Although Reinis got only the 4th place on the show, he has not only released two EP’s “Quarter to Eleven” and “Satan Is Coming To Town” both recorded with producer Kārlis Šteinmanis in Jelgava “KS Records”, but also two singles in native language – “Lai Naktīs” and “Pustumsā”, found on all biggest streaming services.
Video for the song “Always Empty” was made in collaboration with multi-artist Ēriks Saksons.
Electro-pop artist and producer BAIBA has finished work on her second studio album that was made in collaboration with Tyrolean producers CHRS and “Digital Youth”. Her latest work is a dynamic manifesto that beauty can be found different human emotions.
BAIBA has been working on this album for past few years and is both author and producer of songs. Most of the songs are recorded in her little bedroom studio. Songs are produced in close collaboration with two Tyrolean producers – Christoph Holzknecht (CHRS) and Benjamin Leingartner (“Digital Youth”).
Album consists of ten songs that she has written in recent years. During this time she has exchanged her signature acoustic guitar and melancholic lyrics with vibrant synths, piano chords and massive drum beats.
This work is a symbol of a new start for Latvian singer-songwriter. “Lighter” is filled with straight forward and playful electro-pop. “Album is a dynamic manifesto that beauty can be found different human emotions, and that melancholy can be beautiful, filled with rhythm, you can both enjoy and dance to it,” says BAIBA.
Musician reveals that she’s been experimenting a lot with sounds and motives and her lyrics have become much more bolder than in her previous works. “I learned to take my experiences with playfulness and healthy amount of irony,” she says and hopes that it will resonate with her listeners to be inspired to be true and sincere to themselves.
BAIBA is a Latvian musician who currently lives in Innsbruck, Austria. She grew up in a family of farmers in a small town of Tukums, Pure parish. At the age of seven, she began attending Kandava Music School, where she studied piano. Later, BAIBA moved to Liepaja, where he studied culture management and also obtained a master’s degree in writing. During this time, she began to write her own songs and perform at various events.
At the end of 2020 BAIBA took second place in Italian contest for young musicians called “Upload Sounds”. She gained an opportunity to work with such recognised members of Italian music industry as producer Bruno Belissimo (previously working with Italian bands “Calcutta” and “Frah Quintale”) and video graphic designer and director Claudio Zagarini from “Universal Music”.
A new international project Loud Sounding Empty Pots have released a self-titled summer hit, which is their first single.
The project features several Latvians – rapper Idus Abra, keyboardist Andris Kauliņš and guitarist Elvijs Grafcovs. Rapper Rokas Jama Grajauskas represents Lithuania. Spain and Brazil are represented in the project by two musicians each: the basist Jaume Guerra Mene and the vocalist Jordi Palau, and the percussionists Rodrigo Manfrinatti and Rafael Nascimento Rocha. The Serbian Goran Milosevic plays the drums while another percussionist in the project is Miguel Hernandez Giraldi from Chile.
The idea for such a project came up last year, when the lives of musicians all over the world had almost stopped, but the same could not be said about mutual communication. One evening Goran Milosevic, a drummer of the Serbian group Nakedband Belgrade, was testing his newly bought mics and sent a drum track to the guitarist of Latvian band Very Cool People Elvijs Grafcovs who is known as the world’s friendliest Latvian. Elvijs came up with harmonies solution, played guitar parts and thought that it would be good to add some synthesizer sounds to this.
The recording was sent to the keyboardist Andris Kauliņš. The track was missing some groovie bass part so it was sent to an old friend and comrade-in-arms of Elvijs from Valencia – Jaume Guerra Meneu, who plays in the bands Obrint Pas, Orxata Sound System and Jim War Brou. Logically, the song also needed a text… The project participants thought they could tell the adventurous story of musicians during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Two powerful freestyle hip-hop artists – Idus Abra from Latvia and Rokas Jama Grajauskas from Lithuania – were addressed. Knowing each other well, they thought to play with common proverbs used in both Latvia and Lithuania. It turned out that both Baltic nations had both “Shape iron while it’s hot” and “Empty pots sounds loud and far away”, which then became the official name of this project.
Of course, there was no peace, so the idea to throw another language in the mix emerged, and Jaume Guerra Meneu recommended the Catalan singer Jordi Palau to sing the chorus of the song. It turned out that the proverbs of the Baltic nations also exist in Catalan, so he decided to use them in singing as well.
Brazilian musicians Rodrigo Manfrinatti and Rafael Nascimento Rocha, and percussionist from Chile – Miguel Hernandez Giraldi – took care of the feeling of a real Brazilian carnival in the bridge of the song. To make the result even more attractive, South American musicians also sang their vocal part in the song in Portuguese as they all three form Na-Lata Project.
The publisher of the new song is SIA Very Cool People, which is a publishing house and producer association established last year for various funk, jazz and soul music projects. This entry was made with the support of the LaIPA Creative Scholarship.
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.
Initially planned for June, the international music and city festival Tallinn Music Week (TMW) will take place in autumn. The new dates for the festival are 29 September – 3 October. An additional application round is open from today until the end of April for those artists, who would like a chance to perform at the rescheduled event.
