Category: News

The new latvian band “The Citizens LV” releases their first single “Happy Family” and a music video from their upcoming debut album “Concrete Dreams” which comes out on October 5th.

“Happy Family” is the newest piece from bands’ written work which a week before recording it in studio was just an idea with some basic guidelines written out.  “Happy Family” is filled with synthesizer riffs, which are complemented by R&B, hip hop and dance music rhythms, but still retains rock&roll taste added from the riffs of electric guitar.

The song’s lyrics are about unfulfilled hopes, pain and disappointment of failed relationships and difficulties, that have to be overcome in order to preserve what is important for oneself.

“”Happy Family” is gloomy but energetic at the same time, and it is hard to stand still and not dance along when the song comes on,” the band says about their new single.

The music video complements  the song’s lyrical message by proceeding the theme of trust, relationships, fear and ignorance. The main character goes through a lot of stormy events and in the end has to face the consequences. The video gives you food for thought – are you happy and whether you know what happiness means to you.

On October 5th, 2015 the band “The Citizens LV” releases their debut album “Concrete Dreams” and its’ presentation concert will be held on October 8th at the club/night venue “Piens”. More information will be published at the end of September.

“The Citizens LV” was formed in 2009 by four friends, at that time schoolmates – Jānis (lead vocals), Reinis (keyboards), Roberts (bass) and Krišjānis (drums). After a while Rihards (lead guitar) joined in. The band throughout its’ existence has experimented with different music genres until they finally found their sound in something that is a mix of everything they admire in music and the band describes it as synth rock. The biggest events they have participated in are Positivus 2014, Kuldīga LiveFest and Eurobasket 2015 as musical performers at the biggest event hall in Latvia – Arena Riga.

From 28th of March to 3rd of April Estonian capital Tallinn will host 8th annual music conference/showcase festival “Tallinn Music Week”. Among more than 230 artists to perform in Tallinn there will be 7 Latvian acts as well as a showcase show presented by record company “I Love You Records” and “Positivus Festival”.

Latvia will be represented in Tallinn this year by seven acts, more than 40 delegates and a showcase show presented by “I Love You Records” and “Positivus Festival”. This showcase on Saturday in “Kino Sõprus” is already starting to become a tradition of “Tallinn Music Week” and this year among other performers from USA, Germany, Austria, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia it will also host Latvian singer-songwriter Alise Joste, whose album “Hardships Are Ships” won “Austras balva” in 2015, the Latvian equivalent of British “Mercury Prize”.

Other Latvian acts scheduled to perform in “Tallinn Music Week” are hip-hop legend Ozols, “Instrumenti” frontman Jānis Šipkēvics with his new project “Shipsea”, indie-pop sensations “Rīgas Modes”, talented beat maker and producer NiklāvZ, colorful indie band “Triana Park” and Latvian masters of funk “Very Cool People”.

Indie rock band “Pyro Trees” reveals the first single „Small Talk” from their upcoming debut LP which will be released in November of this year.

In the summer of 2015, after playing in such festivals as Laba Daba, Playground in Latvia and Devilstone in Lithuania, the band started to work on their debut album.The song „Small Talk” is the first single that is published for a wider audience, and also the first song to be published after their lead singer and guitarist Rūdolfs left the band and went to study abroad.

Right after the release of the first single “Pyro Trees” are going to the capital of Poland – Warsaw, where they are going to represent Latvia in the music conference Liveurope. The band’s performance will be on 11th of September on the stage of Stodola – one of the most popular music clubs in Warsaw, together with 28 other new European bands.

And on the 25th of September “Pyro Trees” are playing in Hamburg, Germany – in one of the biggest conferences of the European music industry – Reeperbahn, which will be held this year for the 10th time. So far Latvia in Reeperbahn has been represented by bands such as “Carnival Youth”, “Triana Park”, “The Sound Poets” and “Audience Killers”.

Heavy metal band “Relicseed” (USA/LV) has announced the first bunch of the “Serial Surgery Tour” dates across America and Europe supporting their latest studio release “Slaughterhouse” (“Microphone Records”).

The band has published the first 2 of the entire 6 tour chapters which will begin on April 20 in Muncie, IN and wrap up by the end of November in Europe. All together it’s 13 US dates including Philadelphia, Huston, Indianapolis as well as Queens and 9 European dates including Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Hungary.

“Relicseed” will tour together with various bands including “Losing September” (U.S.), “BLAMING HOLLYWOOD” (U.S.), “Darker Half” (AU) and others.

“Relicseed`s” journey begun back in 2004 when four Latvian musicians started experimenting with different playing and singing styles. The debut album “60 minutes of a dream” was released only in 2010 (Relicseed). The album was the start of defining the band`s character which is brightly represented in their second studio release “Slaughterhouse”. Constantly remaining the only original member Edgars Rakovskis (guitars, vocals) has led “Relicseed” across his native Latvia`s borders entering various alternative music markets around the world as well as created the new international form of musicianship together with the great Nathan J.C. Mercado (drums).

Edgars: “We`re extremely happy to finally get on the road again and do something we love together with likeminded musicians! Excited and willing to see everybody in the pit!”

Vocal group FRAMEST releases a new single „Dod, Dieviņi”, music author ir composer and group’s artistic leader Janis Kirsis ( Jānis Ķirsis), words are taken from Latvian folk songs. The song has been written for the new concert programme „Dainu skapis” (The Cabinet of Latvian folk songs), which will be performed on October 2 in Spikeri Concert Hall and on October 9 at Kauguri Culture House.

Concert programme „Dainu skapis” results from musical explorations, where traditional melody is put in such a form, rhythm and harmony which reflects both contemporary academic and popular music. This programme is influenced by traditional Latvian culture but has a fresh, modern sounding, traditional folk tunes being mixed with modern composition techniques – jazz, electronics etc.  Concert programme consists of arrangements and original compositions by two members of the vocal group Framest – Janis Kirsis and Roberts Memmens (Jānis Ķirsis and Roberts Memmēns).

Band Laime Pilniga has written a title track for documentary film trilogy „Savējie sapratīs”(„We knew”) and grants it for free.

laimepilniga.bigcartel.com  is a place where everybody can support latvian rock quartet „Laime Pilniga” (The LP) and get its T-shirts and CD digipacks.

The Great Escape is excited to announce that they have teamed up with Music Export Latvia and The Lithuanian Music Business Association as their lead international partners for 2016, bringing to Brighton the very best of up and coming Baltic talent.

Highlights of the amazing international line-up of artists will be Lithuania’s Without Letters, who bring together tenacious techno beats and psychedelic twists in an eclectic mix of surreal sound, along with the cabaret-tinged acoustic tones of Alina Orlova. Joining them will be Latvia’s finest; the feel-good indie awesomeness that is Carnival Youth and the weird and wonderful avant-pop duo Howling Owl.  

Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s first Deutsche Grammophon recording  Shostakovich Under Stalin’s Shadow — featuring Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 and the Passacaglia from Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk won the Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance last night at the 58th annual Grammy Awards.

Andris Nelsons was born in Riga in 1978 into a family of musicians, Andris Nelsons began his career as a trumpeter in the Latvian National Opera Orchestra before studying conducting. He was Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 2008-2015, Principal Conductor of Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie in Herford, Germany 2006-2009 and Music Director of Latvian National Opera 2003-2007.

The Briefing is an indie pop band formed in 2002 by four Latvian musicians, who since 2010 have been living and working in London. So far they have released two studio and one remix album. In 2008 album Funny Thoughts was nominated as the best alternative music album at the Annual Latvian Music…