Erina and the Elementals is a blues-rock, heavy metal band who is also performing songs infused with prog and folk elements. The members of the band are: Erina Seitllari, singer who blew the Albanian audience during the fourth season of “The Voice Albania”. She later on performed as vocalist of international metal band Venus 5 with whom she got the award as best breakthrough rock act of 2022 from the Femmetal magazine; Erina is joined by the songwriter, producer and a session guitarist Altin Gjoni and Arvit Banishta on bass and vocals. They are the only Albanian band signed by a UK label FutureWorks Music.

Hello Erina, Albanian audience got familiar with you after your participation at the fourth edition of “The Voice Albania” back in 2014 how did that experience influence your life?

The Voice of Albania was my very first real experience of professional singing & performing and, most importantly it put me on the track of following music beyond a passion. What I gained from it the most, I believe is the connection I made back in the day with musicians, some of which are involved in our little trio 🙂

How did Erina & The Elementals came to life, can you tell us more about the music style you perform?

Me and Altin Gjoni I have been performing and writing together as part of different line-ups for years now, yet this was when the stars aligned and we had so much music from years before and just needed the right people to let it out. After the Elementals assembled with Arvit on bass and I had just finished the Album and European dates with Venus 5 we knew from the first jam together than something was boiling and it felt true and special.

We had the elements, we had one of us who wrote, who produced, the players and other ‘contrary skills’ assembled from different experiences in life that contributed to the whole. I’d say we are bitter sweat rock with a bite, blending the blues, hard rock with our pure intent to deliver the truth 🙂

Our first single might be the bittersweet part, but “Jetën N’skaj” is a visceral beast!

You performed a lot at different festivals and clubs, which song do you enjoy performing the most and is there a performance which stayed in a special memory for you? If you want you can share it with our readers?

The song we enjoy performing the most is without a doubt “Back Home,” the first single we released with the UK label ‘Future Works.’ I believe each time we play it in Tirana, whether it’s a small or big event there is always either a small or big bunch that sings along to the chorus, and that is special to us especially Altin who wrote the lyrics and to whom they mean a lot.

If I could point out just one memory, it would be when we opened for the legendary Animals & friends in Tirana’s amphitheater. We met the drummer and Animals founding member John Steele after, and he said ‘that was a good Zeppelin version you did there!’

He probably knows Jimmi Page, so it’s a lot coming from him!

What’s the story behind your entry “Jetën N’skaj” and what does it mean for you?

Altin started writing “Jetën N’skaj” out of a demo he and I developed a few years back. The song was always related to the feeling of not belonging, of unachieved potential, and the feeling of having had ‘wasted years,’ whilst other people left us at 27 and changed the world.

I think Altin was having his “I was contemplating my mortality period” all artists have and hapened to be 27 at the time. That is all we can say for now 🙂

Can you reveal us more what can we expect from your performance?

A Let Loose, refined, visceral, and rough rock n’ roll show 🙂 That’s the fancy way of putting it; the easy is saying that we will play as if we always do, full on. Doesn’t matter if it’s 10 people or 100,000 out there.

With which other contestant of this year’s Festival i këngës would you like to record a duet?

We have been listening to Kastro Zizo since we were kids, and that guy has a unique touch on all. Recording something eccentric and out of the charts with him would be fun!

What is your first memory related to Eurovision? Do you watch the show regularly and which song is your favourite?

Yes, we do. It’s an Albanian TV favourite since forever, even before our country participated. I do have memories from way back, but the first big one is probably competing the Eurovision with Anjeza Shahini. Hard Rock Hallelujah is our favorite song by far, and ofc, followed up by ABBA; who doesn’t love ABBA?

In case you win FiK 62 what would it mean for you to represent Albania at Eurovision Song Contest 2024?

It would an honor, and second, it would be a way to inspire Albanian and all European underground artists who came from the local scene and that live on music but don’t find many ways to express themselves that all is possible if you put the love and work.

We just want to do our thing and tell the truth with music, and even if it’s a Eurovision stage, you will see the very same thing, slightly more refined perhaps, as you would have seen many years ago when we played only small clubs.

What do you do when you are not creating music and singing? Any hobbies?

I love witchcraft and everything related to the power of nature and magic. Altin is a kind of a jack-of-all-trades character no one really knows where to put; he kind of fits everywhere and nowhere besides guitar and music you’ll see him climb a mountain, go on a weird trip, talk physics,  write articles and some marketing wizardry I know not much about – while Arvit is as if he’s out of a 80s hair metal band and he lives the part whilst being an audio nerd and as funny and lively as one can get.

What are your plans after Festival i këngës?

Release our EP then the Album and hopefully manage to tour a few dates in Europe and the UK later next year.

Thank you so much for your time Erina & The Elementals. We wish you the best of luck at Festivali i këngës. Do you want to share something else or you maybe have a message for followers of escbubble?

Thank you for having us! We’d love first to thank everyone who lends an ear to our music, even though we are a language and many miles apart and the second thing is to tell you all how special you are for upcoming artists – if it wasn’t for passionate people you that are willing to put your attention to where not all do, so few good and new thing would happen in music.

You can watch Erina & The Elementals perform “Jetën N’skaj” for the first time live on Wednesday 19th of December during the second night of Festivali i Këngës 62.

Don’t forget to check our interviews with Festina, Luan, Andi, Peter Pan Quartet, Eldis and Irma who are also competing at Festivali i Këngës 62. Stay tuned for the news about the show itself by following our social media platforms @escbubble.