Electric Fields set to make history at 2024 Eurovision Song Contest

From Dami Im’s power ballad ‘Sound of Silence’ to Voyager’s synth-rock anthem ‘Promise’, every Australian entrant has brought something different to the Eurovision Song Contest since we made our debut in the competition in 2015.

This year, Australian electronic dance music group Electric Fields - made up of vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding and keyboard player and producer Michael Ross - is making history.

Not only are they the first duo to represent Australia in the global competition, but their song is the first from an Australian entrant to feature a language other than English.

‘One Milkali (One Blood)’ incorporates Yankunytjatjara, an Aboriginal language of the Anangu peoples, one of the oldest living cultures on earth.

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Ahead of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden next month, Michael Ross tells Yahoo Lifestyle that he and Zaachariaha wanted to feature Aboriginal language in their song for “authenticity rather than novelty”.

“When we write songs, we work from a place of us being as truthful as possible. So for us to tell our truth and be authentic, the things that make us individuals are going to be woven into the song somehow,” he shares.

“That's why Zaachariaha’s language is woven in and why certain things that I've experienced have been woven in. It's actually more the fact that Z and I are being authentically ourselves rather than, ‘Let’s do it because it hasn't been done before'. That's not how we work as artists.”

Surprising detail about Australia's 2024 entry

Michael reveals that ‘One Milkali (One Blood)’ was one of a few songs they considered for their entry - alongside a ballad and a “contemporary traditional inma” - and they had first begun writing it for Eurovision: Australia Decides in 2019.

“Some of these lyrics were from 2019 when we were thinking, ‘Okay, if we got to go to Eurovision, what would we want to share with the world?’,” he remarks. “The unity in the language of patterns that are shared throughout the universe by the golden ratio, and focusing on connection rather than the things that divide us was what we wanted to take to that stage.

“A lot of those lyrics were written back in 2019 and, hilariously, in a storage unit. Literally inside a storage unit facility where our studio had been moved to for a few weeks while I was moving house. So from that storage unit now to the biggest stage you can perform on as a musician.”

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While Michael admits he would be lying if he said he didn’t want to win, his biggest hope is that the entrants from all around the world feel united.

“I kind of just want everyone to be awesome because I think it's actually more about everybody coming together and sharing this moment rather than, ‘It's a gold medal or nothing’,” he says.

“Even though I'm sure everyone's favourite outcome would be to just win outright, and I would be very bloody excited if we did, I think I'm more excited just to be a part of it and be there and just be a part of that giant party.”

The Eurovision Song Contest airs live from Wednesday 8 – Sunday 12 May at 5:00am AEST on SBS and SBS On Demand, with the prime time event from Friday 10 - Sunday 12 May at 7:30pm AEST on SBS and SBS On Demand.

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