Category: News

The rapper March (Martins Šimpermanis), known as a rap prodigy, has just published a video for the song “The Man” Come Get It, which also features the US rap superstar Redman. In the video, the legendary American rapper shares his ideas about what he believes to be the true hip-hop sound.

Velvet River is a project by drummer Kārlis Roberts Kalējs (LV) and bassist Tauna Woolfe (UK). The musicians started their collaboration at the end of 2019 when both were studying music in the UK. However, shortly after the formation of the duo, the pandemic halted their ability to collaborate in person for several years until they reunited in 2021.

In music, the role of bass and drums is usually to support and complement other instruments, but Velvet River in their EP experiments with what they can create themselves in such a minimalist context. The duo’s sound and unique concept are inspired by the modern and contemporary world of jazz, combined with both musicians’ personal sources of inspiration.

“This EP was not planned. During the pandemic, we exchanged some ideas virtually. We agreed that we could try to write music using only bass and drums. When we met again, there was such energy flowing through us that we composed 4 tracks in one week”, says Kārlis. The musicians say that the so-called “lo-fi” atmosphere suits this EP, which only adds to the fact that the album was recorded with their own
resources at home.

“I had gone to visit Kārlis at his place in the UK. We played music every day in the living room, where Kārlis had set up a minimalist drum kit. Due to the pandemic, we didn’t have access to a proper studio, and we decided to record the compositions right there in the living room”, adds Tauna.

Perhaps, in unconsciously striving to create new musical forms, the emphasis throughout the EP’s tracks became highlighting the interplay between the bass and drums, as well as the musical freedom and space with which the musicians experimented in their compositions. “In such a minimalist context, there are so many possibilities of what to play, and just as many possibilities to not play anything and leave some vibey space”, says Velvet River.

EP “Casablanca” is produced, recorded and mixed by Velvet River and mastered by Toms Jankevics. Artwork and design by Tīna Alise Drupa. Listen to “Casablanca” on all major streaming platforms starting from 02.06.23.

In this album, DANI RYAN present the collection of feelings of the last 3 years. The world has changed, the people have changed, and this album is like a diary of the band. Its name symbolizes the band members’ ability to find comfort and relief from everyday events in their music. This album connects the riff-filled alternative rock with the already recognizable elements of Dani Ryan’s synthrock, and also includes a couple of synthpop ballads. The songs’ themes connect to life and emotions.

DANI RYAN are getting ready for the album presentation concert, which will take place on March 31st in the “Republika” club. Follow the news via the band’s social networks @daniryanmusic and on the website daniryan.lv.

DANI RYAN is a synthpop project created by Daniel Ravinsky (vocals, guitar, synthesizer). After the debut album “Open” (2019), Daniel was joined by like-minded musicians and the project turned into a real rock band. After the band’s experimental second album, “Party!” (2020) he was joined by Jānis Zariņš (drums) and Angelina Volkova (bass guitar). During the pandemic, the band recorded the concert album “Performance”, thus capturing the band’s energetic multimedia concert performances. During these years, listeners have come to love several songs of DANI RYAN – “Exciter”, “Meloman” and also “Radio Anna”, which entered the list of TOP 3 songs on radio NABA and was regularly on air.

DENISS (Deniss Stepanovs), a member of the hip-hop association “Kreisais Krasts”, rapper and mixed martial artist, has released the song “Stop gamble”. With this single, he wants to draw people’s attention to the problem of gambling, also mentioning examples of well-known people in Latvia.

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A new song “Atdevu visu Tev” from the upcoming album and its video is presented to the audience by singer Samanta Tīna. The singer invites everyone to listen to themselves, not to be afraid to dare and to be able to step out of their usual comfort zone, beyond which a new stage of self-awareness opens.

Photographer: Arturs Martinovs

Singer Kristīne Prauliņa and her band “The Soulful Crew” release the single “Change of Perspective” and the music video for their first full-length album “Textures”, which will be released on 20 April.

