KEiiNO are “Dancing In The Smoke”.
The rainforest is burning. The ice is melting. Society cracks. But most of us continue on familiar paths.
“Dancing In The Smoke” is a snapshot of todays world seen through KEiiNO’s eyes. Climatic change is affecting all people in the world, but especially the indigenous people like the Samis. And as they did with their 50+ million streamed hit “Spirit In The Sky“, the Norwegian trio address a serious theme and ask: Do we really want change? Or do we simply not belive we can make a difference?
With elements of nordic folk and Sami joik in their energetic dancepop, KEiiNO took Europe by surprise and won the televote in this years Eurovision Song Contest. The song is co-written & produced together with Bright Sparks (Tiesto, Klingande), Jonas Körper and Rüdiger Schramm. It’s mixed by Christer Cederberg (Julie Bergan) and mastered by Chris Gehringer (Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Cardi B).
If it had only been up to the 200 million TV-viewers, KEiiNO would have won the Eurovision Song Contest in May. Despite being overlooked by the juries, “Spirit In The Sky” ended in sixth place. There is no doubt that the Norwegian band’s mix of dancepop, nordic folk and Sámi joik, has reached a broad audience. “Spirit In The Sky” was awarded 12 points from the public in 8 countries including the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. It performed well on single-charts in many European countries, reached No.10 on the global iTunes-charts and was even the world’s second most viral song on Spotify.
Growing up in a small conservative town, 39-year old singer/songwriter Tom Hugo wanted to write a song about acceptance for being different. He teamed up with 31-year-old rapper/joiker Fred Buljo, who as a Sámi person, could easily rate to the story. 22-year-old singer Alexandra Rotan, who had been told she didn’t fit the pop-industry standards, came on board shortly afterwards, completing the band.
Tom Hugo has had a fair share of radio play with releases in Norway and Germany, Fred has toured extensively with his rap-duo Duolva Douttar and Alexandra has toured as DJ-star Alan Walker’s singer. Although the three singers have had some success as solo artists, their dreams were truly realised once they joined forces. A force the Sámi – the indigenous people of Norway – believe one can find connecting with nature. The northern lights, dancing colourful and free, serve as a symbol of how KEiiNO belive all people in the world should be allowed to feel – regardless of who they love, how they look or where they are from.
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