Category: News

Singer Signija Taranenko with a stage name SIGNIA at the end of last year surprised with “Musical Advent Calendar” when she posted 24 Christmas song cover versions on her YouTube channel. Last week Signia presented her first original song “Where Are You”.

New singer from a small town works in a pharmacy as a pharmacist’s assistant for a couple of days a week, the rest of her time she spends singing. Currently active in a group “Carnelian” and sings as a back vocalist to Atis Auzans. Participates in a variety of musical projects and charity events cooperating with Pipars.lv and Palidzesim.lv.

About the song Signia says: “I wrote this song 2 years ago and then I was asked – who is it about? I said it certainly wasn’t about me. Time has passed, circumstances and events have changed my life a lot, and now I can associate this song with myself and finally sing it really out of my heart.”

The song is about love we’re waiting for, searching for and finding if we get lucky. If we don’t, we keep waiting and looking for “the one”. About dreams that we all want to come true, we give them up when it gets hard, and then believe them again meeting the right people. The song is about those who are searching. About You too. Whatever you’re looking for – love, happiness, inspiration or yourself – this is the story of not giving up.

The author of words and music is Signija Taranenko herself. In the recording work the points on “i”’s were placed by producer Kaspars Ansons, but producers who worked on it were Arturs Palkevics and Gaitis Lazdans. Video made by Eriks Saksons. Costume design – Ilze Kasa.

At this year’s showcase festival and conference “Eurosonic Noorderslag 2020”, held from  January 15 to 18 in Groningen, Netherlands, Latvia is represented by two artists – Evija Vebere and ANNNA.

Evija Vebere is a Latvian producer, singer and performer. She creates music with multiple modular synthesizers and a broken trumpet. By using her unique voice she invites the listeners to discover forest of amazing sounds. Her debut solo recording “Sirdsbūt” won Best Alternative Music Album 2019 at Latvian music awards.

At “Eurosonic Noorderslag 2020” Evija Vebere will performs on 16 January at USVA.

ANNNA is a modern day wakeup call that makes you want to move. Her songs mostly cover very current and serious topics, such as sustainability and equality. However, ANNNA’s distinct voice, that blends together a touch of Lana Del Rey and Kate Bush, results in an energetic, uplifting and impactful performance. This Latvian/Dutch singer’s debut track, “The One That Got Away”, became the No1 most played track on some of the biggest Latvian radios as well as her second track, “Stardom/Hater” won the Amsterdam Dance Event demo competition in October 2019.

At “Eurosonic Noorderslag 2020” ANNNA will perform on 17 January at the Praedinius Gymnasium.

Chris Noah releases a new single “The Line” from the forthcoming EP expected in March. Chris explains that the song is a story about how sometimes circumstances and the environment around you changes as well as people change but there are feelings and emotions that remain unchanged no matter how you might try to leave them in the past.

Chris started writing the music for the song by himself and was later joined by the keyboard player form his band Marcis Jukumsons – Jukumnieks with whom “The Line” was finished. Both this single and the rest of the songs on the EP were recorded by Chris Noah in a collaboration with the British music producer Christopher Harris (who has previously worked with the likes of Bear’s Den, Belle and Sebastian, Ghostpoet and others) with whom the musician has worked before.

“The Line” is released under the record label “Made in Baltics”/”Sony Music Entertainment”.

Single on the digital platforms

“Carnival Youth” members Emīls Kaupers, Edgars Kaupers and Roberts Vanags have signed a publishing deal with music publishing companies “Radicalis Music” and “Progressive/Bosworth Creative” (Switzerland/Germany).

“Carnival Youth” manager Guna Zučika, “Every Little Thing”, explains, that building a stable infrastructure within the target markets is one of management’s primary tasks in advancing the band’s international career: “The German, Austrian and Swiss music industries and listeners have been among the first ones to positively appreciate “Carnival Youth” music, so it is a great pleasure to add to the already well-established partnership with a booking agency and a record label in the region an author representative – a publishing company which is successful both locally and internationally.”

