XX. Tödlichebujoku
"Feel Alive" - Noravas ft. Álvrüttá Matsuvoka
Language(s): English
Lyrics: Álvrüttá Matsuvoka
Music: Artteman Vanhanen, Álvrüttá Matsuvoka, Armo Mori
Tune:Gryffin, ZOHARA - Remember
Artteman Vanhanen, better known as Noravas, and Álvrüttá Matsuvoka first met on the matrix shard for one of Noravas's early songs. The two connected quickly over their love of the electronic genre, but the pace of their lives and simple distance prevented them from collaborating for years. It was only during a festival in Eisikke-ka that the east coast producer and the west coast singer were able to meet in person and actually come up with any plans at all for a proper collaboration. Their concept was still in the early stages when TÖBUK and Estegoa100 scouted them out based on their previous work for a potential spot in the largest edition of Sinun Valintasi yet- SV Starfall. Intrigued by the idea, and having been previously been inspired by previous Tödlichebujoki WorldVision and World Hit Festival acts, the two agreed to participate in the national selection, and were eventually placed in the PULSAR semi-final. The pair quickly gained favor with international juries, sailing through their semi before placing second in the cutthroat COLLISION final against a variety of competitive acts, holding their own against the MAGMA pre-qualifiers that ended up dominating the top of the final standings. The two certainly did not originally enter to win, but with their growing traction, they realized that the path was open and that they were really in for the long haul. With Starfall winner Rasiña managing 6th place in WorldVision 80, Álvrüttá and Artteman realized that they would really have to push hard in order to do Tödlichebujoku's prior entrant and 2nd placer VELUNA any justice at all. The pressure was on.
The stage slowly begins to glow with a deep blue haze, which morphs in an iridescent manner to a deep red that pulsates with the beat. A bright white spotlight shines down upon the backside of Álvrüttá, who is dressed in a slim, shimmering white gown that trails down behind her. At first she is facing away from the audience, eventually turning her head back to face them, before ultimately turning back and hanging her head in internal turmoil, taking a moment to take a breath and steady her nerves. In the mist of the soft haze, she appears to glow in the white light, ethereal and otherworldly like a fever dream
Each night we're focused on fighting
Though there's no passion igniting
Maybe it's not worth this denying
Oh there never was enough
There never was enough
Álvrüttá whirls around, arcing her head around just so in a comfortable fashion, letting her hair follow her movement and wrap over to her front in an elegant motion, thus breaking the façade of an illusion and shifting back into sharp reality. She raises her head upwards to the light, as if pleading for answers from the gods above, before sinking her weary gaze back down toward the audience before her, eyes drained of hope and desperate. Around her wraps an oppressive darkness, virtually a physical presence despite the pulsating haze below and the spotlight above, a faint crackle of electric light occasionally visible in the dark mist around her
Found me searching for answers
Why we're in a disaster, zone
I feel I'm swimming through darkness
Won't ever find enough
Won't ever find it
With the transition to the chorus, the ambient pulsing and lights dissipate, leaving Álvrüttá alone glowing in a cloud of crackling darkness that blends into the darkness throughout the arena. She strikes an arm outward, pushing away the darkness, which crackles angrily upon contact. She continues pushing at it with both arms as she continues, stepping forward, such that the crackling darkness begins to recede behind her and become a background, instead of a danger and obstacle. Upon singing "Gotta close this door in our lives," she steps fully clear of the darkness and shines with all her glory
Can't keep pretending
That all our heartbeats tremble for something
That we both know we won't wait for nothing
Gotta close this door in our lives
And let's feel alive
The darkness fades away, melding into the rest of the unlit expanse of the arena, as pure beams of light pierce across the stage and interior, lingering for a moment like brilliant lightning bolts, before dissipating and giving way to a new beam of light elsewhere in the arena. Álvrüttá slowly whirls around, the camera view tracking her face from an angle above, the beams of light visible as they pierce diagonally in different directions around her as she clutches at herself, her eyes closed as the occasional gleam of light bounces off her and reflects into the camera view
Oh, baby, let me go
Oh, baby, let me go
Oh, baby, let me go
Let me, let me
Oh, baby, let me go
Oh, baby, let me go
Oh, baby, let me go
I gotta feel alive, I gotta feel
