Author: macha

Latvian delegation has just returned from Poland, where from 24th to 27th of November they took part at the conference ”6. Europejskie Targi Muzyczne Co Jest Grane 24 2016”, bringing home new impressions and contacts. The trade mission organized by Latvian Music Export Latvia (Latvijas Mūzikas attīstības biedrība / Latvijas Mūzikas eksports) was implemented with the support of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA).

In cooperation with their Polish colleagues Latvian music industry professionals were offered a rich and saturated program: insight in the specifics of media and the nature of concert organisation in Poland, meetings with journalists, publishing and PR agency representatives, a tour around Warsaw music clubs, as well as a panel discussion on Latvian, Lithuanian and Polish cooperation so far and in the future.

The participants of the event concluded that all the parties are keen to establish stronger ties in the field of music business with good music as the main prerequisite, followed by the ability to perform it at high-quality concerts and the desire to discover their talents anew across our national borders.

After the Conference, the delegates had the chance to get a fresh glimpse of new Polish music and introduce the shows of their own artists as part of several concerts. This time the choice of the event organisers fell upon Alise Joste, who performed at Sunday night showcase program. 

At the conference, Latvia was represented by Agnese Cimuška – head of Latvian Music Evolution Society / Latvian Music Export, Ieva Liepa – Brainstorm Management representative, Dace Volfa from the I Love You Records label, Dita Ābola – head of Biedrība HI (representing Manta, Sigma and other acts), Jeļena Rantiņa (DaGamba project manager) and Jeļena Smelova (MOO / Music Observation Organization).

The song’s lyrical self speaks about how sad and pitiful their life was and how that all changed after meeting their significant other. “Can You Hear Me Now?” is one of the more serious and heavy tracks from Double Faced Eels’ upcoming album and the band feel that it, to some measure, captures the way many people feel right now.

Fiņķis and DoStudija presents their newly created band “FUND” and announces concert in December 8 in music club “One One”. Special guest Māris Mihelsons (DJ set), member of the Latvian pop/rock band “Brainstorm”.

In the beginning of september 2016 Fiņķis and DoStudija released their first studio album “Bāra ceļš. Akmens dārzs” (“Bar road. Stone garden”), which was presented during the modern culture forum “White Night 2016” in Riga.

Along with the concert disclosure, musicians release the video for the song “Music / Groove” from the new album. Operator Edgars Staune, dancers – Stella Upaciere un Francis Upaciers.

This week as an introduction to the upcoming Advent tour Little Christmas Melancholia the vocal group Latvian Voices releases their newest single Totari – a composition by one of the groups’ singers Laura Jekabsone. The mixing and postproduction of the single has been made in collaboration with Gustavs Erenpreiss.

“Latvian folk songs have always been a fundamental part of the repertoire of Latvian Voices and an inspiration for new discoveries in music. Also the composition Totari is inspired by Latvian folklore although the musical material is Lauras’ original work,” tells the participants of the group.

With this song Latvian Voices encourages not to forget ones ethnic identity during the time of Winter solstice, to straighten ones back and breath in the air of Latvia’s winter!

The first concert of the Latvian Voices tour Little Christmas Melancholia will take place on November 27th at Ogre St. Maynard Catholic church

The concert program Little Christmas Melancholia will introduce the listeners to new compositions made by the singers of the group (for example, Totari by Laura Jekabsone) as well as offer the opportunity to recognize traditional Christmas melodies intertwined with Latvian folk music and Winter solstice traditions. “During the eight years of groups’ existence we have gathered a lot to say in the lyrics of our songs and in our original music. This tour will be like a summary of our years together because this will be the first time the group tours in Latvia and not somewhere abroad during Advent and Christmas time. We have also included in the program ancient Advent melodies combined with our own musical ideas – a meeting of the traditional and modern. Of course also the texts from folklore with our melodies will be an essential part of the concerts.”

Also well known Christmas melodies will be sung to give the audience a light and elevated feeling when going out of the concert. Concerts will include songs like “What Child Is This?”, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”, “Totari”, “Kalado”, “Little Sad Christmas”, “See Amid The Winter’s Snow”, etc. The producer of the new program is Paula Plavniece and the visual design is in the hands of Marcis Ziemins.

