Hello wonderful people!

This episode of Techno Takeover I've been putting off for a while. This song while not the most complex song in the world is quite... personal... for lack of a better term. I don't want to just put the person on blast but then I feel like I should. Screw caring about them when they did a horrible job caring about me... but I am not that mean. I couldn't do that... we were best friends... so without any more back story on my life, on to the history.

Edward Maya isn't his true name, it is Eduard Marian Llie born in Bucharest Romania he is a musician, producer, performer and composer. Some instruments he knows how to play are the accordion, guitar, flute and piano.

(Yeah that's right Edward Maya can play the flute because flute players are totally awesome...) Yes I am a band geek and yes I am a flute player.

One night at band camp-

No don't even start with that joke!

Although Edward worked with many Romanian artists (Akcent, Vika Jigulina, Cassa Loco, etc.) that was only the beginning of his career, as an artist his first single came out in the summer of 09, yup Stereo Love is almost three years old and the US didn't catch on until nearly two years after its release.

“Stereo Love” is his debut single which contains a sample from a 1989 composition called “Bayatılar” composed by Azerbaijani musician Eldar Mansurov. There was a brief copyright controversy over that bit part and the only reason he wasn't notified that his refrain was used in the song was Edward had trouble contacting him due to schedule problems. The issue was resolved (requiring Edward to fly out to Azerbaijani) and Eldar is now a co-owner of “Stereo Love.”

On the Romanian Singles Chart it went as high as 2 and became a club hit all over the world later that year. The “Stereo Love” music video also got over 120 million views on YouTube since August 2009. (There is a radio edit which takes a whole minute out of the song, but I will not be using that version I am using the album version which is only four minutes long.)

Now for Vika Jigulina, her real name is Victoria Corneva (get ready for a geographical mind blow) born in Cahul, Moldavian SSR and is a Romanian music producer and singer. Her father is Russian and her mother is Romanian.

Well she must have been born in Romania

Nope she was born in Moldavian.

So how is she Romanian?

I'm getting to that point right now! In 2000 she moved to Timişoara, Romania where she currently lives. (She became an official citizen of Romania in 2010 and that is how she 'is Romanian') She worked in various clubs at Timişoara and eventually in Bucharest (Edward Maya's place of birth). She got a spot on Romanian radio station Deea but it was while she was on VIBE FM that Vika got national fame and exposure. She is (quite obviously) the vocalist on Stereo Love. Edward Maya sings the song by himself while on tour from the videos I've seen and so does Vika. They have toured together she hopped on his tour while he was in Canada in March (of 2011).

(Although her instruments only list guitar and piano, she is/used to be a gymnast. I did gymnastics for a few years when I was younger, so it still counts for something... relating to musicians is fun!)

Now that the histories are out of the way-

You forgot the song history!

No I didn't I combined it with Edward Maya's because I felt like it!

With the histories out of the way we can move on to the lyrics (and bits of the music video because not much happens in it)

Opening Verse:

"When you're gonna stop breaking my heart
I don't wanna be another one
Paying for the things I never done
Don't let go,
Don't let go
To my love.”

This verse opens with Vika sort of vocalizing for a brief moment; I mention this because it sets the tone. Despite being put to upbeat music this song is depressing. I am going to say it now some people might find this a happier song (I doubt they looked at the lyrics) but for me this song is nowhere near happy. What that first verse says and its plain as day, someone is sick of having their heart broken as a result of something they didn't do. The relationship is falling apart as a result but she wants it to stay which is why she says to not let go of her love. (That is technically not the first main verse of the song it shows up again later on.)

First Verse:

"Can I get to your soul?
Can you get to my thought?
Can we promise we won't let go?
All the things that I need
All the things that you need
You can make it feel so real.”

I think someone forgot a letter in the second line... the person wants to know what their lover is feeling, as in what's going on in their soul deep down inside, how they really feel about the relationship and at the same time the person is asking if he can guess her thoughts about the whole thing... Over all they don't want to let go because they are both aware there's some tiny spark left they need each other whether or not they both acknowledge this while they're apart but together they realize they can't admit their feelings aren't there anymore when they clearly are.

The music video is very beautiful, it was filmed in Greece and contains a lot of walking around I'm assuming it's because Edward and Vika are walking around enjoying how beautiful everything looks. Going into the song's perspective, they're a couple they got into a fight, Edward goes out for a walk to cool down as Vika is left alone upset over the argument. She went to another house while things cool down between them and now they are both going outside most likely to find each other now that they both have cleared minds and can talk things out.

