Rihards Lībietis releases a new single and video “Miniature on Being” from the new album “Lines and Miniatures”

Guitar player and music author Rihards Lībietis releases a new video for the composition “Miniature on Being”, which is the third single from the new album “Lines and Miniatures”, published at the end of October.

Composition “Miniature on Being” is a reflection on melancholy, search for inspiration, about impossibility of a true loneliness and finding strength within oneself. It’s composer and performer Rihards Lībietis reveals: “This is one of my favourite pieces of the new album – it’s quite a simple composition in its essence and instrumentation, but at the same time it’s a very fragile, emotional and sensitive work. It also includes sort of existential ruminations about someone always being there for us, even if we may not be aware of it. I sincerely hope that this composition will bring warmth, strength and self-acceptance to the listener.”

Video for the single was filmed at the end of the autumn in forests of Lilaste near the three lakes. It’s DOP and director is Janis Romanovskis, who says: “Music of Rihards Lībietis can take us on endless existential reflections and that is what directed our approach for the video – it’s filmed as a meditation in nature, reflecting in the music and catching the passing autumn in raindrops. A possibility to tune in on the artists’ soul through a combination of the music and eyes.”

“Miniature on Being” is an instrumental composition for the baritone guitar. It was recorded in “No Fuss Audio” studio in Tukums, its sound director is Valērijs Černejs. The composition can also be heard in the theatre performance “Upe” in Liepāja Theatre, directed by director and choreographer Kristīne Brīniņa. The performance was nominated for “Spēlmaņu Nakts 2020/2021” award.

The single “Miniature on Being” can be heard on all music streaming services, including Spotify.

“Lines and Miniatures” is the second original music album by Rihards Lībietis. It includes ten instrumental compositions, thematically dealing with feelings and events of the last year – especially loneliness, melancholy and uncertainty. At the same time, music is brimming with inspirational, energising and uplifting emotional charge. While originally intended as a solo-album, the album features various guest artists – Toms Kagainis (Drums, Percussion), Erna Daugaviete (Cello), Olga Bucinska (Violin), Ieva Rutentale (Flute), Matiss Repsis (Piano) and Beate Zviedre (Voice). Album was made with the support of AKKA/LAA Author Scholarship and is available on all music streaming platforms.

Author of the photos – Janis Romanovskis, Gribuvasaru.lv.

Latvian art-pop producer Waterflower releases her latest single and music video, Oasis / Gen S(AD)

Waterflower says of the track: “I dream of a future where technology can co-exist with the natural world.  But in reality, it is humankind that is the death of nature. Our world is in mourning for its future before it has  even happened. An oasis is a self-contained eco-system, dramatically different from its surroundings. Humans  need to change to accommodate nature, or else there won’t be anything to save and the oasis, if it exists, will  cease to be.

Music Video Info
The music video is a short film that was directed by Ērika Daņiloviča. The music video’s concept explores the sadness and struggle of youth to want to live in the autumn of the world around them.
The production was supported by Sony Latvia and Master Photo.

“Quickstrike” release “Rebel Radio” – the second single and video from their upcoming debut “None of a Kind”

“Quickstrike” continue their single trilogy, and have unveiled the fast and intense piece “Rebel Radio” for audiences worldwide.

 “This one is a straight-forward old-school punk piece, and is the fastest one on “None of a Kind”. The song was basically born out of the chorus, which came first, and we combined it a wild and driving riff we had laying around, which fit perfectly. The lyrics are basically a recap of a pre-show preparation week, which we had a few of back in the day. It’s the fastest track on the album, and during live shows it’s our major energy discharge, where we make it as intense as possible” says the band.

The video was directed by Gunars Porietis, with location provided by Nikolajs Lukins. It was filmed on november 2020 at the “VR Audio” studio in Valmiera, Latvia.

The band continues:  “The concept of the video was taking over a radio station and the airwaves in order to declare that “Quickstrike” have arrived, in case anyone missed the single and video release of “None of a Kind”. We’re going strong with our pre-album campaign, and plan to reach an even wider audience with this second single.”

