Author: macha

Just as every living creature consumes sunlight, every human being runs on a certain amount of light in his life. When we learn how to live through this light, embrace its existence, and choose to treasure every little thing we’ve got, the world around us responds to our thoughts and actions and becomes brighter with every choice we make. This is why a Latvian poet Aleksandra Line wrote three poems in three different languages, English, Latvian and Russian, on the darkest nights of Latvian winter, and a prominent Latvian composer Uģis Prauliņš turned triptichum “through the light” into music for three vocalists, a piano and a vibraphone. The album is scheduled for release as a CD, as well as on major music streaming platforms, on April 24. 

Tryptichum comes from Ancient Greek and means three layers. So this multilayered album not only consists of three languages and merges music styles, but there also are three different vocalists, each of whom sings lead vocals in one of the compositions (“cauri gaismai” is the solo of Rūta Dūduma Ķirse, “through the light” – Santa Šillere and “сквозь свет” – Evilena Protektore), Ēriks Miezis plays vibraphone and percussions, Edgars Cīrulis is on upright piano and effects. All five of the jazz musicians are improvisers and most of them write their own music, so the end result of “through the light” is mostly interpreted by each of them with their own musical character and arrangement added to the story.

The album was recorded in Riga at the end of 2022, with sound recording, mixing and mastering done by Pauls Dāvis Megi. Sound engineer’s assistant – Bruno Brauns, album release is supported by the State Culture capital foundation. Photography, behind the scenes story and cover art are done by Vadim Kozhin with Vinsents Krebs posing for the cover.

“I was attracted to the three different characters, moods, mentalities, and tried to compose the music so that the lyrics don’t lose their initial meaning. The poetry is very personal – in the center of it there always are inner feelings, wishes, ideals, doubts and searching for light. I was very interested while observing how Aleksandra’s peers interpret this concept, so I enjoyed meeting these professionals with their fresh energy to see how it all turns out”, – says a Latvian composer Uģis Prauliņš, whose contemporary musical works are performed throughout the continents and whose composition “The Nightingale” was twice nominated for a Grammy award.

Aleksandra Line is a music manager and poet, Latvian Music Academy lecturer and active music industry participant with more than 12 years of experience. She has been writing poetry in English, Latvian and Russian since her childhood – for many years it has been included in her own spoken word and jazz music project “klausies” with two albums released; besides, she also writes lyrics for various composers. “This triptichum is a dedication to myself and everyone who took part in its creation. Also each of our significant people, everyone who doesn’t ever quit searching for light and everyone who begins the searches within himself for a start”, – states the author.

Rapper Deniss (Deniss Stepanov) from the association “Kreisais Krasts” unites with the popular TikToker Bacha (Mareks Bahmanis) and Latvian singer Adriana Miglāne and releases the song “Notiesāts”, where he looks with sarcasm and humor at how he was accused and sentenced for a Covid certificate trade.

Spotify

Latvia’s most active music hooligans, Very Cool People, together with the young singer Paula Saija, surprise again and release a new, completely uncharacteristic single for the band called Rikšiem (In Trot), which was inspired by a Latvian folk song.

It is kept in the grooving tradition of roof and bass systems rousing folk-electro-jazz. In the song, singer Paula is joined at the vocal microphone by trombonist Laura Rozenberga of the band Very Cool People, who counts the rhymes in a very technical, even rap king-like skill, and also in folk moods!

“Rikšiem is an ode to the strength and perseverance of human character”, comments Laura. “For life to move forward and growth to happen, you have to take the reins and just do it. Waiting for miracles sometimes has to be left to the world of fairy tales.”

“We were so inspired by the text and sound of the summer wedding folk song that we left the most effective accents from it in our version – the first two lines of the text and two measures of the original melody”, emphasizes Elvijs Grafcovs, the co-author of the arrangement and the leader of Very Cool People with a guitar in his hands.

A video was also made for the song, created by Arvis Belovs. The authors of the script are the band members themselves. The video is also made on the subject of marriages – the girls Paula and Laura go to the streets of Riga to look for grooms with their trusty two-wheeler, meeting all kinds of groom stereotypes on the way.