Verse two:

"Cuz you can't deny
You've blown my mind
When I touch your body
I feel I'm losing control
Cuz you can't deny
You've blown my mind
When I see you baby
I just don't wanna let go.”

You've all been there, that person you're just madly in love with and have such passion between you that one touch and it sends chills down your body; you can't think and can hardly breathe when you see them and can't stand being apart. When you are a part whenever you get to see them again you just want to hold them and never let them leave your sight.

Here is where Vika has a random clothing change into red boots and really short shorts as well as a white tank top. I swear people just like having more than one set of clothing on during music videos it's like their indecisive (Play yes I am talking about you.)

Now for the story progression, they're still both walking around the town probably doing a lot of thinking about the past when things were good, their rocky present, and unknown future. They probably begin to doubt whether they should even stay together and might even consider calling it quits.

Pre-chorus 1:

"I hate to see you cry
Your smile is a beautiful lie
I hate to see you cry
My love is dying inside“

That is why I brought up the doubting of the relationship before, they don't want to hurt each other but they can tell they're not happy and their love has died, but there's still that little spark keeping them together. Although she can't be expected to put up with a falling apart relationship just because he puts on a few tears because her love for him is slowly fading...

First Chorus:

"I can fix all those lies
Oh baby, baby I run, but I'm running to you
You won't see me cry, I'm hiding inside
My heart is in pain but I'm smiling for you.”

I take this as her regressing back to her old ways of wanting to see him happy. She lost her confidence and goes back to being weak and thinking she can fix everything if she just runs to him puts all the blame on herself and apologizes. As much as it tears her up inside she'll swallow her pride and her pain and smile for him...

That is no way to solve your relationship problems. Taking the blame when it is clearly not your fault for the sake of avoiding making the situation worse only hurts you more by creating the illusion that he can just walk all over you because you'll blame yourself and that's the end of the argument. Don't do that to yourself it's horrible and you will feel horrible each time it happens. Another thing is that putting on a smile when you're dying inside is never a good idea it eats you alive and it only gets worse. You can't keep that fake mask on for long and if you're too stubborn to realize you can't keep doing this forever, you'll learn when that day comes and you realize it's not worth it anymore. You'll stand up for yourself and you'll get over it and it might hurt for a little bit but once the initial shock is gone you will feel so happy. The weight will be lifted off your shoulders and you will feel human again. That hole in your heart that kept being ripped open by your lover's stupidity it will heal quicker than it did while you were with him (or her).

It is here where the previous verses repeat, and thus continuing my story. Edward and Vika are now going back on their thought process repeating it to themselves in their head. (On a positive note, Edward has a clothing change around this time. I really like his red pants... Now back to being depressing) they are both walking near water maybe they have subconsciously walked to the same beach but on opposite sides since they are on different sides of town. They realize now that they should go find each other and talk it out or at least see if they can spend a civil night together and talk in the morning seeing as the sun is now setting.

Pre-chorus 2:
“When you're gonna stop breaking my heart
Don't let go,
Don't let go
To my love.”

She still has her doubts but then again who wouldn't when you're in a rough spot. She's probably going to go back and meet up with him later on but at the moment she just wants an answer to that question even though she is alone on that side of the beach. The only person she has to answer that question is herself. I often asked myself this question many times I tried to ask the person if it was my fault, if he was mad at me, or if there was anything I could do to get him to talk to me but apparently I didn’t deserve an answer, just a “meh” and nothing else. For months that was the only answer I got. Months turned into a year and nothing improved and I put up with it for longer than I needed to because I didn’t want to hurt him so I blamed myself I thought I did something and I was convinced I did something to him that’s why he wouldn’t talk to me and eventually completely ignored me. Through all the crap I went through I told myself he still cared but wouldn’t acknowledge my existence until I apologized for something I wasn’t even sure I did. I’m pretty sure I did at one point I honestly don’t remember. I reached out to him many times but I got the same answer every time.

Bridge:

"I hate to see you cry, your smile is a beautiful lie
I hate to see you cry, my love is dying inside” (that repeats three times)

(Ignoring her switch back to her clothes in the beginning of the video) The guy starts walking off the beach probably to go home and wait for his lover. They both have the thought of how much a lie their smiles are. They aren't truly happy like they were when they first got together and breaking up seems like the best thing for both of them save what little they have left and maybe they can still remain close once the hurt is gone.