“Change of Perspective” is the second single from the upcoming full-length studio album “Textures”, due on April 20th. “The song is about the days when it’s hard to see beauty and meaning, but it’s the pursuit of the good and the choice to view both ourselves and the world around us through faith and a sense of perspective that define us more than anything else. This is a very dear song to me, written on a hard day, with the sun shining”: says Kristīne Prauliņa about the new single.

The recording features original music by Kristīne Prauliņa’s band “The Soulful Crew”, which includes keyboardist Toms Mikāls, bassist Valters Sprūdžs, guitarist Jānis Kalniņš, drummer Kaspars Kurdeko and, of course, Kristīne herself.

A special video version of the single “Change of Perspective” has been created in collaboration with the creative team “Colortime”. The video was directed and produced by Reinis Janulis.

The single “Change of Perspective”, as well as the forthcoming album “Textures”, were recorded at “Mint Music Studio” in Riga and engineered and mixed by Toms Lisment, while the sound mastering was done by Zino Mikorey in Berlin. The album will include 10 original songs in English by singer Kristīne Prauliņa and bassist Valters Sprūdžs.

“Textrures” will be available on 20 April on all major streaming sites and will be premiered at a concert in Riga at the “K.K. fon Stricka Villa” on the day of the album’s release.

“The Soulful Crew performs original music in English and Latvian in soul, blues, R&B, gospel and singer/songwriter styles. The group’s sound ranges from intimately fragile singer-songwriter motifs to full-bodied, wide-ranging soul music expression, playing melodic, lyrical songs with less instrumentation, as well as full-bodied grooves.

On 16 March, pianist Andrejs Osokins will launch his new concert programme “Osokins – to Liszt”, which will continue until the end of the year in various venues across Latvia. Alongside the concert programme, a new fundraising campaign for Ukraine has been announced. 

The concert programme “Osokins – to Liszt” is a tribute to one of the most important piano composers and virtuosos of the 19th century – Franz Liszt – his creative work, personality, and life. Liszt – virtuoso, lover, philosopher, monk, priest, thinker, romantic and tragic hero – these are just some of the aspects of his personality that characterise the great composer’s complicated life of and permeate his music. Like Liszt’s life, which began in Hungary but took him to countless places in Europe, his work is interwoven by the theme of wandering, which is also one of the cornerstones of Andrejs Osokins concert programme. The pianist believes that the diversity of Liszt’s life resonates strongly with our times, when everything in the world is changing rapidly and everyone must be able to adapt to these changes.

The new concert programme will also feature Liszt’s Petrarch Sonnet No. 104 from the cycle “Years of Wandering”.

Currently, ten concerts of the “Osokins – to Liszt” concert programme have been announced:

• 16 March at the Daugavpils Unity House,
• 19 March at the Sēja Culture House,
• 1 April at the Mazmežotne Manor,
• 16 April at the Jelgava Culture House,
• 21 April at the Dobele Concert Hall ZINTA,
• 29 April at ZEIT in Līgatne,
• 10 May at the Lielvārde Culture House,
• 7 July at Veselava Manor,
• 14 October at Madona Culture House,
• 8 December at the Krustpils Culture House in Jēkabpils.

Tickets for the concerts are available at the “Biļešu paradīze” box office and online at www.bilesuparadize.lv and www.ekase.lv (concert in Loja).

In cooperation with the Embassy of Ukraine in Latvia and the charity fund Ziedot.lv, a new fundraising campaign initiated by Andrejs Osokins, “Strength Dose for Victory!”, has been launched, during which people are invited to donate for the purchase of universal meal kits, which will be delivered to Ukrainian soldiers at the front in cooperation with the Confederation of Ukrainian Societies “Viche”. Andrejs Osokins has launched the campaign in preparation for his new concert tour, because it is important for him as a musician not only to inspire the audience with excellent compositions and convey a message of peace, unity and hope, but also to encourage everyone to continue helping Ukraine.

