Eurovision Song Contest: SUISA Songwriting Camp song in the German qualifier

Tonight’s decision night: Which song will represent Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in May 2019 in Tel Aviv? Among the seven final songs is “Sister” which was created during the SUISA Songwriting Camp in June 2018. The song was written by SUISA members Marine Kaltenbacher and Tom Oehler together with Canadian songwriter Laurell Barker. In the follow-up, Danish producer Thomas Steengard came on board for some finetuning.

“Sister” is a song from the SUISA Songwriting Camp which manages to cross borders beyond those of Switzerland. “Thanks to the ESC and the German qualifier, the positive message which we wanted to send with ‘Sister’, enjoys a much bigger distribution” says singer songwriter Marine Kaltenbacher who performs under the name Submaryne and is from Lausanne. Berne songwriter and producer Tom Oehler also considers the participation of the song in the German qualifier as a huge step: “A song which participates in the ESC may well represent a huge career leap for a songwriter or producer.”

Laurell Barker: Several successes at the ESC

While Tom Oehler and Marine Kaltenbacher participated at a SUISA Songwriting Camp for the first time, Laurell Barker has already gathered ESC experience and took part at the camp, co-organised by SUISA, for a second time.  Not without success: At the first SUISA Songwriting Camp, she was a co-composer of “Stones” by ZiBBZ; the song represented Switzerland at the ESC 2018 in Lisbon. Laurell Barker is already now considered to be a participant at the finale of this year’s ESC: She is one of the composers of the British contribution “Bigger Than Us” sung by Michael Rice. The song qualified directly for the ESC finale, since the UK, together with Germany, France, Italy and Spain, belong to the “Big Five” countries. “I’d be extremely blessed and lucky if I could represent more than just one country in Tel Aviv – that would be crazy”, Laurell Barker says in the video.

“Unser Lied für Israel” today at 8.15pm on ARD

The song is performed by Sisters, a duo consisting of the two singers Carlotta Truman and Laurita Spinelli. The finale of “Our song for Israel” (“Unser Lied für Israel”) is broadcast tonight from 8.15pm onwards live on ARD. The ESC finale in Tel Aviv will take place on 18 May 2019. Germany is also directly qualifying for the finale as one of the “Big Five” countries. Other countries – among them Switzerland – fight for an entry into the finale on 14 and 16 May.

The SUISA Songwriting Camp took place for the second time in June 2018. A total of 36 musicians from 8 countries participated in the 3-day-long event in the Powerplay Studios in Maur. 19 pop songs were created, with varied styles and expressions. The Camp was organised by Pele Loriano Productions and SUISA.