Chorus 2:

"I can fix all those lies
Oh baby, baby I run, but I'm running to you
You won't see me cry, I'm hiding inside
My heart is in pain but I'm smiling for you
Oh baby I've tried to make the things right,
I need you more than air when I'm not with you,
Please don't ask me why, just kiss me this time
My only dream is about you and I”

Taking a break from the story, I will never understand why hiding emotions from people who need to see them makes any sense at all. I am guilty of this and I question why I never broke down and cried... Because it's slightly humiliating... As natural of an emotion that crying is, as you get older, you become aware that people are evil and if you just break down crying in front of everyone they'll mock you and call you a cry baby, or maybe that's just my school... There are other ways to prove you're hurt than bawling your eyes out, but it seems to be the easiest when you're not so good with words.

Now to continue the story... Edward is sitting on a deck near the ocean and notices that Vika is walking up the beach so he heads down near the sand where they meet up again. They realize how desperately they want to try and fix things because they rely so much on each other almost as if they couldn't live without the other despite knowing you don't need to be in a relationship to be happy.

Interrupting the plot again, It sucks when no matter how crappy you feel about the other person you just want to be with them and ignore the problems between you because when things get bad you can't stand the tension. It's like you're suffocating and it's terrible because no matter what you can't shake the feeling for long. And again with the "My heart is in pain but I'm smiling for you" line it's just added pressure and torment on an already torn apart heart. When you've spent months silently crying yourself to sleep and you don't get any signs of emotion from the other person, how much longer are you going to sit there, blaming yourself and hating yourself for all the negativity before you can't take it anymore? I'd like to say this is where the song and my life differ but honestly it doesn't I still find myself trying to rationalize what happened by saying I did something to hurt him but then I think back to what happened, he asked me first if I wanted to kiss him. I don't think freezing up because your brain just shut down from shock because you have the worlds worst self-esteem and thought nobody would ever be interested in you, is such a horrible crime. The day after that was a Saturday and I didn't go anywhere so I didn't see him so... it wasn't my fault, it's illogical that I ever did anything to hurt him...  but I know once I see him again all of this won't matter the hurt will come back and I'll go back to blaming myself for it...

Back to Edward and Vika now, they only dream about each other being together so there must be something worth saving, there just has to be something. If they try hard enough maybe they'll make it for a while longer... but the future is always uncertain but for that moment in time all they can do is hug and watch the set. The night is not for fighting.

It ended on a cliff hanger, they could have broken up after they hugged and spent the night wishing they could go back to that morning wanting to erase the fact that they're no longer together. They might even stay together after they sleep it off, who knows what the next morning might bring. From personal experience it didn't end well. Putting on a smile when you're heart feels like it has a million holes in it doesn't last for more than a year. It ended badly but I wish him well. He lost me and any hope for being friends because I admit I am still hurting inside, I got a little teary-eyed while writing this.

If I had the chance to tell him how I felt though song I'd play the opening verse and the ending chorus for him. It is exactly how I feel, he broke my heart and I don't know why, I never got any answers I was just shunned and ignored for a good chunk of time. I worry about him seeing this but he knows what he did and if he feels offended I talked about it, that's his problem, and to anyone curious about the full story you're most likely never going to know about it. Why would I bother telling part of the story but not the full thing? You all only need to know a bit part to understand why I have a personal connection with this song.

While the music could have been so much better it wouldn't work without the accordion refrain Edward Maya borrowed from Eldar's composition. The actual techno during the verses aren't that creative or interesting this song relies on its lyrics and the accordion hook. This song isn't complex at all it's very basic compared to other electronic songs, but the beauty is in the lyrics so all you need is a catchy bit part and you have a hit song. This is not Maya's only work he has other unknown songs on YouTube, I advise searching his name because he for some reason does not have any albums out. And for those who don't like a mainly depressing song there is a remix I stumbled across called “Stereo Flow” by Willy William. It took me a few listens to really get into it all I can promise you is that it will sneak in your head a few times. (There is also some other singer named Mia Martina, Edward Maya never really recorded the song with her, she just put her vocals over Vika's and called it a day. No I am not linking it because I disagree with her doing it.)  I shall end this now or else I'll go on for eternity.

I am Pugsly and I would like to say thank you for those who sat through me bleeding my heart out to you in the form of a review.

                                        (Willy William's remix)

                                         (My reversed video)

(My Song Is Love - Edward Maya)

 (His website, go look at it)

http://edwardmaya.com/