A few weeks ago, we interviewed Filips Lindfors, who composed two Dziesma 2013 entries: “Upside Down” by Sabine Berezina and “Phoenix Fly” by Kristine Somase. Today, we interview his co-composer of “Phoenix Fly,” Mathias Kallenbergers.
ESC UNITED: First off, congratulations of your success in Dziesma 2013. Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became a songwriter.
MATHIAS: I’ve been writing songs as far back as I can remember. But it wasn’t until after I hooked up with my collegue Andreas Berlin that I reached a better potential.
ESC UNITED: How would describe your song “Phoenix Fly”?
MATHIAS: A strong ballad with lyrics that some people may identify themselves with.
ESC UNITED: What led you to deciding to submitting “Phoenix Fly” to Dziesma 2013?
MATHIAS: A publisher asked us if we could submit a song.
ESC UNITED: So where were you when you found out “Phoenix Fly” made it? What was the first thing you did?
MATHIAS: I think we were in the studio. Big smiles everywhere of course!
ESC UNITED: Since you are not performing “Phoenix Fly,” how did you find Kristine Somase? How did you know she’d be the right choice for your song?
MATHIAS: Kristine was, I think, selected by the Latvian Eurovision team. She’s a great pick for this song, Kristina has a big voice.
ESC UNITED: Now that we are a few days away from Dziesma 2013, how are you feeling? How are you and your team preparing for your Semi-Final?
MATHIAS: We are going to be there! It will be fun.
ESC UNITED: What do you believe is the key to winning a song contest like Dziesma or Eurovision?
MATHIAS: Great song, great artist, great production and a great stage set.
ESC UNITED: Do you have any favorite Eurovision songs?|
MATHIAS: I have many! Euphoria was huge!
ESC UNITED: What advice would you give to anyone interested in songwriting?
MATHIAS: Don’t give up! It’s about talent, but also hard work.
ESC UNITED: Any closing thoughts you would you like to share with your fans?
MATHIAS: Thank you for listening to “Phoenix Fly” – I hope we go all the way!
ESC UNITED: Mathias, thank you for your time, and best of luck this weekend at Dziesma 2013.
Catch Mathia’s song at Dziesma 2013! “Phoenix Fly” will be performed by Kristine Somase on February 9, 2013.
Roy van der Merwe
February 6, 2013 at 05:19
I love duets when people are performing and I also like DUET composers – teams like PAUL MCCARTNEY and JOHN LENNON or NICKY CHINN & MIKE CHAPMAN or RALPH SIEGEL and BERND MEINUNGER – I always think two can better a song as one person may not see that changing here or there could better the song. So lets hope this duet team of songswriters can go all the way and bring us the LATVIAN entry for 2014