SunStroke Project
SunStroke Project | |
|---|---|
 SunStroke Project at the red carpet ceremony for Eurovision 2017 (Left to right: Sergey Stepanov, Sergei Yalovitsky, Anton Ragoza) | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Chișinău, Moldova |
| Genres | Electro house |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | Sens Music, Warner Music, Ragoza Music |
| Members | Sergei Yalovitsky Sergey Stepanov |
| Past members | Anton Ragoza Pasha Parfeny Aleksei Myslitski |
| Website | http://www.sunstrokeproject.com/ |
SunStroke Project is a Moldovan musical duo composed of Sergei Yalovitsky (vocals) and Sergey Stepanov (saxophonist). They achieved fame for representing Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with Olia Tira, and again in the 2017 contest. The duo was originally formed as a trio, including both current members in addition to Anton Ragoza. The name of the group was chosen by Ragoza whilst working in the army with Sergey Stepanov, after he had an incident in which he was affected by heat stroke whilst on a field exercise.[1]
In November 2010 the producer, Aleksei Myslitsky and some other members (including song authors) left SunStroke Project to create a new band in Moscow called Offbeat Orchestra who have performed and released versions of some of the songs by SunStroke Project.[2][3] On 25 February 2017, SunStroke Project was selected once more to represent Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Hey, Mamma!", and finished in third place after qualifying for the final on 9 May.
In early 2019 the violinist and composer Anton Ragoza announced his departure from the band, which has continued as a duo. Their first single as a duo Boomerang was released in April 2019.[4]
Members
Anton Ragoza was born on 6 January 1986 in Tiraspol, Transnistria. He is the violinist and primary musical composer for the band. Previously he has conducted the orchestra of Chișinău and won a series of prestigious awards in the field of classical music. Anton has a wide experience in performing in bands which play in the modern electronic genre. He identified Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson as musical inspirations.[5]
Sergey Stepanov is the saxophonist. He was born on 3 September 1984 in Tiraspol, Transnistria. He currently lives in Chișinău, Moldova. His musical taste took contours on the music of artists such as David Sanborn and Eric Marienthal; and modern DJs like David Guetta, David Vendetta and Tiësto. He loves jazz though he also likes to experiment in vocal house, pop and R&B. He met Ragoza while in the army, and decided to create the band SunStroke Project.[6] In an interview at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, he identified Russian saxophonist Igor Butman as his musical inspiration.[5]
Sergei Yalovitsky is the vocalist of the band. He previously worked as a singer on cruise lines. He has won various awards for singing in Moldova and Romania.
Career
2007–2008: "Sunstroke" era: Early pre-vocal releases
Shortly after the band was founded in 2007, their first (and, as of 2014, only) official album, Don't word more.. was released. The album is very rare, and only a few tracks are currently known to have been a part of it. One track, "Skream", is known to be the predecessor to Scream released a few years later with Myslicky.
2008–2009: Pasha Parfeny era
From late 2008 to summer 2009, Moldovan vocalist Pasha Parfeny joined the band. Three singles were released during this few-month period. Each were produced by Alex Brashovean of the former Moldovan band O-Zone.[7] They sang for the Eurovision 2009 pre-selection for Moldova, where they took the 3rd place with the hit No Crime. Nelly Ciobanu was elected to represent Moldova at the contest that year.
2010: Eurovision, Myslitsky era
"Believe" was the first new single to be released by the band with Sergei Yalovitsky as lead vocalist (A reworked In Your Eyes was the first single to be released with Yalovitsky). It was also their original entry to Moldova's national selection for Eurovision 2010 until it was withdrawn (as well as Olia Tira's entry)[8] in favor of "Run Away". SunStroke Project together with Olia Tira represented Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Run Away". The final of the O melodie pentru Europa 2010 pre-selection took place in Chișinău on 6 March 2010, with the song gaining the maximum 12 points from both the jury and SMS-voting.[9] The song reached 22nd place in the contest which had 39 entries. A collaboration between both artists. Along with DJ Alexei Myslicky, several other singles were produced throughout 2010. He later departed to form Offbeat Orchestra in Russia in late 2010.