“We are from Latvia and we are always very proud of it”, says Elvijs. “We have noticed that playing with ethnic codes in music often appeals to listeners of different nationalities, so this time we focused on pseudo-folklore. It is a style in which our creative expressions in the direction of Latvian folklore are mixed with the most authentic folklore and electronic music plus live energy of Very Cool People!”

“Creating Rikšiem was a very exciting process for me, discovering new aspects of myself and my voice”, adds Paula Saija. “In the song, Latvian ethnic culture is of great importance, which has acquired completely new colors this time.”

The song was created by Elvijs Grafcovs, Māris Jēkabsons, Paula Saija, Laura Rozenberga and Jānis Kalve, using the motifs of the folk song Rikšiem bērīt’ es palaidu (I Let the Horse Trot). The producers are Elvijs Grafcovs and the legend of Latvian dance and electronic music of the nineties, Jānis Kalve. Despite the wide presence of electronic instruments, everything is played live, without using previously prepared loops and backing tracks.

Spotify

The song was recorded at Very Cool Studio, Labo Ierakstu Studio and Ciemupes Production. Mix and master versions were created by Jānis Kalve.

The new single Rikšiem can be heard on the most popular music streaming services.

Kriss Baglais from the group “Rīmdari” releases a new song and video under his solo project “Loopout”. This is the second single from the upcoming album that is scheduled to release on June 1.

“Me and a friend of mine went to Open’er festival in Poland last year and met the stage crew of Twenty One Pilots in an underground bar in Gdynia, Poland,” says Kriss Baglais, “There were guys from lighting, pyrotechnics, the stage manager – about 20 people in total. And that was just part of the whole team. I showed my song to one of the crew members and he really liked it. The video engineer offered to shoot a video for the song the next day, for free. I couldn’t believe what was happening,” Kriss remembers. “I went to Poland mainly to see the performance of Twenty One Pilots, and two days before it I suddenly shot a music video with the band’s crew. Unbelievable!”

Unfortunately, Kriss lost contact with the crew member and never got the final video for Close My Eyes. A year has passed since the event and Loopout is coming out with a self-made video about the story of how they filmed the music video. “The song is about using your imagination to achieve your dreams,” Kriss explains. ”This song manifested a true story of how a dream manifest itself out of nowhere. All I can say – just do it.”

In 2021, Loopout released debut EP ‘Music from Nowhere’ and in October last year came out with a single from the upcoming album “Monsters in Dreams”. Loopout is a hip-hop project by Latvian musician Kriss Baglais. Kriss is a member of a popular latvian hip-hop group “Rīmdari”. The record was produced by Reinis Karklins (Aleja Records).

Austria-based electro-pop artist BAIBA releases a new EP, which includes her previously published singles, as well as her latest work – the song “Too Cool”. At the end of the summer, BAIBA will also finally perform in Latvia, at the music and art festival “Laba Daba”.

Influencers dressed in the uniforms of fashion brands, flashy and at the same time misleading image of people on social networks, and the fast pace of modern life – these are just some of the topics that BAIBA satirizes in her latest work – the single “Too Cool”. It is accompanied by a catchy melody, a lively beat and contrastingly irritated, even angry vocals. This combination creates an almost perfect piece to sing and dance along to, to forget everything that drives you crazy and makes you sad.

“It [the song] is about people looking just fine and confident, so cool and self-sufficient. But… is it just a facade? Maybe it’s just a cover to protect a very vulnerable soul,” says BAIBA.

“Too Cool” is the fourth single from BAIBA’s new EP “Compulsive”. The mini-album contains four songs by the artist, which were created in collaboration with several well-known artists in Austria, including producers Christoph Holzknecht and Moritz Kristmann. On the other hand, the video of the new song was made in cooperation with the Spanish director Marta Cesar, who lives in Austria, and will be released in mid-June.

Presenting the single “Too Cool”, a video and also an EP, BAIBA will go on a promotional tour this summer, visiting several Austrian cities, Northern Italy, Slovakia, and the she will also visit her homeland Latvia for the first time at the beginning of August, performing at the music and art festival “Laba Daba”.

