Meet Eesti Laul 2016 participants Würffel
The 2016 edition of Eesti Laul kicks off this Saturday with the first semi-final. The second act to perform will be electronic trio Würffel.
Würffel is an old Estonian word which has fallen out of use but the electronic pop trio who have adopted it as their band name think it suits them perfectly.
"Some people say we sound quite 80s, so I guess we are quite old-school," said vocalist Rosanna Lints.
Würffel was formed by Kaspar Kalluste and Tarvi Kull who both play keyboards and produce the songs.
Initially it was just the two of them together until they invited Lints to join the group. Lints also writes the lyrics to Würffel's songs.
"Tarvi and I usually write the music together and then send the demos to Rosanna for her to come up with a vocal idea," said Kalluste.
"Then we produce it a bit more all together before Rosanna writes the lyrics."
This is the group's first foray into Eesti Laul though Lints has twice been involved in the contest, once as a soloist in 2013 and as a member of 'POP Maniacs' in 2012.
"Previously I was asked if I would like to sing certain songs for Eesti Laul," she said.
"But this time it's not actually about Eesti Laul, it's about the band."
Kalluste was convinced to enter a song into the competition after some friendly pressure from Eesti Laul producer Mart Normet.
"Our studio is across the road [from ERR's studio] so we often eat at the cafeteria there," he said.
"But I'm not usually so into these music contests because music is so subjective."
The lyrics of "I'm Facing North" were inspired by the way that the harsh northern weather changes the way people think.
"We were having a discussion about the climate in Estonia and how it changes our state of mind," said Lints.
"The demo we had just recorded had a real Nordic vibe to it, so the lyrics came from that."
"The song is of course still about love," added Kalluste.
The winner of Eesti Laul will go on to represent Estonia at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest, but this is not a primary focus for the band.
"The goal is to be proud of the whole performance and be happy with it," said Lints. Kalluste added: "This is a good PR project for us to make ourselves more known."
"There are a few songs that are good for Eurovision but the rest are not very typical, which is very cool," he said.
The group initially felt it difficult to specifically name other songs in which they were especially fond of due to the familiar nature of the local music industry.
"Estonia is so small that most of these people are our friends," said Kalluste.
"But I like 'Cartoon' and 'I Wear* Experiment'."
Lints said she liked "Windy Beach" and "Meisterjaan", with the latter being because of him being "comedy, but good comedy."
Kull having just heard a rehearsal by "The Jingles" confessed that he thought they were "very good."
Würffel are currently working on an album that is expected to be released sometime in March but will next be performing at Tallinn Music Week.
Würffel will perform in the first semi-final of Eesti Laul on Saturday 13 February.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn