Neither to win, nor to lose – Dorians interview to ESC

Eurovision Song Contest website has published interview with music band Dorians representing Armenia in Eurovision 2013 in Malmo. It is the first interview in the series of interviews with the artists who will participate in the song contest.

After not being selected to represent Armenia at Eurovision in 2009, how was the decision reached to make a comeback in 2013?

In 2009 we knew that we are not going to be selected to represent Armenia at Eurovision, as we were a new band, the Armenian audience didn’t know us yet. It was our ex-managers idea to participate in the selection process and let the audience get to know us. This year the Armenian Public Television asked us to represent Armenia at Eurovision and we kindly accepted the request.

What does participating at Eurovision mean for you?

Of course it’s a great honor for us to get the chance of representing Armenia at Eurovision, which is not just a song contest for us, it’s a huge festival, where representatives from different countries get a chance of meeting each other, sharing culture, and, of course, having fun.

How do you think you’ll do in the competition? And how would you like your career to progress from that point?

We don’t know how we will do in the competition, but our purpose is neither to win, nor to lose there; we are going to do our best as artists and we are going to try not to disappoint people who support us.

How did the band come to be involved with Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath? What influence has Tommy Iommi had on the musical direction the band has taken for the competition?

Our manager asked Tony Iommi to write a song for our entry and he kindly accepted the request. We were pretty excited as the Black Sabbath had his own influence on our band. Collaborating with Toni Iommi, with that kind of a true legend is a great honor for us.

Tony has been very complimentary in the British press about Gor’s singing voice, but has also said he thinks the song will be ‘slagged off’. What do you feel about his statements?

We can say that we enjoy excellent relations with Tony Iommi and we are really humbled by his support and compliments. At the same time we don’t find ourselves in a position to comment on Tony’s statements. You’d better ask him directly.

What should listeners and viewers expect from Lonely Planet? The lyrics are bleak but not without hope.

Let the viewers and the listeners talk about their expectations.

You ask the question in the song, who is the man and who is the God? Could you answer that for us? And how would you answer your own question - who WILL save the lonely planet?

Let us put it in this way - “Lonely planet” is not just about only Planet Earth, it is about all of us. We think that everyone has its own inner lonely planet. So, if we want to live in a better world, each of us has to behave in a way that makes world better.

Finally, what do you hope to bring to Eurovision and why should viewers vote for Lonely Planet?

Our song has an important message we hope that it will reach and touch the audience.