On debut album, rockers Laime Pilnīga take listener on cosmic journey

Raitis Freimanis | 

Laime Pilnīga

The band Laime Pilnīga has been together since 2004 and last year released its debut album. (Publicity photo)

Dual

One of the bright spots of 2011 on the Latvian music scene was the debut album Dual by Laime Pilnīga.

Laime Pilnīga (Happiness Fulfilled) brings together old-school hard rock into generous compositions with a fresh and modern sound. The group has its beginnings as early as 2004, but got its first big break playing as special guests at Latvian rock icons Pērkons’ 25th anniversary concert.

The band members really can’t say how they got together, just that they had known each other from different musical projects and decided to form the band.

The four group members are Ervins Ramiņš on lead vocals, acoustic guitar and synthesizer, who also works as a vocal teacher; guitarist Mārcis Vasiļevskis, who is described by former Latvian Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis as a guitar virtuoso ; bassist Jānis Olekšs, has performed on many Latvian television music shows and played as session bassist in different groups; and drummer Elvijs Mamedovs, who is also been a session drummer in different Latvian bands. The group has performed at many different music festivals in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Hungary. It has made several videos that are available on YouTube.

Dual, a 10-song album, begins with the mystifying “Neverendless.” It sets the tone for this cosmic musical journey. The next track, “The Time Song,” has a lot of Led Zeppelin influence. It has a lot of syncopation with a good groove supplied by bassist Olekšs and drummer Mamedovs.

“Shaman,” which is the second single off the album, features excellent slide guitar by Vasiļevskis while vocalist Ramiņš blasts out the melody with excellent English pronunciation. The song was inspired by Ramiņš’ journey to Canada, where he met local Indian tribes.

Slowing things down with a classic 12-bar blues, “All Her Soul” really lets the singer take center stage with his soulful voice. “G.O.D.” is a two-part song that starts off with a syncopated beat and takes off in the second half, getting faster and faster, picking up more momentum towards the end. The track goes straight into “I’m in Love with the Money” with its acoustic guitar riff and falsetto vocal.

Some off-beat stuff is the album’s first single, “Terror Woman.” There’s some really interesting sound effects at the end of the track to link it up with “We Are Prayin’,” which is a nice little slow song featuring Madžo on tabla. This song has a dramatic bridge and ends off so serenely and calmly as it started.

“One Moment” (my favorite on the album) is again what is the Laime Pilnīga “sound.” It has a good sing-along chorus and a good coordinated bridge between the guitar, bass and drums. The song really rocks!

The longest song on the album is the last last one, “Sensations.” It has an eerie verse and a strong powerful chorus, plus lots of jazzy 7th and 9th chords and scales in the cosmic guitar solo with some melodic background vocals. The song ends after about six minutes, but is followed by 60 seconds of silence and ends with a little echo guitar. Good ending, very cosmic.

I really like this record and I think this group could have a good shot of gaining popularity outside of Latvia because their excellent musicianship and unique sound. Dual has been nominated for Best Rock Album and Best Debut Album of 2011 by the Latvian Music Industry Awards that will host its ceremony Feb. 28 in the National Opera in Rīga.

For more information, visit the band’s website, www.laimepilniga.com or see the band’s page on the draugiem.lv social network.

Details

Dual

Laime Pilnīga

Laime Pilnīga,  2011

Track listing:

Neverendless

Time Song

Shaman

All Her Soul

G.O.D.

I’m in Love with the Money

Terror Woman

We Are Prayin’

One Moment

Sensations

Raitis Freimanis lives in Stockholm, Sweden, and is a founding member of the Latvian-Canadian band Skandāls.

Female group Latvian Voices releases album of folk, original compositions

Egils Kaljo | 

Female a cappella vocal ensemble Latvian Voices has released its third album, Tā kā taka.

Composed of seven young Latvian singers—Laura Jēkabsone, Karīan Kaminska, Nora Vītiņa, Andra Blumberga, Elīna Šmukste, Laura Leontjeva and Zane Stafecka—Latvian Voices perform a wide variety of Latvian songs which they have themselves arranged.

Tracks on the album include folk songs such as “Ej, saulīte, drīz pie Dieva!” and “Zvejnieks mani aicināja”; original works such as “Lietus” and “Tā kā taka”; and “Pasaciņa,” an arrangement of a song with lyrics by Aspazija and music by Zigmārs Liepiņš. The song “Kuto” also features Spanish beatbox artist Lytos.

