Category: News

Lauris Reiniks has jus released the official music video for his Baltic summer song “Morning in Dandelion Fluff” (LV-“Rīts pieneņpūkās”, LT-“Rytas pienės pūke”, EE-“Hommik võilille-ehmetes”). The video is available in Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian and a special acoustic version in English.

It is a romantic story about a chemistry between two people. When that chemistry is there, all stereotypes and ideas of so called “standards” just collapse – in terms of physical appearance and financial status. Nothing can stand against these feelings. It is a story about insecurity and fears that always stand by when something “too” beautiful and “incredibly” good happens to us.

The lead role in the video is played by Lauris’s colleague- Uku Suviste, the well known Estonian singer. The lead female role is carried out by Katrina Lulle, Latvian girl who works as a PR specialist but was recognised as the best for this role in a national casting. The video shoot took place in Latvia and lasted 3 days in Mežaparks (Riga), Carnikava and Mārupe.

Uku Suviste: “It doesn’t happen very often that one singer asks another singer to participate in his or her music videos as an actor therefore it was a very worthwhile experience. I very much appreciated the pleasant opportunity to work with Lauris and Katrina as well as with the whole crew. I admire Lauris’s way of cooperating with singers and actors from other neighbour countries, its something every performer should learn from. I was very happy to help and would do so again in a flash!”

“I wanna thank Uku for saying yes to my extraordinary and special offer. He was exactly the type we were looking for and did everything great! Also thanks to Katrina for being brave enough to jump into this world of show business, director Aija, camera man Ivo and everyone else! I am proud and happy to work with all these talented people. I hope my listeners will like this video and I’m already happy that this song has been doing really well in radio charts. Now everyone will understand what this song is about! Pictures speak better than words.”, says Lauris.

Video dierector: Aija Strazdiņa (JUMP Studio), Camera: Ivo Skanstiņš (Film Studio Rafa), producer: Lauris Reiniks. Publishing: “Mikrofona Ieraksti”. Songs are available for download on doremi.lv , Amazon un iTunes.

Currently, the only Latvian live looping music duo “Karmafree” has released new music video and single “Validate Me.” .

“The song” Validate Me “is about excessive obedience to authority and influential people, as well as the giving them permission to examine and define our lives “on the song’s message comment singer Mara Lisenko.

Music video are made by Pavel Trebukhin and it is the duo’s vision for creative people existentialism.

“Artists and musicians usually don’t speak about that – how they experience numerous rejections, what consequences they can have, and how they find the strength to stand up in order to continue to create, “comment the idea of the video bassist Dmitry Lisenko.

Lead vocalist of Indygo and author of almost all their lyrics Mārtiņš Vaters says: “New single “Bēglis” is about running away from our daily needs and responsibilities. You just have to enjoy everything, but if you don’t – you have to learn it!”

In early spring band went to country house in the woods of Žocene near small town Roja, where they made drafts for songs of the new album. “Bēglis” was recorded and mixed in “Sound Division Studios” continuing collaboration with sound engineer Gatis Zaķis who also took part in making of bands previous record “Decoy”. Album was finished in “New Alliance East” studio in USA. Special sound in this record was provided by world famous guitar brand “Fender”.

Album “Stars” will be released in the beginning of September – starting with online streaming but later also in CD and vinyl. Band is going to perform in festival “Summer Sound” in Liepāja, Limbaži town festival and other open air events this summer. 

Indygo is Mārtiņš Vaters (vocals), Jānis Volkinšteins (guitar), Mārtiņš Leja (bass) and Miks Riekstiņš (drums).

Bēglis by Indygo

The creators of the song are composer maestro Raimonds Pauls, renown poet and lyricist Anna Rancane and producer Gints Stakevics. The song is deeply ethnic, but very catchy and easy to listen to, overfilled with joy and the special melodic spark so characteristic to Maestro’s music, it inspires the listener to sing and dance along, as well as to believe in miracle of the Ligo night and a nation by tradition.

The author of the idea and the performer – Lana Franceska tells that she has longed for Latgalian originals works in her repertoire. – “Maestro also liked this idea, well but Anna just turned it all to reality!