Latvian band The Coco’nuts recently released their new single called “Fading slowly” from the new material.

Right after having their first debut album “Amid opposites” in the beginning of this summer The Coco’nuts had a creative camp in Ēvele, where they already started working on new program. It has been presented in several wonderfull concerts during past three months. All new songs are made with completely new inspirations, that’s why they are quite different from usual sounds of The Coco’nuts. Compositions are flowing, they take listener in the world of reflections and toughts.

Band  releases song “Falling slowly” as the first because it tells about changes – just like new material – about new beginning, about new path in our lives, that changes are not always easy to realise in the moment, until at one point you lose control over everything so you just want to dissapear or fade out for a second until it all starts from the beginning and the unstoppable flow of life keeps going.

Live performance you’ll be able to hear on 16th of December in jazz bar “Trompete”. For more information you can follow band on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/thecoconuti/

The new remix saw its debut last night on the popular dance music channel TASTY NETWORK, and it has already been listened to more than 10,000 times!

In preparation of the 20-year anniversary concert in Arena Riga, which will take place already next Wednesday, the company “Mikrofona ieraksti” dug through its archives and found the track “Waterfall” recorded in 2001 by Brainstorm. This motivated the creation of a new remix of the song.

The first new remix was created by the group of producers “Boyza II” led by Lotars Lodziņš. They had already made a remix in 2001. Back then, a remix was also made by one of the most successful Latvian dance music producers of all time Ralfs Mākulis (BTH). This version was nominated for the Annual Latvian Music Records Award. In 2001, the single was released in several countries by labels of the English company “EMI Records”.

This year, however, when the new remix version by “Boyza II” had already been made and the band had listened to the results, the lead Renārs Kaupers decided to re-record the tracks. After the tracks were recorded anew, the idea emerged to invite other dance music producers to create a modern remix, and this time “MicRec” entrusted it to the young and talented producer Rūdolfs Elviss Zariņš A.K.A. “REZarin”, who this year has already helped the remix of the song by Justs “Heartbeat” recorded by “MicRec” to reach the English Music Week’s UK Upfront Club Top 40.

The tracks released by the producer “REZarin” have earned recognition by world famous deejays and producers. Last year, his track “About You” was played at the radio show of DJ Hardwell. This year the track “I Got That” and the remix of Justs’ “Heartbeat” were played at the popular Don Diablo radio show. Such world famous artists as Robin Schulz and Mike Williams have included tracks produced by “REZarin” in their DJ sets.

Latvian band “The Coco’nuts” publishes their first official music video for “Love song” from first studio album “Amid Opposites” today.

The main idea of song and video is a classic story about neverending love. This story helps us remember to spend more time on good things and good feelings instead of putting them aside for later and concentrating on things that we think are more important at that moment.

Video was made in the end of this summer, in different locations close to Riga. Main roles were played by Inta Cikule and Vitauts Cikulis, grandparents of bands contrabass player Toms, and also, of course, “The Coco’nuts” themselves. Director – Elīza Eikerte, operator – Jānis Vīksne.

Last week there was a presentation event for the new material in art and culture space “3 Māsas”. Also yesterday along with “Love song” video it was presented in lovely “Dad cafe”. Nevertheless “The Coco’nuts” never stop developing and soon there might be more news connected with bands new musical view.

Since Guntars Račs, the Repertoire Director of Microphone Records, became a member of The Recording Academy, Microphone Records has had the rights to submit recordings produced in Latvia and released in the USA for the prestigious Grammy Awards for the second consecutive year.

In preparation of the company’s big anniversary concert 20 Years in Latvian Music that will take place next Wednesday at Arena Riga, the company has received great news. We now know which of the recordings submitted for the Grammy Awards have made it through the screening process and qualified for the first-round ballots. The voting members of the Academy still have today and tomorrow to voice their opinion. Here is a list of this year’s MicRec recordings that have officially qualified for the first round. Each in its own category.

