This is what Nemo’s “The Code” is about
Published: Sunday, May 12th 2024, 10:20
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The Swiss ESC winning act Nemo tells its own story with "The Code". The staging of "The Code" is bombastic, the song is regarded as a Swiss version of the global hit "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. Nemo accompanied the performance with an artistic stage show.
The song is about the journey to find oneself. "The Code' is about the journey I began with the realization that I am neither a man nor a woman," explained Nemo in the run-up to the competition. Nemo is non-binary, meaning he does not clearly identify as either a man or a woman.
This is reflected in the song. Nemo sings "Somewhere between the 0's and ones / That's where I found my kingdom come". In German: Nemo found himself and his kingdom between the zeros and ones. The zeros and ones are an allusion to the binary system, which only consists of these numbers.
Lines such as "I went to Hell and Back", i.e. that Nemo was in hell but came back and broke the boundaries of the code to find paradise ("Now I found paradise"), show that the journey was not always easy. The song is a coming-of-age story about one's own liberation and a call to accept and acknowledge one's own journey.
Musically, the song is accompanied by a mixture of elements of rap, drum 'n' bass and opera. The title was written as part of an ESC songwriting camp and composed by Nemo, Lasse Nyman, Linda Dale and Benjamin Alasu. Nemo's sister Ella is also responsible for the video. She traveled with Nemo to Malmö.
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