Category: News

The new album “Seasons. Winter. Piano” of new series of Latvian instrumental music “Seasons” has been released.

New album is the compilation of romantic melodies of 12 well-known Latvian composers on piano. You will come across compositions of Raimonds Pauls, Imants Kalniņš, Mārtiņš Brauns, Uldis Stabulnieks and Jānis Lusens, as well as works composed by Dons, Mārtiņš Freimanis, Lauris Reiniks, Gints Stankevičs and Aigars Voitišķis. The pianist Normunds Kalniņš has recorded them all in his interpretation. Mixing and sound editing was done by producer Gints Stankevičs. You will only hear the piano in the record and it is the most popular way of recording popular song arrangements emphasizing the melodies thereof. Compositions complement each other and this album will serve as excellent background music in different situations – in cafes, saloons, shops or at home next to the fireplace. All compositions included in the album are well known songs of popular Latvian singers and different groups of singers, but it is the first time they are all available in one instrumental version. Here are the titles of compositions and the authors thereof:

The design of the album was created by Artūrs Tigulis, but the design of new series is based on artworks, painted by Līga Ķempe especially for this purpose. The paintings for spring, summer and autumn editions are already painted. Currently there are four albums planned to be in the series of instrumental music “Seasons” – “Seasons. Winter. Piano” available in stores this week, as well as the ones planned next year “Seasons. Spring. Guitar”, “Seasons. Summer. Strings” and “Seasons. Autumn. Percussions”. There will be melodies of well-known Latvian composers and bands recorded in these albums as well; just the main instruments will change.

CD’s are available for ordering on web site of MicRec www.micrec.lv and for purchase in bookstores “Jānis Roze” bookstores and in music stores. The digital version of the album is already available on platforms iTunes and Spotify.

Mārcis Judzis, the founder and songwriter of Ryga, has been nominated for his second prestigious Spēlmaņu nakts theatre award in the category Musical Score of the Year.

In 2014, Mārcis won the prize for his music in Oskars Koršunovs’ staging of Banishment at the Daile Theatre, but this year he is nominated for his music in Dž.Dž. Džilindžers’ production of Nick Cave’s book The Death of Bunny Munro at the Daile Theatre. Ryga, which has recently released its debut album Catch Her Groove including songs from both plays, participated in both of them.

In light of these happy news, the band has released a new video for the song starring actors Artūrs Skrastiņš and Ieva Segliņa from The Death of Bunny Munro. The video has been filmed and edited by the director Artis Dzērve. Keep an ear out for “Bunny Munro Waltz” on the new album Catch Her Groove, as well as in the play. Mārcis says: “I would like to say a big thank you to the Daile Theatre, the actors and Džilindžers for the honour to work on this play. I really appreciate it. Without this play there would be no song, nor this terrific short film, a special thanks for which goes to the theatre, actors and Artis Dzērve.”

Mārcis sets the scene for the song: “This is my first waltz. When I wrote this song, I was thinking of two worlds: the first one has an overwhelming amount of sex, drugs and rock & roll. It’s clear that it will all come to an abrupt end, and one will be flying, hopefully, towards the sky, because this kind of lifestyle can only have one outcome. It’s the highest concentration of egoism when nothing is an obstacle, because there are pleasures one cannot miss out on. Meanwhile, the other side is hysterically screaming: “Hey! I’m right here. I love you! Everything will be alright! I miss you! Love you … You tricked me again, Bunny!” These are the two worlds that are not meant to align.”

The album Catch Her Groove will soon be released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in cooperation with Gordeon Music and Rough Trade.

RYGA, which has just released its first studio album Catch Her Groove and welcomed the multi-instrumentalist Kaspars Bindemanis in its ranks, has also just delivered its first performance abroad.

To participate in the festival organised within the Polish SeaZone Music Conference, the band along with the representatives of Music Export Latvia travelled to Sopot where they performed in front of a foreign audience for the first time. The concert programme included songs from their fresh new album. At the festival, Latvia was also represented by Triana Park and the singer Justs with his new collaboration with producer Makree.

RitvarsBluka, author of many Latvian music videos, who accompanied the band on the trip, has made a short film about this adventure that you can watch right now. The film features the band’s music from the new album.

On 2 June at the Daile Theatre’s café Epikūra dārzs in Riga, RYGA presented its debut album. Clad in extravagant outfits, the musicians delivered a convincing performance as they introduced the audience to the material from the album Catch Her Groove, as well as the new video for the song Bunny Munro Waltz.