“Quickstrike” have signed a record deal with “Rockshots Records” and their debut “None of a Kind” will be released on February 11, 2022.

Super active music hooligans from Latvia – “Very Cool People” offer an ironic view of the past in their new album

The most famous Latvian jazz-funk band “Very Cool People” continues its artistic flight at unlimited heights. Their eighth album “50 Years of Influence + 30 Years of Cool Equals 13 Years of Music Hooliganism” is a positive musical irony about Latvia’s turbulent recent history. There is also a new video – the fifth single “Rapid Dough – Pelmjakški” from this album.

With this instrumental music album, the band members pay tribute to their teachers and the previous generations of musicians, who helped jazz and rock and roll to survive behind the Iron Curtain, as well as get through the crazy nineties in the Baltic States. Everything is already mentioned in the title of the album – jazz here is intertwined with classical music, Balkan music with metal, surf music with funk and soul, but choral music with klezmer and the musical heritage of other peoples living in Latvia.

This is an instrumental album of original music, where compositions are written by the group’s guitarist and bandleader Elvijs Grafcovs, saxophonists Māris Jēkabsons and Kristaps Lubovs, drummer Andris Buiķis and the group’s keyboardist Māris Vitkus, for whom this is his debut in composing.

This is the band’s eighth album and the fifth in the row released since 2017, the band still fulfilling their promise to release a stylistically different new album every year, which at the same time is paying homage to the work culture of musicians in the past.

The album was recorded in the legendary basement studio of the Riga Reformed Church “Mints Music Studio” by no less than the legendary recording engineer Tālis Timrots. Andris Buikis mixed the recorded material in Ciemupe & the whole group’s members relentlessly and pleasantly commented each step of the mixing process. The record is produced by Elvijs Grafcovs and mastered by the master legend Dave McNair at the Dave McNair Mastering Studio in North Carolina, USA.

Album

The colorful design of the album was created by Gatis Pakalns – a designer living in London, who 14 years ago created the already famous “Very Cool People” cats and who time after time cooperates with the group since. The cover of the new album is decorated with a photo of a real 2 x 2 meter carpet attached to the wall like in the “good old” Khrushchyovka apartments. This rug was custom designed by Gatis Pakalns & produced in Belgium, as it turned out to be the closest place to order such specially designed rugs.

The design expressions of the band did not end with that, the wall itself was specially prepared for the photo session of the album booklet – Māris Vitkus glued special wallpaper from Latvia’s past, inherited from his grandfather. Then Elvijs and Māris bought an equally authentic sofa in a Riga Khrushchyovki architecture district, which then became the main photography platform for all the members of the group. The author of all the photos in the design of the album is the embodiment of rock and roll both with and without a photo camera in his hands – Jānis Škapars. The overall idea of the album’s design flares somewhere between an old Eastern Europe family album and artifacts from music lovers of the 1990s.

Along with the new album, the band is also releasing their fifth single and video “Rapid Dough – Pelmashki”. This video includes characters from all the previous music videos related to the new album, so this is considered the grand finale, where all the videos come together.

The new album can be heard on all major streaming platforms, and physical copies are available in “Bandcamp”. Oskars Ozoliņš – trumpet, vocal; Māris Jēkabsons – tenor sax, vocal; Laura Rozenberga – trombone, vocal; Kristaps Lubovs – baritone sax, vocal; Elvijs Grafcovs – guitar, banjo, vocal; Māris Vitkus – organ, synths, piano vocal; Jānis Olekšs – bass, vocal; Andris Buiķis- drums, percussions, synths, vocal.

“Very Cool People” will present their new album in Vilnius!

The band “Very Cool People” will present their new album “50 Years of Influence + 30 Years of Cool Equals 13 Years of Music Hooliganism” with a special concert at the most famous live music club “Tamsta” in Vilnius, Lithuania. The concert will feature not only the compositions of the latest album, but also new compositions and special arrangements of already known compositions together with the young and talented singer Paula Saija.

