Album is a reminder that feeling alone and alienated from the rest of the world can still be enjoyable. Meanwhile single “Zvaigžņu rati” (or Star chariot) is a romantic ballad that provides the feeling of a warm summer night.
On April 12th, indie rock musician Jannsi released the song “Atkrītot”, featuring elements of indie rock and rap with an authentic and inclusive message. “I believe that music has the power to change the world. Similar to other songs, in this composition, I encourage everyone to challenge their personal beliefs, not allowing prejudices or misunderstandings to create hatred, which is sometimes presented as love,” says Jannsi.
In the song “Atkrītot”, Jannsi, whose real name is Jānis Uplejs, talks about his experience in various conversations, internet comments, letters, and phone calls where someone expresses their opinion about Jānis’ religious life. As Jannsi identifies himself as a Christian while also expressing support for the LGBTQ+ community and egalitarianism – the belief that all genders are equal in friendship – these opinions are received quite often.
“These comments are quite diverse – from attempts to indoctrinate to efforts to persuade, to calling me a Satanist or a false teacher, but they all share the judgment that I have either never truly been a believer, or I have ‘fallen away’ from faith. This song is my story about this ‘falling away’ – a careful evaluation of my beliefs, not relying solely on what some teachers have said, who continue to echo only what they have been taught, without conducting deeper research,” continues Jannsi. “For example, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah describes horrific sexual violence, physical and numerical superiority used against the weaker, but is used against loving same-sex couples.”
The song “Atkrītot” is available on all popular music streaming platforms.
In the run-up to the Eurovision Song Contest, Sudden Lights are releasing a series of remixes of the song “Aijā”, in collaboration with four different DJs. Makree, [Ex] da Bass, MarkMate and the acclaimed Lithuanian producer Leon Somov have given the song a new sound in the dance and house genres. All remixes are available on streaming services.
The first release is a remix by electronic music producer Makree (Mārtiņš Makreckis). “Makree is a very talented musician, his works are in our personal playlists. His music has an international character in the best sense of the word. We are delighted and grateful that he agreed to give our song a different sound!”
https://open.spotify.com/album/24x4lRjN59Gw06ePP1w0Ia?si=o5B-Y_T2QiCgMWidaetOFg
The well-known Latvian DJ [Ex] da Bass or Mareks Dainis has also renewed his tradition of remixing Eurovision songs. He says: “Although “Aijā” is a sad and rocky lullaby, I would like to believe that my remix has turned out to be very enjoyable, modern and in line with the expectations of club-goers. I wish Sudden Lights a successful start and great success at this year’s Eurovision!”
https://open.spotify.com/album/54P2R5kuWAQhk56fQyQKvC?si=MQjOXG4_SwKuMBkd5sCgvA
The remix series features Sudden Lights’ first international collaboration with one of the best-known Lithuanian producers and electronic music creators – Leon Somov. “It’s a great feeling to support our Latvian brothers not only with our voices, but also with a new version of their song. Of course, stylistically the remix and the original song are very different, now it’s a completely different genre… But when a song is good, it can sound great in different styles. When I was working on the song, I had complete creative freedom and I used elements that excited me, I expressed them in my own way,” explains Leon.
https://open.spotify.com/album/3t0noeRlgjV3VBKYgsjP8J?si=4M_wrM8aTiaz5vTPAKWE2g
The series is concluded by the promising 19-year-old producer MarkMate (Marks Matisons), whose name has already been heard abroad and whose songs have received support from well-known DJs such as Don Diablo, Nicky Romero and others. “Sudden Lights is a soothing lullaby with a unique tempo. I thought that a remix with elements of house music and my own musical signature, as part of my MarkMate music project, would be something that could appeal to both a passionate fan of the band and someone who prefers dance music on a daily basis,” says Mark.
Just as every living creature consumes sunlight, every human being runs on a certain amount of light in his life. When we learn how to live through this light, embrace its existence, and choose to treasure every little thing we’ve got, the world around us responds to our thoughts and actions and becomes brighter with every choice we make. This is why a Latvian poet Aleksandra Line wrote three poems in three different languages, English, Latvian and Russian, on the darkest nights of Latvian winter, and a prominent Latvian composer Uģis Prauliņš turned triptichum “through the light” into music for three vocalists, a piano and a vibraphone. The album is scheduled for release as a CD, as well as on major music streaming platforms, on April 24.
Tryptichum comes from Ancient Greek and means three layers. So this multilayered album not only consists of three languages and merges music styles, but there also are three different vocalists, each of whom sings lead vocals in one of the compositions (“cauri gaismai” is the solo of Rūta Dūduma Ķirse, “through the light” – Santa Šillere and “сквозь свет” – Evilena Protektore), Ēriks Miezis plays vibraphone and percussions, Edgars Cīrulis is on upright piano and effects. All five of the jazz musicians are improvisers and most of them write their own music, so the end result of “through the light” is mostly interpreted by each of them with their own musical character and arrangement added to the story.
The album was recorded in Riga at the end of 2022, with sound recording, mixing and mastering done by Pauls Dāvis Megi. Sound engineer’s assistant – Bruno Brauns, album release is supported by the State Culture capital foundation. Photography, behind the scenes story and cover art are done by Vadim Kozhin with Vinsents Krebs posing for the cover.