While getting ready for the Summer Solstice show, I was recollecting about the traditions and memories that are intertwined with myself and the Summer Solstice festival. During my childhood all Ligo I used to spend with my family and friends at my godparents countryside in Latgale, where we danced and played, as well as learned lots and lots of ancient traditions that our parents and godparents taught us. Well, now being a grown up myself, in my family I strive to never lose that part of our unique traditions, connected to Ligo and Jani.

For that reason, I wish to all of our listeners to never let go of the most true and valuable what we have both as an individual personality and as a whole nation. Wishing you all to sing and dance your hearts out during the magical Ligo night, and may we all generate enough emotions, friendships and love to keep us warm through the rest of the year.”

 29th of June, 2015 at 72 Queensborough Terrace, London will be a unique event:  international band DAGAMBA following their performance at the Glastonbury festival.  Charged with powerful sounds and inimitable dynamics, amazing arrangements and well known compositions in a new light, from Beethoven and Mozart. Also rocking out Led Zeppelin will impress equally. 

 Special sound and non- forgettable vitality, academic education and rebellious spirit, masterly possession of classical instruments and spectacular rhythms    – DAGAMBA invite you to enjoy a nontraditional music performance in the heart of London.

The second album, “Hardships Are Ships” by the singer-songwriter Alise Joste is released today, on October 23rd.

“Hardships Are Ships”, the long-awaited sophomore album by Alise Joste, is released under the label I Love You Records.

This record, just like the debut album, was recorded solely by Alise herself in her country-house. The album was mixed by Gatis Zaķis and mastered by Joe Lambert, who has worked with albums by artists, like The National, Sharon Van Etten, Sondre Lerche, Wye Oak and others.

“A creative camp just by myself” – that is how Alise describes the making of “Hardships Are Ships”. “At the beginning of the year I had promised everyone that I would finally record something new, so I had no other options but to load my car full of stuff and leave for a creative camp just by myself. I wasn’t sure about the result to expect. I was prepared that maybe nothing would come out of it and I would have spent a month in a complete nowhere land just drinking tea and watching TV shows. Of course, that also wouldn’t be bad. But when I arrived, it became clear to me what I wanted to do. It is often difficult to have a broader view on things in our everyday life. People just get annoyed by everyone and everything. But when I got the chance to run away, I understood what is important, and what is not, and what I should let my heart ache for, and what I should just laugh about. In this album I tried to maintain a simple approach to things, and tried not to complicate anything, by just doing whatever seemed right at the time. I had no specific concept or message that I wanted to bring to my listeners. There were some old songs, which needed to be recorded, and also brand new ones. But a desire to enjoy the process and spend my time well was above everything else.”

Video: LaIPA,Parmuziku.lv, komuna7.lv
Interwies: Pikaso

Latvian singer, songwriter, producer and DJ Markus Riva released a new single “Take Me Down”. With this song he participated in Supernova 2015 which is the Latvian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Despite being one of the favorites of Supernova he finished second at the final.

“The new single is called “Take me down” and it is a story about unconditional love and emotions – if we love, then till the end. If you going to fall and brake – I am coming with you. Very dramatic but honest at the same time,” tells Markus.

This is the first big-budget music video for Markus, despite the fact that he has released over 12 music videos in home country. “Take Me Down” is made by well-known Ukrainian director Alan Badoev, who has filmed over 100 music videos for a lot of Russian and Ukrainian music acts, including Valery Meladze, Via Gra, Vera Brezhneva, Polina Gagarina, Dan Balan, Kazaky, Max Barskih, Loboda and many more. Collaboration between Badoev and Markus Riva started after the prime-time TV show “Want to Meladze” last fall where Markus was only one step away from the victory. Music video was filmed in Kiev and it has 2 versions – one in English and another in Russian, which is the first single for Markus Riva for the Russian spoken audience.

Markus Riva is a Latvian singer, songwriter, producer and DJ from Riga. He is best known for his singles “007”, “Lights On” and “We Dance For A Reason”. As of Today he released three albums named „Ticu“, „Songs from NYC“ and “How It Feels”.

“Take Me Down” is available on iTunes and Spotify.