At the album presentation, Mārcis Judzis, the founder, drummer and lead singer of the band, said: “This is a big day for us – we are releasing our first album, which we ourselves received only yesterday. Thanks to everyone who invested their energy and time in the making of it. Thanks to MicRec Publishing and Microphone Records for their trust. When I first met Guntars Račs and told him about our project, he was sceptical, but after a while, he admitted: “Damn it, Mārcis, you are one heck of a marketing specialist!””

RYGA energised the audience with an hour-long upbeat concert. This was only their second performance since the joining of the multiartist and guitar player Kaspars Bindemanis. The loud event was visited by the municipal police too, but everything ended peacefully, with no arrests or fines. The arrival of the police resonated with the band’s performance and lyrics.

Among the well-wishers was Dž.Dž. Džilindžers, the director of the play The Death of Bunny Munro, which features songs from Catch Her Groove. “Mārcis created the band back when they were staging Banishment. However, that madness was not suitable for my new play, to which Mārcis responded that they can do it all – jazz, symphonies, you name it. And I believed him right away, yet at the same time not completely… I am very happy with this collaboration, though. I think it is fantastic that Bindemanis has joined the band because he’s a great fit for this bunch of freaks. It is without a doubt the No. 1 band at the moment, which is bound to see success in Europe too. I’m looking forward to the next chapter!”

The album can be ordered in CD format from the MicRec website. Electronically, it is available on all music downloading and streaming platforms. A few months later, the album will be released and distributed in Germany, Switzerland and Austria too in collaboration with Rough Trade and Gordeon Music.

Colorful Latvian indie pop band “Franco Franco” reveals third single and music video “Moonlight” from their latest EP “Moon + Light”. The band will perform “Moonlight” and other songs, not yet released, in summer concerts across Latvia, including “Summer Sound” festival.

 “The story of “Moonlight” is encapsulating moments that are very dear to us – they are too beautiful to let go of,” explains lead vocalist Elizabete Vetra. “That’s why we decided to make the video as a collage of snapshots, collecting the most colorful moments from making of the album. It has been a magical ride for us.”

The video captures shots from recording the album in “TRU Music Studio” (Riga) together with producer Reinis Sejans (“Instrumenti”) and sound engineer Gatis Zakis, unique footage from making of the previos videos (“By the Lake”, “Up”), performing in festivals and the album presentation in K.K. fon Stricka Villa (Riga). 

“Moonlight” is available on Spotify, iTunes and other digital music platforms. The band will perform “Moonlight” and other songs, not yet released, in festivals and concerts in Latvia – Riga, Valmiera, Jurmala, Jelgava, Cesis. “Franco Franco” will also perform in “Summer Sound” festival in Liepaja on 28 July (more on summer tour).

“Franco Franco” is one of the most renowned and active indie pop bands in Latvia. The band’s latest album „Moon + Light” (2016) was critically acclaimed and nominated among the best Latvian alternative, indie-pop records of the year. The second single of the album – “Up” – was one of the semifinalists of Supernova 2017 (Latvian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest). It reached Latvia Top 50 on Spotify, as well as #10 in Trending on Youtube (watch video).

Singer Aminata has released new music video for her latest single – “Your Arms”. The song comes from the album “Red Moon” launched in 2016.

After being a “Fighter” who never gives up and follows her goals, in the new music video Aminata wanted to show her sensual,  romantic and feminine side.

“Song “Your Arms” is very sensual, inhibited within a spring-like spirit. We wanted to keep that vibe in the music video as well!” tells Aminata herself. “It is about the feeling you have when secretly fallen in love with someone and cannot stop thinking about him. The feeling when you miss that person so much you feel like a prisoner who desperately longs after freedom. However, you cannot say it out loud because you are afraid and don’t know what the other person thinks of you. Therefore, all the emotional experience portrayed in the song is deeply personal, it burns you from the inside and is not visible to the outer world…”

Music video operator is Reinis Aristovs, gaffer: Uldis Tripans, stylist – Elga Homitska, make up artist – Lara Pudovska, hair stylist – Svetlana Dubatova and set designer – Katrina Virzina. Production was made by AminataMusic. Filming process would not be possible without support of “Nike Latvia” and the Botanical Garden of the University of Latvia, where the music video was filmed!

Lyrics and music are written by Aminata Savadogo, and arrangement – by Kaspars Ansons. Remix of the song is produced by Krišjānis Geidāns and mastered in “Hodila Studio”.

