Croatian rock three-piece Supersonic Trio got in touch with ESCBubble ahead of their performance in semi-final 2 of Dora 2025 with the song Animal.  You can remind yourself of their song by watching below, and vote in our poll for your Dora favourites.

Semi-final 2 of Dora will take place this Thursday (28th February) at 8:15pm CET, with 8 out of 12 acts qualifying for the grand final on Sunday.

Hi guys – thanks for taking time out of your schedule to chat to ESCBubble! So, who are each of the members of Supersonic Trio, and how did you guys meet / form a band?

The members of Supersonic Trio are Leo Anđelković, Luka Banić and Mario Huljev. All three of us are long-time active musicians and performers with various releases and collaborations through out our careers so far. Luka and Mario first met in year 2017. We got to know each other quick and shared similar taste in music, and had our first recordings on the night we met. After recording on a daily basis we got up to 24 songs defined in sense of composition, harmony, vocal melody and lyrics also. We had a short break and in the meantime Luka and Leo met, Luka introduced him to the music that we’d created and after that all three of us made our first recording as a trio together in a legendary studio in the Zvijezda neighbourhood near the city centre. After that we’ve been recording continuously and have produced a lot of songs along the way. We decided to pick 11 songs that go together with each other for the first album that’s planned to be released after Dora.

From the music of yours I’ve heard, you sport a fairly classic, almost country, rock style, with fur coats and shades. How would you define your style, and which rock performers inspire you the most?

There are so many influences from rock performers that inspired us. From the pioneers of rock like Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Cream, Pink Floyd, The Doors, to the hard rock scene like Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and so on. Also the scene that came after with bands like Queen, David Bowie, Genesis U2, Simple Minds…. but we are not only influenced by rock, we also share interest in other genres of music like soul, funk, gospel, experimental, jazz, country, grunge, house, techno, drum and bass, classical and pop. Performers like James Brown, Parliament Funkadelic, Prince, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Etta James, Sarah Vaughan, Curtis Mayfield, Aretha Franklin, Jestofunk, David Sylvian, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Nirvana and many more that should be included in this list.

Despite recent winners like Måneskin and Lordi, rock music is still seen as a bit of a novelty when it comes to the Eurovision Song Contest. Why do you think that is, and what do you bring that makes you stand out?

I don’t know why rock is seen as novelty. The fact that stands is that it’s not often seen and heard like genres like pop, dance, ethno or classical ballads on Eurovision. I think we have a specific sound that differs from other rock performers. A strange combination of rock riffs and industrial noise with some interesting lyrics.

Now, let’s talk about your song for Dora 2025, Animal. What was the writing process like? Was it written specifically with Dora / Eurovision in mind?

We had no thoughts about Dora or Eurovision while we were writing this song. The song was only finished when we added a missing piece which Leo created by improvising vocally over the track, it was quite challenging to write a song which had a frame already. The idea for Dora came long after we finished the song.

In your song, you speak of being an animal, but I’d love to ask each of you: if you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

Luka would be a lonesome wolf because he gathers his strength during the night and likes to travel alone. Leo would be a lion because his behaviour is really similar to a lion in a sense that he’s very protective of his closest ones. And Mario would be either tiger or a dolphin, because both are really fast, strong and skilful, and do what they need to survive.

You go all-out with the post-apocalyptic, hell-like visuals in your music video – how was this created, and who’s responsible?

The idea of dominant red colours used as a part of costumes and also in different shades of red in the background came from the band. Also the idea of using chains to portray the individual torment and something which prevents us from growth and becoming free, as parts of modern technology like cell phones, came from the band too.

Everything else was done by our video maker, producer and visual editor Dinko Doringo. He also did our first video for our single, Supersonic Trio, so as always he was open to our ideas and visions for the video for Animal, we did some brainstorming in the studio prior to shooting the video and our make-up artist Julija was very much involved with all three of us. The main idea was to show a big struggle, an emotional prison, wars that go on within ourselves and in the same time the attempt to cut ourselves off from nature completely. The video is showing hell like ambience on purpose, but on the other hand it’s also showing an exit from it. The word ‘animal’ here is not in a negative context, but more as an inner primal natural instinct that’s supposed to keep us alive.

In a similar vein, when it comes to your performance at Dora, can we expect more of the same? Without giving too much away, what are you planning to do on-stage to compliment the song?

Our performance is based on organic movement of the band while performing the song, the interaction between the three of us in some crucial spots, and energy-wise we have to be totally pumped up and go crazy. The song is supposed to shake people up, and we intend to do so on stage.

Other than your own, whose song in this year’s Dora selection are you listening to the most, and which of the other performers do you get on well with?

Songs that got stuck with us from this year performers are: Lies Lay Cold by Ananda, Znak by Nipplepeople, Gorjelo je by Marin Jurić Čivro, Poison Cake by Marko Bošnjak and Extra by Fenksta. I’ve met Marin Jurić Čivro on one festival that goes on in Croatia and he seemed like a very nice guy, so I wish him all the best in this competition. Also we wish all contestants and performers of Dora to have a great show regardless of the genre and style of music.

Now let’s speak about the potential endgame of Dora: the Eurovision Song Contest. Do you consider yourself fans of Eurovision? What are the main performances that have stood out to you through the years?

I wouldn’t say we are fans of Eurovision, I’d say we are fans of music and we dedicated our lives to it. And Eurovision is a great chance to show your colours as live performers and  songwriters as well, the potential reach of a song is huge and it allows your song to be heard by so many people. As musicians we love to perform, so in a way, you can say we are fans of all live shows. Though a lot of instruments are played from tracks, the vocals are always live and singers are telling the story, so a lot of weight is on singers. The performances that stood out for us over the years are definitely when we won as a country with Riva, with Rock Me, when Doris Dragović performed with Marija Magdalena, and also Toni Cetinski with Nek ti bude ljubav sva.

Finally, what would it mean to represent Croatia in front of millions worldwide at Eurovision?

It would be very fullfilling for all three of us to represent our country at Eurovision. We were all born and raised in Croatia, we share the same space, were influenced by a lot of things that were going on here as teenagers, and picked up our skills while playing anywhere we could in crucial periods when we were developing as persons and musicians. Our country is unbelievably beautiful and was the source of inspiration for all of us, so you can say that we would be proud to represent it.

And now for some bonus fan questions so we can get to know you better…

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done together, either as a band or in your life?

There was this one time: we had a deal that we would meet in the studio, which is in Leo’s house, at 20.00h. I (Mario) came first and while I was pouring myself a drink, Leo and Luka called me up, told me that there was some accident on the road in front of them. Nasty. So knowing that usually I write quite fast sometimes, they told me to write a song on that topic in the time that takes them to arrive. I did. When they came in, we recorded that song very quickly. A trippy experience.

If you were to hold a dream dinner party, who would your top 3 preferred guests be (could be dead or alive)?

Prince, John Lennon, Freddie Mercury

What’s the best concert you’ve ever watched (not performed in)?

Prince in London, at the O2 Arena. The big show and the after-show in the club in the same complex, which was even better then the big one.

And to close, we’d love a little message for the readers of ESCBubble who’ve discovered you through Dora!

Our message to fans is: love is the only way.

Thanks Supersonic Trio – best of luck at Dora!

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