Category: News

This juicy blend of ear pleasing sounds and a fluent jammy flow looks on the classic boom bap through a fresh lens. The glitchy, unpredictable beat arrangement of Rick Feds keeps you locked in guessing what’s going to happen next and is followed by simple, clean rhyme schemes of an 18 year old rap prodigy March. Definitely displaying also great video talent of the 23 year old visual artist Mark Landman. The music video has been filmed using the green screen and so the two leading characters travel through different environments creating positive energy and almost a humerus feel at times. The funky, vibrant selection of colours sync well with the music and leaves you with a good summery vibe.

Rick Feds is considered to be one of the greatest finger-drummers in the world today, but if you ever catch him live it will be something that you’ve never experienced before. The former jazz drums and classical piano background makes a key difference in Rick’s playing abilities on the sample pad and allows him to perform all elements of beat arrangement live in a way that’s never been done before. And it goes on.. All of his pads are synced to visuals and lights matching the sounds and telling the visual story alongside music. Basically he is playing God controlling your entire reality with his fingertips. In Rick’s eyes he is an ambassador of a new art form and striving to do his part extending future technology dimensions that a man can use to express impulsive emotions.

Rick has opened shows for James Arthur, Jungle and AraabMuzik.

He has done solo shows at venues like The Cutting Room (NYC), SXSW (Austin) and has been included in Ableton’s TOP 5 performers list for two years in turn. Also included in SCENES Media ”7 musicians to watch in 2019”. But don’t get too drawn away only by the performance side. His production/sound design skills are like ear vitamins that are easy to be consumed while listening to his tracks.

The unstoppable Latvian band Very Cool People has produced a new video for a music piece that is already the fourth single of the  upcoming group’s new album, “50 Years of Influence + 30 Years of Cool Equals 13 Years of Music Hooliganism”, expected in October.

When “Very Cool People” goes to play concerts to Liepāja and drives through Biksti, the band members have a tradition of poking each other (‘bikstīt’ in Latvian means ‘to poke’, so the town ‘Biksti’ would be ‘Poketown’ in English), thereby waking up those who sleep and annoy those with weaker nerves.

“Tradition needs to be respected,” say the group’s spiritual leader and guitarist, Elvijs Grafcovs, confidently. “When going back to Riga after playing a concert or the next day after the after-party, we all poke each other while passing through Biksti.”

In “Alone in Biksti”, the video portrays a musician who has ended up alone in Biksti and has no one to poke. The song’s sweet-hearted subject, therefore, is about the harsh reality, when you are already completely alone, and then it turns out to be in Biksti. However, the encouraging end of the piece makes it possible to realise that nothing is over yet, and it gives hope that the protagonist will return to Biksti with his friends whom he can poke.

“According to an old Latvian belief, if you walk in Liepāja on Riga street or if you walk in Riga on Liepāja street and a crow poops on you, you’ll be crossing Biksti alone for the next two years…”, Elvijs summarizes the idealistic analysis of the new composition.

The video version of the single has been created by the group’s trumpetist and kebab business magnate, Oskars Ozoliņš, and Elvijs Grafcovs who is also the author of the new tune and has provided his help adding a spaghetti western twist to it. “This composition is like a mix of different musical influences of my own — Ennio Morricone mixed with Dire Straits & some Gypsy jazz with Too Many Zooz on top. It is an instrumental song which would be perfect for a Tarantino movie & mixes a variety of musical genres, crossing all imaginable borders.” – says Elvijs.

Written & arranged by Elvijs Grafcovs; Mixed by Andris Buiķis at Ciemupes Production, Ogre, Latvia; Mastered by Dave McNair at Dave McNair Mastering, NC, USA; Released by SIA VERY COOL PEOPLE.

The new music also continues to include all the “coolest”musicians: Oskars Ozoliņš – trumpet, Māris Jēkabsons – tenor saxophone, Laura Rozenberga – trombone, Kristaps Lubovs – baritone saxophone, Elvijs Grafcovs – guitar, Māris Vitkus – keyboard, Jānis Olekšs – bass, Andris Buiķis – drums and percussion.

Following his recent release on Tom & Collins’ Terms & Conditions label, rising producer now returns to Wh0’s Wh0 Plays imprint for new single Heading South.

Swiftly making waves with his grooving house flavours, Makree is the latest talent to rise from the Baltic scene with tracks like his breakthrough single Never Been In Love with Secondcity on Danny Howard’s Nothing Else Matters imprint that surpassed over 3M streams.

Sending him soaring, Makree has now garnered support from BBC Radio 1, Annie Mac, Disclosure, Claptone and more whilst landing his own solo originals on the likes of Eton Messy, Too Many Rules, Let There Be House, Brook Gee Records, Terms & Conditions and of course Wh0 Plays.