Launch of the new single occurs only this spring, as after participating in the Russian TV show “Golos” (“Voice”), Aminata actively indulged herself into writing new songs. Currently they are being produced in cooperation with several international producers, and soon enough the results will be revealed.

The eccentric Latvian singer-songwriter Elizabete Balcus will be the only artist from the Baltic States that’s set to perform at The Great Escape showcase and music festival. It will take place from 18th till 20th of May in Brighton, England.

Balcus will do two performances in Brighton. It marks an important part of her ongoing tour in Netherlands, Germany and United Kingdom. 

The Great Escape festival annually gathers the most important new artists from all over the world. Happening in 30 venues, it attracts about 3500 professionals from music industry and more than 15 000 spectators each year. These stats prove the fact that The Great Escape is one of the biggest and most important showcase festivals existing.

Elizabete Balcus has already been spotted in the U.K – last year she released her new album “Conarium” and it was recognized as the third best alternative album by the “Cambridge 105” radio.  Several critics have acclaimed her as well.

At The Great Escape festival Balcus will showcase her unique avantpop style which is made colliding elements from both academic and electronic music. She is recognizable by her virtuoso flute skills and also some untraditional performance elements – Balcus plays vegetables linked with synthesizers, for instance.

The purpose of the event is to discover new talents, encourage collaboration between the professionals of the industry and also – to promote Latvia as a place where creativity and professionalism allows a lot of contemporary music to be born.

Balcus is currently on her tour along with the multidisciplinary artist Sabine Moore. They are performing in London, Cambridge, Amsterdam and other cities, visiting several radio stations as well.

Latvian indie pop band “Franco Franco” unveils the second single and lyric video “Up” from the EP “Moon + Light” which is set to be released on November 2. The producer of the single and the EP is Reinis Sejans (Instrumenti); the recordings have been made in “TRU Music Studio”, Riga.

The band’s lead singer Elizabete Vētra reveals that “Up” is a confirmation of the old saying “Whatever happens, happens for the best”. This feeling has also been captured by the makers of the lyric video — Jurgis Rudmiezis (KIDDIN Aerial Works), Anete Ruke and Janis Vīksna. The band has already collaborated with them while making the video for the song “Frank Killed Lee”. A parallel, magic world has been discovered in the flight, making everyday concerns and greyness unimportant.

The song is already available on Spotify, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, as well as on the online music store iTunes and other online streaming channels.

The EP “Moon + Light” which is set to be released on November 2, will feature the song “Up” as well as “By the Lake” (unveiled in May) and other original songs.

“Franco Franco” has been active since 2010. In 2013 the band released its debut EP “Color me” and this year it has returned to active performing, giving concerts in festivals, for example, “Playground Festival”, “Fono Cesis”, “Piens Fest”.

Latvian indie rock band “Carnival Youth” have begun second part of their European tour, which is devoted to the presentation of their latest album “Propeller”.

The up-and-coming indie rockers are going to play more than 10 shows in Germany, Luxembourg, England, Scotland and Belgium during October, November and December. In addition to those concerts abroad, Carnival Youth will play seven shows in the biggest cities of their homeland – Latvia.

In September they had their first shows in New York, USA. For the next year “Carnival Youth” have made plans to play more concerts in Eastern-Europe, Scandinavia and some festivals around rest of Europe.

Their latest album Propeller was released in April 2016, yet their new single “Seagulls On Bicycles” – along with a video – was presented in September.

Latvian indie rock band Carnival Youth have released the new single “Seagulls On Bicycles” from their latest album “Propeller” along with a new video.

The charismatic four-piece is one of the most successful acts from their region – the Baltic States. Their new single sets off the second part of “Propeller’s” tour. Throughout autumn they will visit USA, Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Scandinavia, the Baltic States and other countries. The first part of their tour took place this spring and covered Central and Eastern Europe. In New York carnival Youth is playing  first showcase festival in USA – Mondo.NYC. The participation has been done in cooperation with Music Export Latvia, supported by Ministry of Culture and VKKF.

The chorus line of the song “To get through the day with no seagulls on bicycles, leading the way – seagulls on bicycles” is adopted from the painting by American artist Marc John. The video is based on the work of Spanish photographer AnaHell – she’s also the Art director of the video, while the rest of the crew is made up from local talent – director of the clip is Jurgstulajstus, camera operator – Jānis Eglītis, editor – Juris Matuzelis.  Video was shot at the city Sigulda in Latvia.

Carnival Youth were presented with the European Border Breakers award earlier this year. Their previous album found favour with critics and listeners alike, in their home country and abroad. The band was formed in 2012 and since then has released two studio albums.