Spotify

About BAIBA:
BAIBA is a Latvian musician (real name Baiba Dēķena), who has been living and playing music in the Austrian city of Innsbruck for several years. She plays self-produced electropop and teaches music production workshops for girls. Until now, BAIBA has already released two albums and her songs are regularly played by radio stations both in Latvia and abroad. The first single of the new mini-album, “Perfect”, got into the regular rotation of the popular radio station FM4 in Austria.

Summer song “Sapņoju par tevi” was created as part of the ArtifexLV project. The goal of the project is to work with young and experienced Latvian musicians.

Music – Juris Ludženieks, Lyric – Annemarija Moiseja, Producer – Juris Ludženieks

Velvet River is a project by drummer Kārlis Roberts Kalējs (LV) and bassist Tauna Woolfe (UK). The musicians started their collaboration at the end of 2019 when both were studying music in the UK. However, shortly after the formation of the duo, the pandemic halted their ability to collaborate in person for several years until they reunited in 2021.

In music, the role of bass and drums is usually to support and complement other instruments, but Velvet River in their EP experiments with what they can create themselves in such a minimalist context. The duo’s sound and unique concept are inspired by the modern and contemporary world of jazz, combined with both musicians’ personal sources of inspiration.

“This EP was not planned. During the pandemic, we exchanged some ideas virtually. We agreed that we could try to write music using only bass and drums. When we met again, there was such energy flowing through us that we composed 4 tracks in one week”, says Kārlis. The musicians say that the so-called “lo-fi” atmosphere suits this EP, which only adds to the fact that the album was recorded with their own
resources at home.

“I had gone to visit Kārlis at his place in the UK. We played music every day in the living room, where Kārlis had set up a minimalist drum kit. Due to the pandemic, we didn’t have access to a proper studio, and we decided to record the compositions right there in the living room”, adds Tauna.

Perhaps, in unconsciously striving to create new musical forms, the emphasis throughout the EP’s tracks became highlighting the interplay between the bass and drums, as well as the musical freedom and space with which the musicians experimented in their compositions. “In such a minimalist context, there are so many possibilities of what to play, and just as many possibilities to not play anything and leave some vibey space”, says Velvet River.

EP “Casablanca” is produced, recorded and mixed by Velvet River and mastered by Toms Jankevics. Artwork and design by Tīna Alise Drupa. Listen to “Casablanca” on all major streaming platforms starting from 02.06.23.

Single comes out just a few days before Valentine’s day and is dedicated to so-called “ghosting”. Ghosted is the third single of BAIBAS upcoming EP ‘Compulsive’ which will be released this spring.

In her latest song, the Latvian electro-pop artist BAIBA, who lives in Austria, tells about various experiences in the search for the other half – both joys and unpleasant moments, through humor and satire. Song is about “ghosting” – when one person decides to end the relationship without notifying the other.

Through a good dose of self-irony, catchy and rhythmic tunes, the musician has turned this phenomenon into a powerful manifesto for everyone who has ever encountered it – it is not worth looking for the culprits, but it is important to say goodbye with respect.

“Making this piece of music and video for it has changed my perspective on the topic a lot,” says Baiba, “Speaking with people that both have been ghosted and/or have ghosted someone, the only true reminder is – as unpleasant as it may be – a little communication goes a long way and can save one feelings of guilt and anxiety and for the other party sleepless nights of self doubt and insecurities. It’s a matter of respect for the time spent together.”

Song on Spotify

About BAIBA:
BAIBA [real name Baiba Dēķena] is a Latvian electro-pop solo artist living in Austria. She actively produces music, performs and teaches music production master classes for girls.

After releasing two albums in 2017 and 2021, she is currently working on a new EP

“Compulsive”, which will be released in the spring of 2023. “Compulsive” will be a satirical, direct and multi-faceted work. It is known that at the beginning of August, BAIBA will finally perform in Latvia, at the music and art festival “LABA DABA”.