As “Very Cool People” announced at their album presentation in Riga, the band’s plans for 2022 are to release new singles with Paula Saija, as well as a new album. The talented singer has been participating in “Very Cool People” concerts since 2018. At first, they were smaller concerts where Paula sang just a few songs, but now Paula Saija has become a great, powerful vocalist, who in 2020 and 2021 together with “Very Cool People” performed at festivals in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, including events such as “Ezīšfests”, “Šiauliai Jazz”, “Klaipėda Castle Jazz”, “Taurage Jazz” and “Augustibluus” & many others.

“We wanted to present our previous album “Koncertprogramma Pa Apli” in the legendary club “Tamsta”, but in 2020 due to epidemiological reasons it did not happen,” says the group’s leader Elvijs Grafcovs. “We then decided that immediately after our 2021 autumn-Balkan tour we would present our new album “50 Years of Influence” in Lithuania – Tamsta club, but we had to postpone those plans as well. Well, at last it looks like it’s happening!”

This will be the band’s only public concert in January, that’s why the band has also invited fans from Latvia to come to Vilnius and have a great party together with their beloved “braļukai”.
“A weekend in Vilnius with the opportunity to enjoy a cool concert in the great atmosphere of the Tamsta Club enjoying the good company of music lovers seems like a fantastic plan” adds Elvijs, who has also experienced the charm of nightlife in the Lithuanian capital during his studies there.

The album was recorded in the legendary basement studio of the Riga Reformed Church Mints Music Studio by no less than the legendary recording engineer Tālis Timrots. Andris Buiķis mixed the recorded material in Ciemupe & the whole group’s members relentlessly and pleasantly commented each step of the mixing process. The record is produced by Elvijs Grafcovs and mastered by the master legend Dave McNair at the Dave McNair Mastering Studio in North Carolina, USA.

Lineup:
Paula Saija – vocal; Oskars Ozoliņš – trumpet, vocal; Māris Jēkabsons – tenor sax, vocal; Laura Rozenberga – trombone, vocal;  Kristaps Lubovs – baritone sax, vocal; Elvijs Grafcovs – guitar, banjo, vocal; Māris Vitkus – organ, synths, piano vocal;  Jānis Olekšs – bass, vocal; Andris Buiķis- drums, percussions, synths, vocal

Latvian rapper ZEĻĢIS drops song “PUIKAS”

Latvian rapper ZEĻĢIS in collaboration with producer MCKN an rappers Ods and Goča release single “PUIKAS”.

‘’The song tells the story of an exciting and colorful path from the countryside to the city. All artists in this piece are from small towns hence the following topic seemed appropriate. To some small town have left bitter experience, while other have had the best years so far but now we all are in Riga where we try to fulfill or plans and go towards our dreams and doing what we love’’.

ZEĻĢIS is a rapper from Lēdmane and have started his activities less than two years ago he have released several singles, however has gained greater visibility through participation in “371 clique” project.

It’s worth mentioning that this is not the first collaboration with Ods and Goča, they have made rap group “mid”  and right at this moment are working on one of their first projects together.

Pacific K releases new solo EP “Light Variations”

The new “Light Variations EP” is out on July 30, gathering 4 solo variations of the band’s songs.

Listen to “Light Variations EP” on all major streaming platforms

While the band is on a creative break for a while, 2021 has started with new ideas, perspectives and energy for Kristaps. While also working on brand new songs and a couple of collaborations, he has re-imagined some of the songs from the band’s LP “Light Between Oceans” (2020) into new solo versions that all come together on the new “Light Variations EP”. The EP combines minimalistic beats, vibey guitar sounds and the essentials – stories and melodies. One of the 4 songs featured on the EP is “White Wanderer” and it was the initial push towards the idea of an EP.

“Playing around with samples and minimalistic beats suddenly opened up a whole new world to me. I had never done that before. It was a chance for me to explore new sounds, strip the songs down to their bare minimum and then build them up again from a new perspective. I had a lot of fun in the process,” says Kristaps.

Each of the 4 songs from “Light Variations EP” will be accompanied by a simple, one-shot video filmed at Kristaps’ countryside house and its surroundings.

