Latvian selection for Eurovision Song Contest 2024 had its semi-final show last Saturday and 10 acts advanced to the final of the show which is set for upcoming Saturday, 10th of February.

Vēstulēs are a new duo emerging on the Latvian music scene. It consists out of Marta and Braiens who are performing the only song in Latvian language at the contest. Find out what did they tell us about their inspiration, ideas and their entry in our interview below.

Hello Vēstulēs, can you tell us more about yourself, your musical beginnings and how the duo came to life?

Hellooooo! We’ve been in music for as long as we can remember. (Marta) I’ve been singing in ensembles, choirs since I was three, and finished music school four years ago. The concerts I was organizing for my family each evening made them notice the passion I had for this form of art; (Braiens) I’ve always sung for fun, but I took up learning piano at 9 and went on for a few years, for the past couple of years just doing so for my own fun. We knew each other well through school, but we realized that we both loved what the other did in music, so we came together to make music together!

How did you decide to take part at Supernova 2024?
It was perfect timing. We had written “kur?”, and since the deadline to apply for Supernova was just around the corner, we both realized that the song was really meant for the contest – so we finished up and sent it in.

How did “kur?” come to life and can you tell us more about it?
(Braiens) As most of my ideas come to life, it was a random burst of feeling on notes and melodies, with its lyrics, and, after some sanding down by Marta, we had a song! The song “kur?” is about the feeling of loneliness, which comes regardless of if you’re alone or with company, and the despair it creates. In the song, however, we find each other.

What can we expect from your performance at Supernova 2024?
You can expect us – it’s not going to be terribly explosive and it’s only us on the stage, but we’ll be as honest as we could be!

Your song is the only one performed in Latvian at Supernova, do you see it as an advantage?
We definitely don’t look at advantages or disadvantages – it’s how we thought we could tell our story best, and, although we’d love to see more and more songs in Latvian, if others see other languages as their best tool, that’s just as fine!

Only once did Latvia send a song performed in Latvian to Eurovision and it was 20 years ago, unfortunately it failed to qualify. Would you like to see more songs in Latvian competing at Supernova?
Definitely! Contrary to popular belief, we think Latvian is a very beautiful language for songs and in general, and it’s personal to us, so we should be prouder using it!

Which artist competing at this year’s Supernova do you see as your biggest competitor? And whose performance are you most excited for?
We don’t know what to expect from anyone, genuinely! If we’re being honest, we don’t look at other participants as our competitors, just new musicians we will be able to meet, hopefully get to know and be inspired by. Since Supernova and Eurovision is such a big part of our childhood and still is, we’re going to be excited about anyone and everyone, just being there is more than we could wish for!

Do you watch Eurovision regularly? Which song is your favourite?
(Marta) We watch it extremely regularly, I’ve made presentations each year about all the contestants, we have watch parties,  – all that jazz. We have so many favorites from ‘’ZITTI E BUONI’’ and ‘’Euphoria’’ to ‘’Voilà’’ and ‘’Only teardrops’’ , but the one we love the most is Salvador Sobral’s “Amar Pelos Dois” – so, so good. I even saw him live a couple of years ago in Paris and this summer we went to Salvador’s sister’s Luísa Sobral’s concert in Vilnius together.

Which musicians inspire you?
We find inspiration in just about everything we listen to – there’s so much music and musicians in our lives, both Latvian and international, but if we had to choose one, it’s definitely the musical genius Jacob Collier and all his magic!

What do you do when you are not singing? Any hobbies?
We’re both still high school students, but we do have time for ourselves. (Marta) I’ve found love for dancing and theater as well – I love seeing plays or musicals live whenever I have the chance to and participate in them as well; (Braiens) I’ve found myself wondering in all the arts – I spend a lot of my time watching and enveloping myself in film – I even had the chance to attend and interview at the European Film Awards, which I cherish dearly!

What are your plans after Supernova?
We’ll keep going! We have so many letters to give out and so many feelings to sing out, so we’re planning on releasing an EP or an album this year, sing a bit in concerts along the way, the whole deal!

Thank you so much for your time Vēstulēs. We wish you the best of luck at Supernova 2024. Do you want to share something else or you maybe have a message for followers of escbubble?
Be honest! Love who and what you love! Enjoy special moments while you can!

You can watch their performance in the semi-final of Supernova 2024 below

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Let us know in the comments below and at our social media @escbubble. what are your thoughts and impressions of “kur?” by Vēstulēs?