Álvrüttá leans and transitions into an elegant dance, grooving to the music, arms over her head and down her body, as bolts of light hit her from random directions, and vertical lights blink down over the audience, slowly slanting diagonally away from the stage. Flanking her, on the side portions of the stage floor, are visions of two feminine-looking figures on each side, one silver and one charcoal black, performing a combative yet also avoidant dance, dueling in close quarters and then separating to be yards apart, mirroring one another's moves as they circle one another, eventually turning away, with the silver figure mirroring Álvrüttá's moves
Can't keep pretending
That all our heartbeats tremble for something
That we both know we won't wait for nothing
Gotta close this door in our lives
And let's feel alive
The figures fade away as the focus returns to Álvrüttá, however shots of light still flash across the air to the beat as she stops dancing and returns her attention to the audience before and around her. She strides to the edge of the stage gazing straight toward the audience, and straight into the camera view as it passes near her, determined, direct, and unwavering. A faint breeze shifts her hair ever so slightly as she turns away in disappointment and weariness at the last two lines
You don't believe its deceiving
I know you see what I'm seeing
I'm dreaming of freedom
And this just isn't love
No it just isn't love
A low rim of fire rises along the edge of the stage, as a camera shot along its length captures prophetic visions within the myriad dancing flames that shift colors beyond the ordinary range of white to red. Soon after, another shot at about waist height pans by Álvrüttá, facing upward toward the wavering, star-like lights far above her, the occasional diagonal beam of light flashing by, before being replaced by a more traditional shot of her, with a distant gaze, first in the direction of the fire, then in the direction of the stars. She then turns back to the audience with a sweeping, disappointed glance
I look to the fire that's breathing
I turn to the stars for their meaning
But they answer the same, oh
This never was enough
It never was enough
A large number of spotlights concentrate around Álvrüttá, strobing around her in a conical pattern as she raises her arms out in front of her, as if pleading. The strobing spotlights transition to several sets of spotlights that flash in different configurations around her in time to the beat. Putting all of her power in her voice, Álvrüttá feels as if her world is bounded by the array of spotlights flashing around her, making a conscious effort to look beyond toward the audience, and toward the broadcast crystals hovering around her, to smoothly transition between the two points of focus
Can't keep pretending
That all our heartbeats tremble for something
That we both know we won't wait for nothing
Gotta close this door in our lives
And let's feel alive
Oh, baby, let me go
Oh, baby, let me go
Oh, baby, let me go
Let me, let me
Oh, baby, let me go
Oh, baby, let me go
Oh, baby, let me go
I gotta feel alive, I gotta feel
A gust of wind blasts upon her, so that the fire along the stage edge billows into a huge blast of flame, whereupon Álvrüttá's gown burns off and dissolves into smoke, leaving her with a skintight shimmering golden jumpsuit, her skin and hair unsinged, her appearance otherwise untouched. She spins around, the light reflecting off her suit in a dazzle, before leaning forward, into the song, with all her energy
Can't keep pretending
That all our heartbeats tremble for something
That we both know we won't wait for nothing
Gotta close this door in our lives
And let's feel alive
The lighting dies down, the fire ceases, as Álvrüttá transitions to a calmer, more fluid dance that is only visible during the occasional, sporadic flash of light amidst the utter darkness, her outfit radiant with every flash, and every flash coming in faster and faster as the song builds back up to the final chorus
I gotta feel alive
I gotta feel alive
I gotta feel alive
I gotta feel alive
I gotta feel alive
I gotta feel alive
This never was enough
What will it take now?
As the lighting intensifies, Artteman makes an appearance clad all in black, with a black jacket on top. Surrounded by bursts of sparks, the two re-enact the dance performed by the figures earlier on in the performance, starting with an intimate, yet combative choreography that transitions to a distant circling with mirrored moves. Álvrüttá's dancing grows more euphoric and liberated as the chorus goes on
Can't keep pretending
That all our heartbeats tremble for something
That we both know we won't wait for nothing
Gotta close this door in our lives
And let's feel alive
The lights cut out bit by bit, as the two fall to the floor, reaching for one another, before turning away, the camera capturing the two from above as they form a symmetrical pattern on the stage floor
I gotta feel alive
I gotta feel alive
I gotta feel alive
I gotta feel alive
Something, I gotta feel it
The light lingers on Álvrüttá before blinking out
"Kiitos kaikille, Sinnlichšukai!" shouted Álvrüttá after getting back on her feet. Next to her, Artteman nods, tossing out a quick "Rauha, suk" with a quick salute before the two executed a quick bow and exited the stage.