Playing together since 2016, the Latvian four-piece includes Rihards Libietis (guitar), Nauris Babris (drums), Toms Kursitis (bass) and Kristaps Bedritis (vocals, guitar, songwriting). Pacific K released their debut EP “Blue Fall” in 2017, followed by the full-length studio album “Light Between Oceans” in 2020, gaining praise from their listeners, as well as some industry professionals. The album was rich and colourful in sound, featuring some additional instruments (flute, piano, trumpet, Arabic oud, hang drum, percussions), as well as a couple of guest artists, including the world-renowned French jazz trumpeter Erik Truffaz on the song “Castaway”.

Pacific K have many live gigs under their belt, including major festivals in Latvia (Positivus, Laba Daba, Playground, Piens Fest), RIGaLIVE showcase, shows in the Baltics and a few appearances at the global live concert series Sofar Sounds. In 2017, they opened for one of their influences – the British band Fink. In 2019, they appeared at a local late-night show, played several concerts, including a couple of gigs with the British band Eyre Llew and had their music featured in the documentary short “Mind Your Step”, as well as a promo video for the brand “BEE IN”.

An indie rock band from Latvia “Tasteful” releases a song for summer evenings to enjoy beside a fireplace

New Latvian indie rock band “Tasteful” release their new song “Bonfire”. Inspired by the Lumineers and Ed Sheeran, This song was written by a campfire beside close friends.

“Bonfire” is about a selfless being, that gives all of its love, soul, and energy to others and asks nothing back. So we praise this being: “Don’t burn out!”

The song recording was made with support from LaIPA. The band is releasing an acoustic live version of the song, which was filmed in a forest beside a campfire.

“Tasteful” members met while studying at Ventspils Music highschool. The members of band have developed their musical sound by playing in other ensembles, as well as in the Ventspils Big Band. The songwriter is the group’s main vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Gunārs Gaumigs, the group’s main guitarist and good spirit – Eduards Bariss, the groovy bassist Artis Patriks Mazalis and the energetic drummer – Markuss Ābelītis.

The members of the band intend to write music in creatively different music directions. Their compositions guide the listener through a journey of love, nature, and doubt, painting with sound effects and synths, including alternative, dream pop, and psychedelic rock flavors.

Each one of them have different musical interests, which fortunately connect together in the creative process, and that makes them full of taste or Tasteful.

During the summer, the band has already played a handful of concerts, also supporting for the Latvian rock band “Dzelzs Vilks” during their concert in Pāvilosta.

Wondermakers release lyric video for their second single “Don’t Panic”

Latvian electronic pop duo releases their second single from the upcoming EP, which will come out 2022.

Music, lyrics and production – Līva Komarovska and Matīss Repsis.

The song “Don’t Panic” was made during the second wave of the pandemic. It’s based on our feelings, emotions, thoughts and fears while sitting at home during the lockdown.

The song’s story is about the chaos during this weird time which has made people lonely and desperate. We should not be afraid of the unknown, so don’t judge a book by it’s cover because the truth could be an illusion. There is already a huge mess going around the world which consists of hate, fear and misunderstandings. So we want to keep calm during this storm.

We miss all the good times with our friends and family, unlike this period which feels like a cage.

We don’t ask much but we want to feel like we used to, spending time with our loved ones, friends and surrounding people.

The lyric video is by Didzis Bardo who has captured our daily emotions and feelings.

The song is available on all major streaming platforms:
Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Youtube

Latvian alternative pop-rock band “Sudden Lights” releases the third single “Siltas vasaras ēnā”

The Latvian alternative pop-rock band “Sudden Lights” releases the third single “Siltas vasaras ēnā” from the upcoming album and invites to a concert in event venue “Balodis”. The song tells a story about summer, about longing and love. “Siltas vasaras ēnā” continues the sound experiments that “Sudden Lights” has started so far, combining modern indie style with elements and references of various other music styles.
The song was created as a soundtrack for fleeting summer, telling about the experienced, felt and longed. The band’s soloist Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis talks about the song: “In the key phrase of “Siltas vasaras ēnā” I wanted to include the incomprehensible nostalgic feeling that takes over as summer draws to a close. The song is about longing that never ends. One summer is passing and we are waiting for the next one.”