SunStroke Project

SunStroke Project
SunStroke Project at the red carpet ceremony for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv, Ukraine. From left to right: Sergey Stepanov, Sergei Yalovitsky and Anton Ragoza
Background information
Origin	Chișinău, Moldova
Genres	Electro house dance pop
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Sens Warner Bis
Members	Sergei Yalovitsky Sergey Stepanov
Past members	Anton Ragoza Pasha Parfeny Alexei Myslitsky

SunStroke Project is a Moldovan musical group composed of Sergei Yalovitsky (vocals, composer), Sergey Stepanov (saxophonist), and previously Anton Ragoza (violinist, composer) until his departure in 2019. ^[1] They achieved recognition after representing Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 alongside Olia Tira with the song "Run Away", and again in the 2017 contest with "Hey Mamma", finishing in third place in the latter. The name of the group was chosen by Ragoza whilst working in the army with Stepanov, after he had an incident in which he was affected by heat stroke whilst on a field exercise. ^[2]

Members

Anton Ragoza was born on 6 January 1986 in Tiraspol, MSSR. 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. ^[3]

Sergey Stepanov is the saxophonist. He was born on 3 September 1984 in Tiraspol. 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 Transnistrian army, and decided to create the band SunStroke Project. ^[4] In an interview at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, he identified Russian saxophonist Igor Butman as his musical inspiration. ^[3]

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

Sunstroke Project and Olia Tira at the red carpet ceremony for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo, Norway

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, "Scream", is known to be the predecessor to Scream released a few years later with Myslicky.

2008–2009: Pasha Parfeni era

From late 2008 to summer 2009, Moldovan vocalist Pasha Parfeni 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. ^[5] 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) ^[6] 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. ^[7] The song reached 22nd place in the contest. 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, yearly singles and Eurovision Song Contest entries

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 ^[8] 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 band.

In 2023, the band participated once again in the Moldovan national final with the song "Yummy Mommy" and placed second behind the winner, their former one-time lead singer Pasha Parfeny. ^[9]

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details
Don't Word More..	Released: 2007 Label: Ragoza Music Formats: Digital download, CD

Extended plays

Title	Details
Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 1	Released: 4 December 2015 Label: Ragoza Music Formats: Digital download, CD
Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 2	Released: 11 December 2015 Label: Ragoza Music Formats: Digital download, CD

Singles

As lead artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions										Album
		AUT [10]	BEL (Fl) [11]	FRA [12]	GER [13]	NLD [14]	NOR [15]	RUS [16]	SPA [17]	SWE [18]	SWI [19]
"No Crime"	2009	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Non-album single
"In Your Eyes"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 1
"Summer"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 2
"Run Away" (with Olia Tira)	2010	—	—	—	—	—	7	—	—	31	—	Non-album single
"Play with Me"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Don't Touch the Classics, Vol. 2
"Walking in the Rain"	2011	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	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	52	70	—	—	89	18	55
"Sun Gets Down"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"I Want You" (feat. Broono)	2018	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Amor"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Boomerang"	2019	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Mango"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"D.F.M.M."		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Рosomakha"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Pepperoni"	2020	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Rasstrelyay Lyubovyu"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Shake It" (featuring Fox Banger)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Beloe"	2021	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Cosa Nostra"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Netflix & Chill"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Champagne"	2022	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Yummy Mommy"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" 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
"Razorvu mechty" [20] (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" [21] (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" [22] (Yves Larock cover)	2010
"Desire" (Michael Canitrot cover)

Internet phenomena

Sergey Stepanov's saxophone solo in "Run Away" became famous across the Internet in a meme known as "Epic Sax Guy" or "Saxroll". ^[23] The remixes of his saxophone solo have millions of hits on YouTube. Later on, this song was used more as background music for "Best Moments" videos of video games like Hearthstone and Rainbow Six Siege .^{[ citation needed ]}

In December 2010, SunStroke Project appeared on the Moldovan TV programme Sare şi piper and sang a song titled "Epic Sax", named after the meme. ^[24]

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. ^[25] During the performance of "Hey Mamma" in the 2017 contest, Stepanov again became a minor internet meme in the form of "Ultra Sax Guy".

In 2020, the video game character Jax got a so-called "friendship"-ending move in the Aftermath expansion of the video game Mortal Kombat 11 , in which Jax was playing the sax in a similar fashion to Stepanov. The scene, titled "Epic Jax Guy", went viral with over half a million views on YouTube.

References

1. Currinn, Jonathan (4 April 2019). "Sunstroke Project Have Released Their First Single Since Being A Duo Titled "Boomerang"". CelebMix. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
2. Спецпроект (in Russian). Retrieved 2011-03-18.
3. "Interview with SunStroke Project & Olia Tira (Moldova)". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
4. "Everything you wanted to know about Epic Sax Guy! | Moldova.org". Archived from the original on 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
5. "Sunstroke Project | Official Website - About". Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
6. "Moldova: First semifinal tonight". BlogILKAR'S LIFE AFTER HELSINKI 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
7. "Sun Stroke Project & Olia Tira vor reprezenta Moldova la Eurovision Song Contest 2010!". Unimedia (in Romanian). 6 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
8. Honciuc, Bogdan (17 January 2015). "Moldova: 24 semi-finalists selected after live auditions". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
9. Vautrey, Jonathan (4 March 2023). "Moldova: Pasha Parfeni wins Etapa Nationala 2023 with "Soarele si luna"". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
10. "austriancharts.at – Discographie SunStroke Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
11. "ultratop.be – Discografie Sunstroke Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
12. "lescharts.com – Discographie Sunstroke Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
13. "offiziellecharts.de – Discographie Sunstroke Project". GfK Entertainment . Retrieved 19 May 2017.
14. "dutchcharts.nl – Discografie Sunstroke Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
15. "norwegiancharts.com – Discography Sunstroke Project". Hung Medien.
16. "Search > Sunstroke Project". Tophit . tophit.ru.
17. "Top 100 Canciones — Semana 20: del 12.05.2017 al 18.05.2017" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España . Retrieved 24 May 2017.
18. "swedishcharts.com – Discography Sunstroke Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
19. "hitparade.ch – Discographie Sunstroke Project". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
20. "Mila Kulikova feat Sunstroke Project". Разорву мечты. SensMusicChannel. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
21. "Ce bine imi pare". Alex Calancea Band & SunStroke Project. Serghei Orlov. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
22. "Yves La Rock - Rise Up [Sunstroke Project Vandalism Remix]". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
23. 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.
24. "Sunstroke Project la Sare şi piper" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
25. "Eurovision Song Contest 2017 - First Semi-Final - Live". YouTube. 9 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20.

External links

• SunStroke Project on Facebook

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Nelly Ciobanu with "Hora Din Moldova"	Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest (with Olia Tira) 2010	Succeeded by Zdob și Zdub with "So Lucky"
Preceded by Lidia Isac with "Falling Stars"	Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017	Succeeded by DoReDoS with "My Lucky Day"