In cooperation with TMW and the Estonian industry development organisations, the Estonian Music Market Focus Day will take place on 11 June in Von Krahl Theatre.
“One of the most important objectives of TMW is to support the Estonian music and cultural sector in developing international relations,” says Head of Festival Pärtel Soosalu. “We decided to move the festival from June to early autumn, when we can expect the travel restrictions to be eased. This will also mean that more music industry professionals and exciting artists from all over Europe will be able to participate.”
In light of the new dates, TMW is also opening an additional application round from today until 30 April for those artists, who would like to play on the new dates of the festival. All applications that have already been submitted are still in force. Up to 150 artists will be selected to the line-up that will be announced in stages from May. Additional information and applications: tmw.ee/artist-applications.
Taking place from 29 September to 3 October, the TMW festival consists of three programme elements: a multi-genre music festival in various venues across the city, a music industry conference in hybrid format, and a city festival of daytime activities and cityscape explorations. The festival programme will be announced in stages starting in May. In cooperation with the music industry development organisations, the Estonian Music Market Focus Day will take place at Von Krahl Theatre on 11 June. The day will focus on the restoration and rebirth of the Estonian music and culture sector, as well as the related industries. The programme for the event will be announced in April. TMW 2021 passes and the Estonian Music Market Focus Day Pass are on sale at shop.tmw.ee. The Festival Pass at 55 euros and the PRO Pass (on-site and online access) at 150 euros are available along with DigiPRO Pass (online conference access) at 50 euros and Supporter Pass at 225 euros, which allows supporting the festival organisation and getting an inside look. Telia clients receive 20% off the price of passes purchased ahead of the event.
All passes purchased for the June dates are good for the new TMW dates. Ahead of the festival, the DigiPRO Pass can be exchanged for a PRO Pass, which allows for both onsite and online participation, by paying the price difference.
The organisers ask all those, who would like to exchange an already purchased pass for a TMW 2022 pass or return their passes, to send their requests until 30 April to ticket@tmw.ee.
TMW festival is founded and run by Shiftworks. The music programme is carried out in cooperation with the Damn.Loud Agency and many other national and international programme partners.TMW 2021 is presented by Telia Estonia. The festival’s strategic partner is the music industry development centre and export office Music Estonia, the main supporter is Nordic Hotel Forum. The festival’s partners are Telliskivi Creative City and Viru Center. The festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the city of Tallinn.
TMW 2021 will be organised in line with the rules in place for public events at the time of the event, in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
This heart warming artwork is a natural blend of mellow lo-fi vibes and future driven vocals. The minimalistic and abstract melody/lyrics leaves room for imagination and interpretation. It almost feels as an entryway for an individuals connection with his/her higher self. The ultra sensual feminine voice of Una Daniela mixes well with Rick Fed’s ill beats and ear pleasing sounds creating an experience that resembles daydreaming while looking at a beautiful painting.
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 is striving to do his part to extend dimensions that an individual can use to express impulsive emotions. But don’t get too drawn away by the performance side only. Feds sound design skills are your ear vitamins that you’ll be able to consume on May 7 when he drops his first ever LP “Future Human”.
He has done solo shows at venues like The Cutting Room (NYC), RockWood Music Hall (NYC), SXSW (Austin, TX) and has been included in Ableton’s TOP 5 performers list for two years in turn. His audio/visual work as well as the technical innovations and mastery on the sample pad have been described in music forums around the world.
Singer and pianist Katrīna Gupalo has released her new song “Agonija”. The song is about the last breath of love – about the last moment before the inevitable split. The message of the song is amplified by the music video. The musician in cooperation with the Crisis and Counseling Center “Skalbes” is calling to pay attention to the currently very obvious public mental health issues.
“I wrote the song “Agony” two years ago, when I had been suffering from depression for a long time. It was a time when I went through the cruel and ruthless criticism on my skin, which I could not “filter out” and perceived it very directly and painfully. At the time, I didn’t really see any light at the end of the tunnel, and the only thing that pulled me out of my deep depression was the resumption of active concert activities and the creation of music. Only after a while, looking back at my thoughts and feelings, I could take it easy – as a normal stage in my creative growth. But if I weren’t a fighter by nature, it might have ended differently. This situation made me remember my grandmother’s grandmother Sofia, who dreamed of becoming a doctor, but when her husband forbade her, Sofia hаnged herself in the attic of her house,” shares Katrīna Gupalo.
The song “Agony” tells about the last breath of love – about the last moment before inevitable leaving. It’s the moment of sweet bitterness towards the morning, when the party is almost over and everyone is drifting apart. When you really feel sleepy, but you are afraid to fall asleep, because in the morning everything will be different, so with the last effort you desperately try to stick to the reality that no longer has a future.