2011–present: Touring and yearly singles
Since 2011, Sunstroke Project has toured extensively and has worked more closely with their longtime label, Sens Music. An entry was made for SunStroke Project and Olia Tira to represent Moldova in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest with the single "Superman" but it did not make the next stage of selection. SunStroke Project attempted to represent Moldova in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest entering with two songs: "Lonely" and "Day After Day", the latter with Michael Ra. Both entries qualified[10] to the semi-final from the live audition round. However, as only one song could be chosen per artist, Sunstroke Project chose "Day After Day" to ultimately move forward. After qualifying from the semi-final, they finished third in the national final. SunStroke Project attempted to represent Moldova in the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest once again, with the upbeat electro-house song "Hey, Mamma!". The band came in first place after a tight voting procedure, qualifying them to represent Moldova in the Song Contest in May. They reached third place with their performance in the 2017 competition, giving Moldova their best result in the contest. On returning to Moldova, SunStroke Project was awarded the Order of Honour by the President of Moldova Igor Dodon. Sunstroke Project were also featured in Season 2 of the Netflix series, "Travels With My Father," wherein British comedian Jack Whitehall travels to Moldova with his father, Michael Whitehall, in order to meet and perform with the members of Sunstroke Project.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Don't word more.. |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 1 |
|
| Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 2 |
|
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT [11] |
BEL (Fl) [12] |
FRA [13] |
GER [14] |
NLD [15] |
NOR [16] |
RUS [17] |
SPA [18] |
SWE [19] |
SWI [20] | ||||||||||||
| "No Crime" | 2009 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |||||||||
| "In Your Eyes" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 299 | — | — | — | Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 1 | ||||||||||
| "Summer" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 215 | — | — | — | Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 2 | ||||||||||
| "Run Away" (with Olia Tira) | 2010 | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 246 | — | 31 | — | Non-album single | |||||||||
| "Play with Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 215 | — | — | — | Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 2 | ||||||||||
| "Walking in the Rain" | 2011 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 236 | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |||||||||
| "Superman" (feat. Olia Tira) | 2012 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Amor" | 2014 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 177 | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Sunshine" (feat. Deepcentral) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Not Giving It Up" | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Lonely" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Home" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Maria Juana" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Dam Dam Dam" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Hey, Mamma!" | 2017 | 27 | 49 | 56 [21] |
52 | 70 | — | 272 | 89 | 18 [22] |
55 | ||||||||||
| "Sun Gets Down" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "I Want You" (feat. Broono) | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Amor" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Boomerang" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Mango" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "D.F.M.M." | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Росомаха" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Pepperoni" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Расстреляй Любовью" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Shake It" (feat. Fox Banger) | To be released | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||||||||||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Bad Girls" (Olia Tira feat. Sunstroke Project) | 2011 | Non-album singles |
| "Go On" (Jucătoru feat. Sunstroke Project) | 2013 | |
| "Разорву мечты"[23](Mila Kulikova feat. Sunstroke Project) | 2014 | |
| "Tocame" (Timebelle feat. Sunstroke Project) | 2018 |
Promotional singles
| Title | Year | Album | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Spit" | 2007 | Non-album singles | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Rain" | |||||||||||||||||||||
| "Skream" | |||||||||||||||||||||
| "Believe" | 2010 | Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Sax U Up" | Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "Epic Sax" | Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "Scream" | |||||||||||||||||||||
| "Listen" | Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "Sunshine Day" | 2011 | Non-album single | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Set My Soul On" | 2012 | Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Party" | 2013 | Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Ce bine imi pare"[24](feat. Alex Calancea Band) | Non-album single | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "Look At Me" (feat. Olia Tira) | 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Cover songs
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| "Rise Up"[25] (Yves Larock cover) | 2010 |
| "Desire" (Michael Canitrot cover) |
Internet phenomena
Sergey Stepanov's saxophone solo in the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest for the song "Run Away" became famous across the Internet in a meme known as "Epic Sax Guy" or "Saxroll".[26] The remixes of his saxophone solo have millions of hits on YouTube. Later, this song is used more as background music of video gaming(such as Hearthstone and Rainbow Six Siege)"Best moments" videos.[citation needed]
In December 2010 SunStroke Project appeared on Moldovan TV programme Sare şi piper and sang a song titled "Epic Sax", named after the meme.[27]
The phrase "Epic Sax Guys" forms part of the lyrics of the SunStroke Project's single "Superman", when they unsuccessfully attempted to represent Moldova in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.
Stepanov himself acknowledged his viral fame playing the Run Away saxophone riff when the group was interviewed during the first semi-finals of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest.[28]
References
- ^ Спецпроект (in Russian). Retrieved 2011-03-18.
- ^ "SunStroke Project" (in Russian). Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ Vinogradov, Aleksandr (15 November 2010). "Алексей Мыслицкий создает новый музыкальный проект в Москве" [Alex Myslitsky creates a new music project in Moscow] (in Russian). Komsomolskaya Pravda. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ Currinn, Jonathan (4 April 2019). "Sunstroke Project Have Released Their First Single Since Being A Duo Titled "Boomerang"". CelebMix. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Interview with SunStroke Project & Olia Tira (Moldova)". Retrieved 2011-03-15.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Sunstroke Project | Official Website - About". Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ^ "Moldova: First semifinal tonight". BlogILKAR'S LIFE AFTER HELSINKI 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ^ "Sun Stroke Project & Olia Tira vor reprezenta Moldova la Eurovision Song Contest 2010!". Unimedia (in Romanian). 6 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
- ^ Honciuc, Bogdan (17 January 2015). "Moldova: 24 semi-finalists selected after live auditions". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- ^ "austriancharts.at – Discographie SunStroke Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
- ^ "ultratop.be – Discografie Sunstroke Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ^ "lescharts.com – Discographie Sunstroke Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
- ^ "offiziellecharts.de – Discographie Sunstroke Project". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl – Discografie Sunstroke Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com – Discography Sunstroke Project". Hung Medien.
- ^ "Search > Sunstroke Project". Tophit. tophit.ru.
- ^ "Top 100 Canciones — Semana 20: del 12.05.2017 al 18.05.2017" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com – Discography Sunstroke Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- ^ "hitparade.ch – Discographie Sunstroke Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés – SNEP (Week 20, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
- ^ "Sverigetopplistan - Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ^ "Mila Kulikova feat Sunstroke Project". Разорву мечты. SensMusicChannel. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ^ "Ce bine imi pare". Alex Calancea Band & SunStroke Project. Serghei Orlov. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ^ "Yves La Rock - Rise Up [Sunstroke Project Vandalism Remix]". Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ^ Brown, Damon (August 2, 2010). "Is this guy the Web's new rickroll?". CNN. Archived from the original on 2010-08-14. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
- ^ "Sunstroke Project la Sare şi piper" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2017 - First Semi-Final - Live". YouTube. 9 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