“I was attracted to the three different characters, moods, mentalities, and tried to compose the music so that the lyrics don’t lose their initial meaning. The poetry is very personal – in the center of it there always are inner feelings, wishes, ideals, doubts and searching for light. I was very interested while observing how Aleksandra’s peers interpret this concept, so I enjoyed meeting these professionals with their fresh energy to see how it all turns out”, – says a Latvian composer Uģis Prauliņš, whose contemporary musical works are performed throughout the continents and whose composition “The Nightingale” was twice nominated for a Grammy award.
Aleksandra Line is a music manager and poet, Latvian Music Academy lecturer and active music industry participant with more than 12 years of experience. She has been writing poetry in English, Latvian and Russian since her childhood – for many years it has been included in her own spoken word and jazz music project “klausies” with two albums released; besides, she also writes lyrics for various composers. “This triptichum is a dedication to myself and everyone who took part in its creation. Also each of our significant people, everyone who doesn’t ever quit searching for light and everyone who begins the searches within himself for a start”, – states the author.
Rapper Deniss (Deniss Stepanov) from the association “Kreisais Krasts” unites with the popular TikToker Bacha (Mareks Bahmanis) and Latvian singer Adriana Miglāne and releases the song “Notiesāts”, where he looks with sarcasm and humor at how he was accused and sentenced for a Covid certificate trade.
Latvia’s most active music hooligans, Very Cool People, together with the young singer Paula Saija, surprise again and release a new, completely uncharacteristic single for the band called Rikšiem (In Trot), which was inspired by a Latvian folk song.
It is kept in the grooving tradition of roof and bass systems rousing folk-electro-jazz. In the song, singer Paula is joined at the vocal microphone by trombonist Laura Rozenberga of the band Very Cool People, who counts the rhymes in a very technical, even rap king-like skill, and also in folk moods!
“Rikšiem is an ode to the strength and perseverance of human character”, comments Laura. “For life to move forward and growth to happen, you have to take the reins and just do it. Waiting for miracles sometimes has to be left to the world of fairy tales.”
“We were so inspired by the text and sound of the summer wedding folk song that we left the most effective accents from it in our version – the first two lines of the text and two measures of the original melody”, emphasizes Elvijs Grafcovs, the co-author of the arrangement and the leader of Very Cool People with a guitar in his hands.
A video was also made for the song, created by Arvis Belovs. The authors of the script are the band members themselves. The video is also made on the subject of marriages – the girls Paula and Laura go to the streets of Riga to look for grooms with their trusty two-wheeler, meeting all kinds of groom stereotypes on the way.
“We are from Latvia and we are always very proud of it”, says Elvijs. “We have noticed that playing with ethnic codes in music often appeals to listeners of different nationalities, so this time we focused on pseudo-folklore. It is a style in which our creative expressions in the direction of Latvian folklore are mixed with the most authentic folklore and electronic music plus live energy of Very Cool People!”
“Creating Rikšiem was a very exciting process for me, discovering new aspects of myself and my voice”, adds Paula Saija. “In the song, Latvian ethnic culture is of great importance, which has acquired completely new colors this time.”
The song was created by Elvijs Grafcovs, Māris Jēkabsons, Paula Saija, Laura Rozenberga and Jānis Kalve, using the motifs of the folk song Rikšiem bērīt’ es palaidu (I Let the Horse Trot). The producers are Elvijs Grafcovs and the legend of Latvian dance and electronic music of the nineties, Jānis Kalve. Despite the wide presence of electronic instruments, everything is played live, without using previously prepared loops and backing tracks.
The song was recorded at Very Cool Studio, Labo Ierakstu Studio and Ciemupes Production. Mix and master versions were created by Jānis Kalve.
The new single Rikšiem can be heard on the most popular music streaming services.
The song “Aijā” by the group “Sudden Lights”, with which Latvia will be represented at the international Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool this year, has been remixed by the popular domestic DJ [Ex] da Bass
Photo by Roberts Vidzidskis
Kriss Baglais from the group “Rīmdari” releases a new song and video under his solo project “Loopout”. This is the second single from the upcoming album that is scheduled to release on June 1.
“Me and a friend of mine went to Open’er festival in Poland last year and met the stage crew of Twenty One Pilots in an underground bar in Gdynia, Poland,” says Kriss Baglais, “There were guys from lighting, pyrotechnics, the stage manager – about 20 people in total. And that was just part of the whole team. I showed my song to one of the crew members and he really liked it. The video engineer offered to shoot a video for the song the next day, for free. I couldn’t believe what was happening,” Kriss remembers. “I went to Poland mainly to see the performance of Twenty One Pilots, and two days before it I suddenly shot a music video with the band’s crew. Unbelievable!”
Unfortunately, Kriss lost contact with the crew member and never got the final video for Close My Eyes. A year has passed since the event and Loopout is coming out with a self-made video about the story of how they filmed the music video. “The song is about using your imagination to achieve your dreams,” Kriss explains. ”This song manifested a true story of how a dream manifest itself out of nowhere. All I can say – just do it.”
In 2021, Loopout released debut EP ‘Music from Nowhere’ and in October last year came out with a single from the upcoming album “Monsters in Dreams”. Loopout is a hip-hop project by Latvian musician Kriss Baglais. Kriss is a member of a popular latvian hip-hop group “Rīmdari”. The record was produced by Reinis Karklins (Aleja Records).