Blog Post 2

 What's at the Surface 

SunStroke Project is a Moldovan musical group composed of Anton Ragoza: Was born January 1986 in Tiraspol, MSSR. violinist and primary musical composer for the band. Anton has a wide experience in performing in bands which play in the modern electronic genre. He has stated that Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson as musical inspirations. Sergey Stepanov: saxophonist. He was born September 1984 in Tiraspol. He loves jazz though he also likes to experiment in vocal house, pop and R&B. He met Ragoza while in the Transnistrian army, and decided to create the band SunStroke Project. identified Russian saxophonist Igor Butman as his musical inspiration. Lastly, Sergei Yalovitsky: vocalist of the band. He previously worked as a singer on cruise lines. He has won various awards for singing in Moldova and Romania.

In 2010 Sunstroke project wrote a song featuring olia tira for the eurovision song contest. This song took Moldova to the ground final for the first time since they debuted in 2005, solely due to its epic sax solo by Sergey Stepanov. Slowly the sax solo became a tik tok sensation 18 years after the release. Run Away was written and composed by Alina Galetskaya, Anton Ragoza, and Sergey Stepanov. The song Run Away was sung as a duet between olia tira and Sergei Yalovitsky. The lyrics of Run Away were written entirely in english so that the song could be heard by everyone. The song seemed to have instruments like violin, saxophone, and what also seemed to be a backtrack composed with tecno noise and a sound board. Run Away seemed to have carried elements of Sunstroke very well and it showed each member's taste in music as well as who they are as a band. If one was to give this song a genre it would be quite hard to think of a collective name. However when listening to the song you can find that it holds elements of Jazz and electro disco pop. which could make sense since in the mid 2000s electro pop was very popular amongst teens and college kids. The song doesn't exceed three minutes and has two sax solos and the chorus repeats around three times. When one thinks about what has just been shared about This song they wouldn't think that this song is actually directed towards the idea of leaving bad situations and relationships as a way of escaping from the pain associated with them. The lyrics suggest that running away can be a way of forgiving oneself, and of leaving one's past behind in order to make a new start. The song conveys a feeling of freedom and a sense of triumph in being able to overcome difficult obstacles. By running away, the narrator is able to put the difficult parts of their life in the past and create a fresh, better future. 

A Closer Look Behind the Lyrics 

When you look further into the lyrics they appear to be a good bye. There's almost this realization and freedom that lives inside the lyrics.  Since the lyrics follow this story of leaving a situation that stresses you out, and how this can be the start of a new beginning. I wanted to share an interview where the singers directed their lyrics that seemed to already be self explanatory.  As soon as the song starts we are immediately introduced to the chorus and backbone of the song. 

Oh forget, let me breathe, let me leave

Just run away from my mind

Oh forgive, I don’t need, I won’t breathe

Just get away from my life

“Having set out that her man needs to go, she clarifies that he has lost everyone important to him and should "give up." It's not clear if he's meant to give up on her, give up on life, or give himself up to God for spiritual renewal”

You lost one-and-all, so fly away

Over the clouds, under the sky

Never come back, no, run away

With all your might, give up, you

I don't believe anymore, your shallow heart

Know that it's you who chose to play this trick

Never forgive you, not for anything

And now you are left with nothing

 

When moving into the first verse we are met with both of the singers singing together. Here is where the lyrics go further with this troubled romance story. A male voice, Sergei Yalovitsky blends with Olia's, suggesting that she too played a role in the ending of this relationship. In this performance as an audience we see the two singers face to face sharing these lyrics as their own feelings. When really looking at the lyrics this song is telling a sad story of a relationship that came to and end because the lack of effort and trust that was put into it and we can see this when she sings “I don't believe anymore, your shallow heart Know that it's you who chose to play this trick.” These lyrics could be seen as frustrating emotions, a combination of Love, Hate, sandness, some regret even. However there can also be this feeling of relief.  Since the base of the song is basically running away from things and people that aren't good anymore. I feel that this song calls out to people who have been in a relationship that was toxic and cruel in a way but it could also be seen to those that live in that kind of environment. These lyrics speak to those who need to know that it's okay to run away and that it's also reviving and worth it, because running away doesn't always make you weak but rather it can make you the bigger and more mature person who knows what is best for them and not someone else. “Let me breathe, let me live” those words are the foundation of the song. These words support the whole idea and base of what I've been saying. 

Projection/Performance 

Although the words to this song seem to have a dramatic aspect to them they are sung in a very hyperactive way. The singers smile through the words almost as though they don't mean anything. The music that floors the lyrics is some kind of eclectic disco and jazz combination. There's a violin that's played at a fast paced that sounds really fun and has this fiddler on the roof vibe. Then we have this man with a saxophone who has this most epic solo that seems like he should be playing the blues. Lastly, there's also this backtrack made clearly on a soundboard that's very techno disco club. Then the way the song is being sung is this sort of broken english and you can't really tell whether the song is english or not. When I first heard it without any context, I myself thought that the song was this upbeat and fun song. It seemed fun and catchy like Single Ladies by Beyonce. However that wasn't really the case.The sound and the singing wasn't the only thing misleading though. The official performance by Sunstroke distracts the audience from the lyrics as well.  Instead we’re more focused on the electric fiddle with neon blue lights and the constant rotation of the violinist, then our eyes meet with a hip thrusting dance performed by both dancers and the saxophonist, plus the sax solo that seems to out shine the lyrics of the song, and then the performers are dressed in these '80s style futuristic looking clothes with bright neon style blue and this metallic looking fabric. With all these mixed genres the audience would be too dizzy to think about the lyrics let alone feel them and relate with them. The way the stage performance had been laid out seems to have contradicted the words of the song. However that is not entirely it. The singers also seemed to be misleading as well. The way the both sang together seemed to have this upbeat and fun aspect, seeing how they are both seen smiling and bouncing around throughout their performance. The audience could think this song could be the same as Katy Perry’s Califonia Girls. In my opinion I think the lyrics could have better been understood if the genre was changed to something related to pop soul/contemporary kind of music like Adle or Whitney Huston. The lyrics would be more noticeable in a genre like this. It would give the audience a chance to settle down and pay attention to what the singer is feeling at that moment. Secondly pop soul could also let the band keep that epic sax solo and violin intro however the band would just need to take it a tempo or 2 down a notch. If the song was performed in Pop soul there could still be this fun aspect to it, and the audience can still be inthralled with the lyrics and feel like dancing at the same time, because as far as i know Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance WIth Somebody had her message loud and clear and with words you can feel, and she still managed to keep it fun and upbeat.

(Word Count 1602)

Reference’s 

Adams, S.( 2010, May 20). “Moldova's Eurovision 2010 Song: "Run Away" by Sunstroke Project and Olia Tira”: HUFFPOST.https://www.huffpost.com/entry/moldovas-eurovision-2010_b_563292

(2023, Dec. 23). “Run away (sunstroke project and olia tira song)”:Wikimedia Foundation.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run_Away_(SunStroke_Project_and_Olia_Tira_song)

“Meaning of "Run away" by sunstroke project (ft. olia tira)”: Songtell. https://www.songtell.com/sunstroke-project-ft-olia-tira/run-away

(2024, Feb. 3). “Sunstroke project”: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SunStroke_Project