In a similar vein to the Viegli project, in which contemporary singers interpreted the poetry of Imants Ziedonis, the Strāvoklis project features a mix of bands offering their take on the works of Jānis Rainis, perhaps Latvia’s best known poet.

Released in May, the recording contains 19 songs performed by a wide variety of independent Latvian groups. The project was initiated by producer and electronic music performer Andris Indāns and realized with the help of Edgars Šubovskis (of the popular indie Latvian group Hospitāļu iela) and Dita Ābola (who has also worked with Hospitāļu iela).

Ensembles performing on the album include not just indie stalwarts like Hospitāļu iela, Inokentijs Mārpls and HMP?, but also songwriter Imants Daksis and folk groups Iļģi and Auļi.

The project was celebrated with an event at the Rainis Monument in Rīga on May 4 to coincide with the anniversary of the renewal of Latvian independence.

Besides being released on compact disc, the album can also be downloaded for a donation at stravoklis.bandcamp.com.

The album includes:

1. Hospitāļu iela, “Laukā”
2. Bērnības Milicija, “Akmens”
3. Židrūns, “Fabrikas meitenes dziesma”
4. Jēkabs Nīmanis, “Svilpojošs vējš”
5. STandART, “Bez miega zirgi”
6. Ēnu kaleidoskops, “Kāvi”
7. Rosewater, “Svētvakars”
8. Inokentijs Mārpls, “Mūžīgā saskaņā”
9. Imants Daksis, “Mērens vējiņš”
10. isms, “Vaida”
11. Iļģi, “Dārgumu trauks”
12. Gaujarts, “Drebošā sirds”
13. Latvijas Gāze, “Grāmatā ar melnām lapām”
14. Soundarcade, “Sena aukles dziesma”
15. hmp?, “vientuļa miegaina”
16. Auļi, “Ko sējējs bēdā”
17. Jana Hermann, “Saules grieži”
18. $KODEK & TVMASKAVA, “Tā nevar palikt, tā nepaliks”
19. Nepilngadīgā Anna, “Svilpojošs vējš”

For more on the Strāvoklis project, visit www.stravoklis.lv.