The members of the Latvian band The Briefing have lived and worked in London since 2010. The EP was released on 19 February this year. The album and its title song have received positive feedback on various music blogs, including American blogs. Available on all music streaming and downloading websites around the world.

Rodion Gordin’s recordings have been released by prestigious European dance music publishers such as Kingdom Kome Cuts and Kontor Records. He has successfully collaborated with the duet Dvīnes and the American singer Dustin Paul.

Edvards Grieze has previously collaborated with producers Rassell and DJ Makree. The song has been produced at the Labo ierakstu studija studio in cooperation with Jānis Kalvis.

The song has been produced by Mārcis himself in collaboration with the studio’s producer Jānis Kalvis (at Labo ierakstu studija). The song has been mastered at the Cutting Room studio in Sweden. The producer of the video is Mārcis himself in collaboration with Ritvars Bluks, who was responsible both for camerawork and the montage of the video. The video features actors Ģirts Ķesteris, Gints Grāvelis, Ieva Florence, Lauris Subatnieks, Vilnis Kuģinieks and dancers from the PRO-X dance studio under the guidance of choreographer Ieva Biteniece.

After a week, the song will appear on German radio stations, while the band’s complete album is scheduled for next March. In Germany, Switzerland and Austria, the song will be distributed by Rough Trade.

The song has been recorded in collaboration with the producer Gints Stankevičs, and it features the little singers of Dzeguzīte, the most well-known children’s pop group in Latvia, who found neither the unfamiliar genre nor the English lyrics a challenge.

This year, Microphone Records was responsible for creating a distributing the song Heartbeat by the Supernova winner Justs. This job was delegated to the company by the song’s author Aminata Savadogo. From the many remixes made, the one by producer REZarin was deemed the best, and it entered the UK Upfront Dance Chart soon after its release. The remix was included in radio playlists by the well-known deejay Don Diablo and many others.

Several of these recordings have still not gained recognition at their own home country and can’t be found on the playlists of many local radio stations. That, however, has not stopped these songs from being played outside of Latvia.  We’re eager to find out the results of the Grammy voting!

Indie pop band “Franco Franco” unveils its second EP “Moon + Light”, recorded in cooperation with producer Reinis Sējāns (Instrumenti). The album’s presentation concert will take place on November 5th at K.K. fon Stricka villa.

“The album and its title “Moon + Light” reflect our own diverse nature. If at one point we are serious, then at another the melancholy is gone and we can laugh sincerely — this is human nature, where the dark side always plays with the bright one,” the band’s lead singer and author of lyrics Elizabete Vētra reveals.

The album contains 5 songs: the ones with dancing beats “By the Lake” and “Up”, the lyrical “Home”, the dramatic “Shaking Hands” and the cinematographic album’s title song “Moonlight” with post-rock features.

The audience will be able to experience the concert version of the album’s “Moon + Light” programme on November 5th at K.K.fon Stricka villa. It will be an enjoyment of sound and light with the participation of singer Līva Komarovska, and DJ Kārlis Ķilkuts will take care of the dance beats after the concert. The presentation tour of the album in Latvia and neighbouring countries is set to take place at the beginning of next year.

The album is available in CD, as well as on Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud and other digital streaming channels:

It’s been 2 years since Riga, Latvia based Audience Killers released their preceding work ‘Two Bare Feet’. Today, the hugely exciting trio return, with the news of their first full-length album ‘Floating Islands‘, and first single ‘Circus In The Sky‘.

New single ‘Circus In The Sky‘ is equal parts perceptible and dreamy. Audience Killers manage to fully maintain their quaint electronic sound, with ethereal group vocals and bright piano running throughout.  

‘Circus In The Sky’ gives a strong indication of the band’s potential, yet not giving too many clues away as to what the rest of the forthcoming album will sound like. May 20th will see the release of the full album ‘Floating Islands’ with lots more to come before that.

Audience Killers are: Normunds Petrovs (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Arletta Supe (keyboards, backing vocals) and Edgars Oplucans (drums).