Speaking on the release Makree shares: “When I first heard the sample I knew I had to flip it. After testing out first versions of it live, I knew this track had good energy and needed to be released ASAP. Feels great to have another release coming on Wh0 Plays Records with a banging remix from DIAL9 added to the package.”

Making for an uplifting acid-tinged dancefloor sizzler with tribal tones plus a hefty remix from DIAL9 on the flip side, Makree’s Heading South is destined to propel the one to watch to skyrocketing new heights.

Makree – Heading South is out now via Wh0 Plays.

According to the Latvian Music Development Association / Latvian Music Export Office, the annual music showcase festival and conference “What’s Next in Music?” will take place in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius from September 9 to 11, organized by the Lithuanian Music Business Association. During the showcase festival, Latvia will be represented by Chris Noah, Very Cool People, The Bad Tones and Kasetes.

Chris Noah, best known for his guitar-driven sound, authentic voice and gripping melodies, is a Riga-based artist and songwriter gracefully combining indie rock with catchy pop. Noah’s first EP “What About Tomorrow?” received a nomination for the best debut at the Latvian Music Awards and his latest EP “Distance Deluxe” received a “Best Pop Album of The Year” nomination at the 2021 Latvian Music Awards.

With a solid backbone in jazz, funk and soul, incorporating influences from surf, klezmer, rock and hip-hop, Very Cool People have been putting jazz & funk back on the dancefloor since 2007. Hailing from Riga, the band has lit up clubs and festivals from Estonia to Romania, from Spain to South Korea.

The Bad Tones is nature and blues-driven psychedelic rock quartet from Riga characterised by dreamy guitars and wavy vocals. In their social presence and musical outcry, the band accentuates the problems of art consumerism in the modern age and concentrates on getting the audience involved in the music listening process as it was done in the early days of sound recordings.

Kasetes is a synthpop/indie pop band from Vaidava. Imagine the reminiscing sound of 80’s pop music with a modern twist, dreamy guitar riffs and the sound of synthesizers blasting through your car stereo as you drive into the night. The latest record “Dialogue” has been awarded with a Golden Microphone as the best Latvian electronic music album of 2020.

In the conference section of the event, representatives of the European music industry will take part in various discussions on topics such as the economic impact of the music industry, mental health and others. On September 10, alongside industry representatives from various European countries, Guna Zučika, the founder and head of the music management and consulting agency “Every Little Thing”, will participate in the panel discussion “Foreign Markets – What’s Next?”.

Latvian music industry participation in “What’s Next in Music?” is supported by the Latvian Ministry of Culture, LaIPA and Latvijas Balzams.

Music project “MUUD” releases a new song and video “Nedienas” (eng. “Bad days”) to bring attention to socially relevant but yet highly ignored themes of suicide, addiction, and mental health issues. With this video, MUUD attempts to highlight the necessity to talk openly about mental health problems and suffering in order to be able to establish an effective dialogue and cultivate tolerance for those who go through such pain.According to the World Health Organization, Latvia is one of the leading countries in terms of the completed suicides per 100 thousand inhabitants, currently ranking 15th in the world and 2nd in the European Union. The song “Nedienas” is part of the third musical release of “MUUD”, the theme of which is mental health and factors that influence its complications. The creators of the project “MUUD” are the members of Latvia’s largest hip-hop association “Kreisais Krasts”  – artists Punkts uz I (Ingus Šusts), Cepums (Mārtiņš Mednis), Jānis Krūmiņš, as well as the cinematographer and director Toms Rings.

A synth-rock band from Riga produced yet another music video with no budget – now it’s for the song Touch my Dress. The song is written by the band’s bass guitarist Nikita Andrejevs. The music video was shot by the band’s longtime friend Stephanie Zapolska.

The story unfolds in a shady neighborhood in Riga. A young man buys the “Party” video tape from a mysterious dealer, unaware that it contains a viral song that would eventually spread to the whole world and cause people to dance recklessly and dress up in bizarre clothing.

The music video involved all of the friends and friends of friends that the band could invite. While Stephanie Zapolska was shooting the band’s drummer Jānis Zariņš tied up to a chair, Daniil Ravinsky and Nikita Andrejevs were cooking chili in the kitchen for the whole band. Tasty chili is the secret of making a music video with no budget and any professional actors, says Daniil, the band’s lead singer. The idea for the video is a result of a mutual desire to produce a music video packed with action and references to dark comedy and the previous videos of the band. The band wishes to thank all the participants of the shooting!

DANI RYAN has already released 4 music videos for songs from the PARTY! album and do not plan to stop. Now the band tirelessly prepares for the album support tour, waiting to meet everyone at the future concerts that will provide more than an exciting musical show – a visual one as well. DANI RYAN did not ever sound or look like that.

