Close to Infinity, from Estonia, will compete in the Estonian national selection for Eurovision 2017 with Ian Karell, with their song ”Sounds like home”. They will compete in the second semi-final of Eesti Laul, with the hope of winning their ticket for the Final. They took the time to talk to ESCBubble about their song and their participation in the Estonian national selection this year:

What was your first reaction when you were told that you would compete in the Estonian national selection for Eurovision 2017?

Surprised. At least for a few moments before the surprise turned into super excitement. 

Why did you decide to enter the Estonian national selection for Eurovision this year with your song ‘’Sounds like home’’?

Since the story of “Sounds Like Home” is specifically about feeling at home and Estonia it seemed like a good fit for Eesti Laul.

How would you describe your song in a few words? Is there message behind your song?

The song is about finding your home emotionally and/or physically and it’s a song for anyone who is on their search. The song features Ian’s personal story and emotions about his experience while moving to Estonia.

Could you tell us a bit more about yourself and your musical career?

Close to Infinity (CTI) was formed way back in 2009 by former classmates Johannes and Sander. CTI has been on a long hiatus, but now is active again and “Sounds Like Home” with Ian was the first single after the hiatus. Ian has been singing since he was 15, fronting many different bands throughout the years from punk to metal. Also now doing some hip hop and hopefully some other interesting stuff as well.

Do you have other plans for 2017?

We are planning to play some concerts and write new material in collaboration with Ian. Don’t want to give away anything yet, but there will be some exciting stuff coming. 

Do you have any goals for the national final this year?

To have a great time! 

What would it mean for you to get the chance to represent your country in Kyiv?

It would be a great honour and responsibility. Making it this far has already been very awesome, but going to Eurovision would be a very cool experience.

Are you a Eurovision fan? What are your favourite Eurovision songs?

We try to watch it every year. We always check out Estonia’s performance and also the top songs. Loreen’s “Euphoria” and Latvia’s entry in 2015 “Love Injected” come to mind, but there are a lot of interesting songs. 

What do you think of the previous Estonian participants in Eurovision?

We always root for the Estonian participants and we think they were all of top quality.

Do you have any special ideas (ex: dancers, choreography…) for your live performance during the national selection?

We would like to leave that a surprise. Watch our performance and see wink

Do you have musical inspirations?

There are a lot of them and different for each person involved with this song and some of it overlaps and some of it doesn’t. We discovered that we all used to listen to some punk and punkrock bands when we were teenagers (Rise Against, Blink 182, Green day, Offspring etc) .

What would you like to say to your fans who are going to support during the national selection?

Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!

Fun facts about Close to Infinity:

What is your favourite …?

• Song : too many to name
• Book : too many to name
• Artist : Roy Lichtenstein, Salvador Dali, also many many other
• Movie : Anything by Wes Anderson, also many many others
• Sport : Football
• Dish : Pizza!

We would like to thank Close to Infinity and Ian Karell for taking the time to do this interview and wish them the best of luck for the national selection! If Close to Infinity are one of your personal favorites in the second semi of Eesti Laul, make sure you cast your vote for them and for four other acts in our poll here: