field in which we operate. And I also want to see how all of this will be reflected in our team, because we have never had such a large and concentrated time together and working together. I am very interested in how much this will change us as a collective. And I also hope that all this will not become a tiring job at one point, but that the experience will always bring pleasure.

Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis: I want to be there, see how everything happens, go on this adventure!

CONTEXT:

In 2023, the Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Liverpool, Great Britain. Latvia will be represented in the competition by the group “Sudden Lights” with the song “Aijā”.

In 2022, the Ukrainian representatives “Kalush Orchestra” won the competition with the song “Стефания”, however, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided to entrust the organization of the 2023 competition on behalf of Ukraine to Great Britain.

Latvia’s representatives will perform in the first semi-final of the competition on May 9, where Norway, Malta, Serbia, Portugal, Ireland, Croatia, Switzerland, Israel, Moldova, Sweden, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Finland will also participate. The second semi-final of Eurovision will be held on May 11 and Armenia, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Romania, Albania, Australia, Austria, Georgia, Lithuania, Poland, San Marino and Slovenia will participate in it.

The final of the competition will be held on May 13.

The group “Sudden Lights” consists of Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis (vocals), Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis (guitar), Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis (percussion instruments) and Kārlis Vārtiņš (bass guitar).