Head of “Radicalis Music” David Burger is pleased to add “Carnival Youth” and their songs to the company’s catalogue: “We are delighted that one of the most successful bands in the Baltic States is joining our companies. We will support their career growth through our global partners.”

This year “Carnival Youth” continue their latest studio album “Good Luck” tour both in Latvia and Europe. In Latvia, the band will stop at “Melno Cepurīšu Balerija” in Jelgava on the 20th March and “FonoKlubs” in Cēsis on the 21st March. Tickets and information can be found at carnivalyouth.com

On Wednesday, 22nd January, “Carnival Youth” will perform at a music festival “Bise” in Nantes, France. During March and April, the band will tour through Germany performing at “Ego FM” festival in Munich on the 28th March, “Hanse Song” festival in Stade on the 18th April, and will play multiple solo shows in Oldenburg, Leipzig and Nurnberg. On the 25th April “Carnival Youth” will perform in Vienna, Austria.

Watch the after movie of the “Carnival Youth” show at “Hanzas Perons” in Riga on the 23rd November 2019 here:

At the end of last week, nine finalists of the Supernova songwriter and singer competition, including Edgars Kreilis with the song “Tridymite”, were announced. Now a video too has been made for the composition. Edgars offers it for a wider audience rating.

“Tridymite” has been co-authored by bass guitarist of Latvian band “Brainstorm” and composer Ingars Viļums, who wrote a message to Edgars offering to collaborate on this year’s Supernova competition. In the process of dynamic work, a song came to be known as the Tridymite, causing a widespread debate about what does it actually mean.

The name came up in the songwriting process, while Edgars and Ingars exchanged different ideas. Tridymite is a polycrystalline that is found in small quantities on our planet Earth. But it was a big surprise when a large group of American scientists from NASA discovered it on planet Mars. This mystery is still unresolved. In the song, this multifaceted crystal symbolizes the unknown and utterly unexplained formula of love that exists in the universe. Who can surpass energy when eyes meet for a moment and the “inexplicable” happens? The world around us glows and at that moment everything seems possible – as if there were no limits to time or space.

Musician Markus Riva has just released the music video for his much-discussed single “Impossible”. It is his first music video shot on 35mm film, and marks the 30th video in his career.

The song “Impossible” was created in collaboration with singer Aminata. It is a story about determination, conviction, self-belief and an endless fight with the circumstances standing in our way – including our own fears and doubts.

“Markus himself is the focal point of the video, and various images and symbols represent his inner world, thoughts and feelings, and the message of the song,” says Pavel Trebuhin who the directed the video. “To create the right mood, we chose to shoot the video on a 35mm film. The whole filming process becomes much more difficult, but the video obtains a particular quality and vibe not often found in the modern world.”

The music video was shot in E. Fon Trompowsky Quarter the day before Christmas. Almost 20 people took part in the filming process that lasted up to 3 AM. Markus notes wittily that he had to remind himself repeatedly that he is indeed unbreakable as it was very cold indeed in the deserted factories, but he is very happy with the result.

It is no secret that the song “Impossible” was one of this year’s “Supernova” competition entries, and Markus had hoped to fight for a chance to represent Latvia in the Eurovision song competition, set to take place on May 12 in Rotterdam. Although the events played out differently, Markus is pleased with his achievement and hopes to inspire his fans with this song.

“This song says very much about the events currently unfolding in the world and in my own life as well. Read the lines and read between the lines! Do good things in life, and do what you love! And be brave,” says Markus.

Markus Riva is currently working on material for a new album and continues performing in Latvia and CIS countries. Moreover, in collaboration with the movement #Neklusē, he will be visiting several schools in Latvia to talk about mobbing among teens and to promote its eradication.

Carnival Youth release their new album “Good Luck” on the 16th of August. It is available on digital streaming platforms as well as in CD and double vinyl. Limited Edition LP is also available.

As the band describe, the ideas for the new album have been collected over a couple of years of touring and experiencing contrasts within the world and people, at the same time, understanding that we are all united by the same things: “The same lust for human compassion, openness, as well as lust for love and freedom. Whilst writing the material for our new album, we tried to be very open and intimate within our environment, letting freedom flow through various musical experiments.”

