An album in memory of Jānis Grodums, one of the founding members of the legendary Latvian guitar rock band Līvi, has been released just weeks after his death. Grodums, 52, died June 15.

The album, Nezāles neiznīkst, features 19 tracks of studio and live performances by Līvi in which Grodums sings the vocal solo, recording company MICREC announced in a July 27 press release. Grodums was known for his dzelzs rīkle, or iron throat.

The idea for the album came from Grodums’ mother, Ausma, who saw it as a way to memorialize someone who had inspired an entire generation, according to MICREC.

The Liepāja-based Līvi was formed in 1976, although the band’s ancestry can be traced to 1972, according to its website www.livi.lv. Original members of Līvi included Grodums (bass and vocals), Juris Pavītols (guitar and vocals), Ēriks Ķiģelis (guitar and vocals), Ingrīda Pavītola (voice) and Andris Krūziņš (percussion).

Grodums, suffering from hepatitis, died two days before a concert in downtown Rīga that was meant to raise funds for his treatment. Instead, the concert turned into a memorial event featuring a number of well-known Latvian performers and an audience numbering in the thousands. A memorial also was held in Liepāja.

The songs on the album include:

• Bailes par ziņģi (1997)
• Ziņģe par bailēm (1997)
• Sesku dāle (1997)
• Līviskā ziņģe (1986)
• Rožu laukums (1986)
• Dzejnieks (1988)
• Piedod man (1997)
• Zvani (1988)
• Nekad (1998)
• Kad saule riet (Saules ceļš) (1988)
• Dieva dēls (2000)
• Mana vienīgā ziņģe (1997)
• Ej, vecais, ej (2004)
• Zelta sirds (1996)
• Ozolam (1987)
• Ja man miljons būtu (1979)
• Lakstu gailis (live) (1994)
• Pārāk maz (live) (1988)
• Dzimtā valoda (1986)

Most of the songs on the album were penned by Grodums. Others were composed by Ķiģelis, Ainars Virga, Guntars Mucenieks, Mārtiņš Brauns and Juris Kulakovs.

A compact disc featuring 31 Latgallian stories told by various cultural activists and musicians has been published by the Latgolys Producentu Grupa.

The goal of the recording,  Latgalīšu puosokys i puorsokys, is to make the material more accessible, according to Edīte Husare of Latgolys Producentu Grupa. Copies of the CD will be distributed to libraries and schools in Latgale, as well as to several organizations.

The stories were gathered over several years by folklorist Iveta Dukaļska, who traveled around the eastern Latvian province of Latgale. Among the stories are “Par peļom i kači,” which is about a mouse’s plan to put a bell on a cat’s tail, and “Par vylkim i eņgeli,” which is about a hungry wolf and an angel.

The stories were recorded by Aigars Runčis, Artūrs Uškāns, Gunārs Igaunis, Guntra Kuzmina, Alvis Bernāns, Juris Vucāns, Ilmārs Dreļs and other musicians and cultural activists.

The CD will not immediately be available for sale to the public, Husare told Latvians Online, but eventually copies will be found at the Istaba gallery in Rīga and possibly through the Internet store madeinlatgola.lv.

Preparation of the recording was supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation (Valsts Kultūrkapitāla fonds).

For more on Latgolys Producentu Grupa, visit the group’s page on the draugiem.lv social network.

Armenian pop singer Sona Shahgeldyan has won this year’s New Wave (Jaunais vilnis) competition, which began July 27 in Dzintari Concert Hall in Jūrmala, Latvia.

The contest, which is oriented toward Russian and other Eastern European music, was started in 2002 by popular Latvian composer Raimonds Pauls and Russian composer Igor Krutoy.

Two Latvian acts, girl group Lady’s Sweet and beatbox boy group PeR, placed eighth and ninth, respectively, out of the 17 finalists.

During the first day of the contest, according to the New Wave website, singers have to perform a world hit. On the second day, they perform a hit song from their own country. And on the third and final day, they perform an original song.

Ukraine’s Tatiana Shirko was the leader after the first day of competition, while Estonia’s Uku Suviste scored highest on the second day. Shahgeldyan had the best result on the third day and, when points for all three days were tallied, she came out on top—just one point ahead of Shirko.

First prize in the New Wave competition includes a monetary award of EUR 50,000.

This year contest co-founder Pauls caused a bit of a stir when in March he told Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze he would no longer participate in the competition. But earlier this month he reversed his decision, telling television station LNT that if he and jazz singer Laima Vaikule would not be on the jury, then Latvian performers would have a hard time in the contest.

And just days before the competition, Pauls in an interview with Latvian State Television expounded on his thoughts about the New Wave contest, relations with Russia and Latvia’s future.