Jānis Škapars, the director of the video “Agony”, has presented the song from the viewpoint of this moment in time, when dark, depressing thoughts and feelings have filled the pandemic reality. He tells about the video: “When creating the music video, I wanted to show a multi-layered and ambiguous journey of an individual into the world of thoughts and dreams. The mind and the subconscious are sometimes the darkest places. When we close our eyes, we get into the darkness, into our thoughts and fantasies – sometimes it can be soothing and hide the reality for a moment, but sometimes it pulls you in so deep that it is very difficult to break out. With this video, we want to emphasize that suicide is not the solution, and that the complications that lead to it can be resolved.”
Katrīna Gupalo urges: “We want to encourage everyone – women, men, children and teenagers – not to hide and not be ashamed of being in greater or lesser difficulty, and to seek help before the situation worsens. In such moments, an open conversation with a friend, relative or a call to a crisis helpline can be very important. We also invite you to contact your loved ones more often to find out how they are doing, because such a call can provide not only joy, but also the necessary support.”
The video’s creative team and the Crisis and Counseling Center “Skalbes” encourage everyone to share their experiences of the pandemic on the social networks Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #paliksimnomodā, also about the ways of overcoming difficult situations or distressing thoughts. You can also express your emotions in a song, drawing, poem or other creative way, as this is one of the ways to help yourself organize your thoughts and at least partially get rid of negative feelings. Experience stories will be collected and published in the accounts of Katrīna Gupalo Music and the association “Skalbes” on Facebook.
Musical hooligans “Very Cool People” release the second single from the autumn album “50 Years of Influence + 30 Years of Cool Equals 13 Years of Music Hooliganism”. It’s called Renegade and is released along with the band’s most engaging video to date.
The song is recorded in the studio at once by an 8-piece band featuring four horns & rhythm section. This is an instrumental tune. The composition also has a vocal part in the middle with the lyrics “Baaa, baa, ba, ba, ba, ba, baaa”. This song has a slight Soviet estrada touch as well. The new single is based on the aesthetics of vocal-instrumental music of Latvia of the seventies, written in the best retro soul-jazz tradition, mixed with ska and Latin rhythms. The composition has a vocal part in the middle with the lyrics “Bā, bā, bā, bā, bā / Bā, bā, bā, bā, ba, ba, bā…” that are easily understandable by all the nations of the world. Scatting syllables and sounds “ba, ba, bā…” could also be called unique, new scat phrases with the claim to become archived in the consciousness of the world music industry as a Latvian scat.
“We dedicate this tune and clip to all Latvian music renegades who resisted the general requirements and listened, as well as played, jazz, rock, funk and instrumental non-academic music, keeping it alive from the sixties to the nineties,” explains Very Cool People’s leader Elvijs Grafcovs. “We want to say:” Thank you to all the renegades of the past, you helped to create the next generation of musicians and in the end you have paved the way for us in the off-road conditions of Latvia’s past! ” The clip was filmed at the legendary VEF Culture Palace, where in the past 40 to 80 different amateur and professional ensembles, choirs and dance groups have rehearsed and countless musical acts have been performed.
“We dedicate this tune and clip to all Latvian music renegades who resisted the general requirements and listened, as well as played, jazz, rock, funk and instrumental non-academic music, keeping it alive from the sixties to the nineties,” explains Very Cool People’s leader Elvijs Grafcovs. “We want to say:” Thank you to all the renegades of the past, you helped to create the next generation of musicians and in the end you have paved the way for us in the off-road conditions of Latvia’s past! ” The clip was filmed at the legendary VEF Culture Palace, where in the past 40 to 80 different amateur and professional ensembles, choirs and dance groups have rehearsed and countless musical acts have been performed.
“Never thought we’d compose a track for Japanese animation? Neither did we J watch the new video and try to identify each of us in it”
Today, April 21st, Brainstorm releases their new music video “Feels”. This unique video is made by animation studio “HonkFu”. Animators across the world were working for eight months to create the video in the Japanese manga format. In addition to the main characters in the story, members of Brainstorm are brought to life as superheroes.
The idea for the song came from Swedish musician and producer Magnus Nilsson with whom the band has worked with for several years. This is a very contemporary song, particularly the chorus that gives a sense of total freedom and freefall – a soaring new musical experiment by the band.
“The idea came from my daily life. One day, between my daughter’s Lea toys, I saw a doll who was sitting in the wheelchair. My first impression was: “My God, who she is playing with!?”, but immediately I realized how narrow-minded and stereotypical was my thinking. I truly was ashamed. The main character in the video is a girl in a wheelchair who is scared from life and other people. She is scared, just because she is different. I want to inspire people to leave aside judgments and accept the world as it is, with each one of us in it.”
The music video for “Feels” was premiered worldwide during a special online presentation on brainstormfeels.com platform April 21st 16.oo (GMT +3). During the premiere, the audience had a chance to ask their questions to the Brainstorm members who joined live from a studio in Riga.
The website brainstormfeels.com will continue to live on after the premiere and everyone will have a chance to take a quiz related to the music video, win exclusive prizes, find out which countries have the most Brainstorm listeners, purchase new merchandise and most importantly buy discounted tickets for the new album cinematic experience this fall.
Brainstorm upcoming shows: St. Petersburg (13th May) and Moscow (14th and 16th May). More info: www.pratavetra.lv.