“The brutal war in Ukraine is now a year old, which seems absolutely unbelievable. Our support gives Ukrainians not only much-needed resources to continue their fight against evil, but also inspiration and reassurance that they are not alone in this madness. That is why it is extremely important to continue helping Ukraine and its army, because it is this army that is the main force saving Europe and Latvia from the threats and darkness that Putin’s Russian troops are bringing to the whole world. Together we can bring the victory of light closer and thus the peaceful future of Latvia,” says Andrejs Osokins on why he continues to carry out various support actions for Ukraine.

In the campaign “Strength dose for Victory!”, funds are raised for meal kits, which include a complete meal, a bag of reagent that heats up in response to 50 ml of cold water and makes it possible to heat up this meal in frontline conditions without electricity or fire, as well as chocolate and muesli bars, a nut and raisin mix, a portion of oatmeal, bread, candy, tea, coffee, chocolate drink, antibacterial and plain napkins, and a spoon.

You can donate for the meal kit purchase here: https://www.ziedot.lv/maltisu-komplekti-ukrainu-karaviriem-fronte-4479.

This campaign is a continuation of the “Hot Meals for Ukrainian Soldiers at the Front” campaign launched by Andrejs Osokins on Ziedot.lv last October, which is still ongoing and has already raised more than EUR 100 000, enabling 20 000 hot meal kits to be delivered to the front in Ukraine.

On February 25 of this year, the band “The Bad Tones” released three songs, or “tringles” with the name “i”. This is a precursor to three more such tracks that the group will release during 2023.

“Some time ago I started thinking about a concept where we try to encapsulate a time in which a song comes together. My theory is that working on something creative during winter or summer influences the result and what you get in the end is completely different, that’s why I suggested implementing this idea in an album format, respectively three songs in each season. Somehow it also resonated well with Alberts and Rūdolfs idea that it would be nice to release more singles, to work less on something big, which can be tiring and begins to restrict with too much freedom at the beginning and too much stress at the end.Without hiding behind any purist motives, we have already recorded a large part of the songs live last summer at the former festival “Zvērā” territory in the “prieka māja”, but the process in which we decide the direction of the particular song, we leave to the mood of each season.” tells one of the band members, Edvards.

The Bad Tones released an EP last year called “Back Together Forever” alongside all other albums of the group have been nominated for the “Zelta Mikrofons 2022” award.

The Bad Tones is a band inspired by nature and blues that was formed in 2012, but took the name “The Bad Tones” in 2017. It is represented by Edvards Broders (voice, guitar, keyboards), Rūdolfs Ozols (voice, guitar, keyboards), Alberts Levics (voice, bass guitar) and Kalvis Sležis-Zaļkalns (voice, drums). So far “The Bad Tones” have released an EP “Bad Tunes” (2018), studio album “Is It Good Enough?” (2019), the live album “Ezera Skaņas” (2020) and another EP “Back Together Forever” (2022).

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“Angelic Mimetics” explores how different creations, before defined in more specific categories, have all merged in the infinite white light of the feed and become content. In this angelic light, there is no longer any observable border between craftsman, artist or master of other discipline, all are content creators, all are content consumers. What happens when content becomes so beautiful and perfect that it threatens the conditions of art themselves?

The video for “Angelic Mimetics” was filmed in a Riga dance club, “ONE ONE”, produced and directed by Alberts Levics and Alise Golovacka. The band would also like to say a massive thank you to Maksimilians Kotovičs, Harijs Aizups, Elza Krasta and Kristiāns Laizāns, all of whom participated in the making of the video.

The core of “Perestroika” is Leo Novus and Rūdolfs Ozols, who started their creative collaboration journey in 2020 in Amsterdam. In live shows, the duo is joined on stage by Aleksandrs Barons, Alise Golovacka and Dāvis Mazurenko. Although self-described as belonging to the art-rock genre, “Perestroika” refrains from limiting itself to the restrictions of any specific genre. In the creative process, the primary directive is the context/message of the song, while elements from different genres and styles are chosen to enhance it and to morph space accordingly.

The band’s first album “memorial server” was released on October 22 of last year and was nominated for the Latvian annual award for music recordings “Golden Microphone 2023” in categories “Best debut Album of the Year” and “Best Indie or Alternative Music Album”.