This morning, at the public radio station Pieci Riti in the Latvian capital of Riga, Carnival Youth was unveiled as the first winner of the 2016 European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA), the European music awards for emerging artists. In the upcoming weeks, nine other European artists with cross border success will be announced as winners of the 2016 EBBA.

‘No Clouds Allowed’ is the title of Carnival Youth’s debut album: a beautiful, clever indie folk record, with modern rhythms, sharp lyrics, fresh keys and melancholic melodies. As far as their sound is concerned, Carnival Youth is somewhere between Bombay Bicycle Club and Arcade Fire, and in 2014 ‘No Clouds Allowed’ won a prize for best debut album in their home country of Latvia. They are currently working on their second album.

The EBBA are about breaking down borders and recognising emerging European rock, pop and dance artists who achieved success in countries other than their own. These unique European music awards are funded under the European Union (EU) Creative Europe programme. With the EBBA, the European Union wishes to highlight the success of 10 debuting European artists in selling albums and touring outside their home territory. From Adele (2009) to Milky Chance (2015), the winners of the EBBA represent the full breadth of European talent and diversity. Other previous winners also include Stromae, Emeli Sande?, Gabriel Rios, Hozier, Melanie De Biasio, Of Monsters and Men, Woodkid, Mumford & Sons, Caro Emerald, Lykke Li, Disclosure, Katie Melua, John Newman, The Ting Tings, C2C, Tokio Hotel, The Script, Zaz, Nico & Vinz, Saybia, Damien Rice, KT Tunstall, Alphabeat, Milow and Afrojack.

Europe’s cultural and linguistic diversity is a strong part of its cultural appeal, but linguistic barriers sometimes make it harder for artists to work internationally and achieve cross-border sales success. The EBBA seek to help them overcome these obstacles.To be eligible for the 2016 awards, the artists must have achieved border-breaking success with their first international release in Europe between 1 August 2014 and 31 July 2015.

The winners are selected on the basis of data from Nielsen Music Control research, the European Broadcasting Union, EBU radio stations, and from festivals participating in the European Talent Exchange Programme. The winners will receive their awards in a ceremony hosted by TV personality and musician Jools Holland at the Eurosonic Noorderslag festival in Groningen, Netherlands, on January 13, 2016. The ceremony will feature performances of the winning acts. One of the winners will receive a Public Choice Award based on votes cast on the EBBA website from the end of November to Christmas. Up to 15 voters, chosen at random from different countries, will be invited to the award ceremony: each will be able to bring a friend and the prize includes their flight and hotel costs. The EBBA, now in their 13th year, is organised by Eurosonic Noorderslag in partnership with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), with support from Buma Cultuur, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, Province of Groningen, the City of Groningen and Music Week.

Latvia-based alternative rock band Neon Saturdays was first noticed last year after the release of their critically acclaimed self-titled debut album. Singles „Here I Am” and „What About You” both of which received noticeable attention from local radio stations were also praised by Tim Fraser – a world-renowned songwriter for Tina Turner, Billie Myers and a member of BASCA’s Songwriters Executive Committee. This year for the first time Neon Saturdays is set to play The Great Escape festival in Brighton, UK which is a huge step for the northern-european four-piece band since previously TGE has hosted such well-known artists as Mumford & Sons, Tom Odell, Bastille, Kasabian, Chvrches and each year representatives from huge record lables, notable music critics and music lovers from all over the world are brought togeather in the small town on the south coast of England. The festival takes place May 14-16.

Before heading off to England Neon Saturdays is to release their new single/music video Save Your Lies on May 7. „The song is about conflict in each of us. It is about modern times and the struggles we face to better ourselves. I’ve seen people willing to break themselves just so they can get out of it all and find happiness in these rather dreary days… But I must say – I’ve been inspired,” says the singer Andris Evelis. Save Your Lies will be the first single from the band’s upcoming second album which is to be released in 2016.

Latvian rock band Neon Saturdays was established in 2012. The band’s work has been influenced by indie/alternative rock and electronic music. During the first year of activity the band produced their self-titled debut album, two singles (Tomorrow, Awake), toured UK/ Baltic states and had the video for “Tomorrow” go into rotation on Baltic music channels.