Latvian band Very Cool People has released a new single and video Camarada Emigrante. In the video, all members of the band take part in a talent show in which they have to show their hidden talents.

The band’s leader & guitarist Elvijs is a street juggler who specializes in cup tricks with money laundering, the group’s keyboardist Māris Vitkus is a passionate archer in a green cloak. Māris Jēkabsons is a karatist who is able to break boards with all parts of his body. As it has long been known, the game of saxophone and karate are based on the same principles, so it is no wonder that the sexiest saxophonist of Latvia is dressed in a kimono with a fourth dana black belt.

His colleague Kristaps, on the other hand, is a break dancer with excellent dance steps from the highest shelves of the brakedance tradition. The fact that Kristaps is a great dancer has so far been seen in the band’s concerts, where he is also the choreographer of the Very Cool People wind section. Laura is a boxer-cake baker who can knock out any member of the jury if the results are not what she expected. Oskars, well, who doesn’t know Oskars yet – a kebab tycoon, philanthropist and the best director-screenwriter of Ķekava. Bassist Jānis is an unbeatable hot dog eater with an excellent appetite and a huge mouth, in which he can stuff up to three hot dogs at the same time. And finally, Andris is a botanist-crazy professor who knows how to grow everything from everything. He has been growing tulips and watermelons for years, and even knows how to select tomatoes and special long rhubarb. The only one who demonstrates musical talent in the video for Camarada Emigrante is the Brazilian actor, dancer and songwriter Jorge Barreto Gonçalves who lives in Latvia. All these characters then interact as much as they can, and all the talents are inevitably valued. Evaluation is known to be a serious and complex process, so it is carried out by a no less colorful jury, which logically are also played by the members of the band themselves.

The new single is composed by Elvijs Grafcovs. The creation of the clip was completely entrusted to the excellent Latvian filmaker Reinis Janulis and the Colortime team. The recording of the song was made under the direction of Tālis Timrots in the legendary Mints Music studio – basement of the Reformed Church, then the recorded result traveled to Ogre where the mixing work was made by Andris Buiķis and then Jānis Kalve took care of the master version of the track.

The music video is Ērika Daņiloviča’s debut directorial release. It encompasses her uniqueapproach to photography. Viewers will experience her personal perspective of the pandemic. The director said of her work: “The music video is about the human condition – how a person feels during a certain period of time. All people are very different and individual, but when a person enters synergy with stress and denial of reality, then all people are connected in the feeling and want to escape their external and internal world. A person enters a state, in which they wish to be free of their ‘’prison’’ – of their cyclic existential life and their ego. This state in Hinduism is called moksha. Moksha personifies the point of attraction towards which people rush to in order to feel their ethereal body and relax completely.”

Abuses are:Richard Thompson – Guitar, Anete Čīma – Bass, Sabine Moore – Vocals and production.Additional drums by Vija Moore.

Reinis Jaunais, together with featuring artists, released a new music video for their song Dance Epidemic. The video is directed by Reinis’ wife Laima Jaunā. Reinis describes the filming process: ”It was lots of fun filming and walking around various places and different hoods in Riga, such as Ziepniekkalns, Imanta, Āgenskalns and elsewhere in Pārdaugava in a green full body suit – those are the places I grew up in.”

While dancing around various districts of Riga in a funny green costume, many people actually joined in dancing. It almost felt like a real dance epidemic had started. Some passersby were filming on their phones. Sometimes cars stopped to take some photos, too. Reinis says that he has seen several videos on TikTok made by bypassers on the filming days.

Song is named after a real-life event called the Dance Epidemic, also known as Dancing Plague or Dancing Mania. According to Wikipedia, it ”was a social phenomenon that occurred primarily in mainland Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries. It involved groups of people dancing erratically, sometimes thousands at a time. [..] Often musicians accompanied dancers, due to a belief that music would treat the mania, but this tactic sometimes backfired by encouraging more to join in.” Reinis and Laima adds: ”We thought that these past events would fit well with the current (or recent) lockdown and stuff.”

Featuring artists are violin player Balázs Dankó (Hungary) who is a chamber music player but apparently knows how to play ‘bluesy’ violin solos, too, and flute player Ieva Supjeva (originally from Latvia, currently living in Belgium) – previously Reinis and Ieva played together in the band ‘Young & The Oak People’. However, guest artists didn’t participate in the filming of this video as they couldn’t travel to Riga due to travel restrictions.

Video is made using green suit technique. In case anyone out there would like to try to make a similar video, Laima is happy to share her experience and warns that ”still lots of cutting was necessary”.

Reinis Jaunais is a travelling musician who has regularly played shows internationally. He has released 7 music albums so far. The song ‘Dance Epidemic’ is included in his latest album called ‘Zeme’. The title of this album translates as Earth, soil or ground.