Songs were mainly created during creative camps, which are almost always held somewhere close to the Latvian nature, however, the album was recorded in Red Bull Studios in São Paulo, Brazil with producer Gatis Zakis. As Carnival Youth describe: “While we were recording the album, we let the Brazilian air affect our music and writing methods. We gave way to more expressive and passionate rhythms, using local percussions, which in result creates a great balance with a couple of more melancholic compositions.”

The album name “Good Luck” came up during the recording process: “Thus far, the names of our albums have always been thought through and made up after it has been recorded. But this time it was more spontaneous. During one of the days of recording in São Paulo studio, our producer Gatis, whilst sitting behind the sound mixer, after one our recording tries, announced to the three of us via microphone “Ok, let’s try that again” and very ironically added “Good luck…”. At that moment something clicked, and we said “Hey, that sounds like a great name for an album”. This phrase can be taken both as a genuine wish for good fortune or figuratively, as it’s often used with an ironic smirk, when someone is trying to accomplish something challenging or something that at the moment can seem impossible. In those instances, what can we say? Well…Good Luck…”

The album was mixed by Grammy winning producer Nicolas Verhnes, and the master was done by Greg Calbi at “Sterling Sound” in New York.

The Latvian shoegaze/dreampop collective returns with “Rust and Gold”, their first record in a decade. It will be presented on August 28 at the K. K. fon Stricka Villa in Riga.

After the show they released an announcement about the current state of the band, sharing that the singer Ksenija Sundejeva will not be able to participate in live concerts this year due to current health issues.

“We have been in the process of recording the new album and rehearsing for more than two years. As it became clear that Ksenija will not be able to take part in the shows, we had to make a choice – to postpone both, the shows and the new release for indefinite time, – or to let the new tunes play. We chose the latter, especially because that’s what Ksenija wanted. Despite not being present physically, enabled by modern technologies Ksenija remains the voice of Tribes of the City both – on record and live.” – says the band’s statement.

At the presentation show the band will play the songs from their latest release “Rust and Gold”, accompanied by concert visuals created by Ksenija (who is also a visual artist) for this occasion.

Speaking about the new record the band’s musical leader and guitarist Sergei Jaramishian shares what his goals and vision were: “I was attempting to create such a broad interweaving of guitars that could hypnotise and mesmerise. To make the record sound like it comes from the 80s or 90s when albums were commonly listened to in their entirety.”

Ksenija says that the record feels very personal to her, as the song lyrics reflect her own experiences.

The album was recorded with Aleksandr Solovjov at ZStudios, Riga, produced by Adam Cooper of Allison’s Halo at Jetpack Studios and mastered by Brian Wenckebach of Electric Blue Studios, Brooklyn, NY.

Tribes of the City was founded in 2003 and have released three albums: “Running to the Sun” (2004), “For the Sleepy People” (2006) and “Recipe of the Golden Dream” (2009). They have been awarded with multiple Latvian Music Awards and nominated for the MTV European Music Awards and the Best Baltic Act.

While the indie-rock band “Audrú” is working on their debut EP “The Lighthouse Trilogy”, that’s set to be released in Fall, a mellow and dreamy composition that won’t appear in the record has been brought to listeners attention. “Fog” is the bands second single and it contemplates moments, when we’re on the brink of forgetting ourselves and wish to exchange the reality around us for our individual version of the reality. In a quiet and uninhibited mood, the song carries a story about the need for trust.

The song is accompanied with a lyric video, which presents sunny meadows and shrubs of Zakusala, all through the eyes of a racing drone. Video-related glitches that can be spotted throughout the video are caused by the disruptions in the analogue signal happening during the flight. Song is recorded and mixed in “Hodila records” studio. “Audrú” consists of four friends – Ieva, Gita, Jurģis un Artūrs, who have been playing together for two years. Since then the band has crafted their own sound, for which they, jokingly, have coined the term “May-flower Grunge”. It features elements of indie-rock, indie-pop, American folk and vibes from music of the 90’s. “Fog” is soon to be available on most mayor streaming platforms. You can follow “Audrú” on Facebook and Instagram.