The full track listing includes:

  1. Ar dziesmiņu ciemos eju
  2. Rūtoj’ saule
  3. Es gulu, gulu
  4. Mēnestiņis nakti brauca
  5. Ej, Saulīte, drīz pie Dieva
  6. Lietus
  7. Saulīt vēlu vakarā
  8. Tā kā taka
  9. Raugies tu
  10. Dindaru dandaru
  11. Zvejnieks mani aicināja
  12. Kuito
  13. Pasaciņa

The compact disc, released on the German MusicArtEmotions label, contains detailed descriptions of each song, as well as each group member, in Latvian, English and German.

This is ensemble’s third album, after Waving World Wide (focused more on sacred and international repertoire) and Seventh Heaven (a collection of Christmas songs), both released in 2010.

The ensemble will officially present Tā kā taka with a performance at the Spīķeri Concert Hall in Rīga on March 15, where Lytos and kokles performer Laima Jansone will also appear. Latvian Voices also plans a brief tour in May of Denmark and Switzerland.

For more on Latvian Voices, visit www.latvianvoices.lv.

Tā kā taka

Tā kā taka is the third album by female ensemble Latvian Voices.

Where to buy

Purchase Tā kā taka from Amazon.com.

Note: Latvians Online receives a commission on purchases.

Egils Kaljo is an American-born Latvian from the New York area . Kaljo began listening to Latvian music as soon as he was able to put a record on a record player, and still has old Bellacord 78 rpm records lying around somewhere.

Citizenship agency to appeal court’s ruling in Latvian physicist’s case

Andris Straumanis | 

A Latvian government agency will appeal a recent Supreme Court ruling that restores dual citizenship for a scientist who now lives in Sweden, a spokesman says.

Attorneys for the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (Pilsonības un migrācijas lietu pārvalde, or PMLP) have reviewed the ruling in the case of physicist Uldis Bērziņš and plan to appeal it to the Senate of the Supreme Court, spokesman Andrejs Rjabcevs told Latvians Online in a Feb. 24 e-mail.

Justices of the Supreme Court’s Chamber of Civil Cases on Feb. 16 overturned a lower court’s decision that stripped Bērziņš of his Latvian citizenship. Bērziņš in 2007 became a naturalized Swedish citizen but did not relinquish his Latvian citizenship. However, under Latvian law, dual citizenship is not allowed and so the PMLP sought to revoke Bērziņš‘s Latvian citizenship.

From 1991-1995, a transitional rule in the Citizenship Law allowed more than 30,000 exiles and their descendants to reclaim their Latvian citizenship without giving up the citizenship of their home country. Several attempts to lift the restriction have failed, although proposed amendments to the Citizenship Law now before the Saeima appear to have broad support, especially as the emigration of tens of thousands of citizens in recent years has become a major political issue.

Arguing for Berziņš before the justices, attorney Māris Jansons pointed to the proposed amendments—and the fact that they have already cleared a first reading in the Saeima—as one of the reasons his client’s dual citizenship should be allowed, according to a Supreme Court press release.

Jansons also noted that his client’s ties to Latvia are strong and that he has contributed to the development of physics in his homeland. Many people in recent years have moved abroad in search of work, but maintain strong ties to Latvia, even participating in homeland elections, Jansons added.

From the PMLP’s perspective, lawmakers in crafting the Citizenship Law did not foresee special circumstances or criteria that would prevent revoking a person’s Latvian citizenship when that person has become a citizen of another country, Rjabcevs told Latvians Online. A decision by the Supreme Court would establish case law in how to deal with similar situations in the future, Rjabcevs said.

This is not the first the Supreme Court has dealt with the dual citizenship question. In 2010, for example, the court upheld a decision by the PMLP to deny Latvian citizenship to the daughter of Baiba Lapiņa-Strunska and Viktors Strunskis, a couple living in Germany. Ironically, the Supreme Court in the same case in 2009 called into question the fairness of the ban on dual citizenship, but the Constitutional Court in 2010 upheld the restriction.

At least one exception to the dual citizenship restriction has been allowed. In 2010, by a unanimous vote of the Saeima, Canadian citizen Agra Vāgnere was recognized as a Latvian citizen for her contributions to the diaspora community. Vāgnere moved from Latvia to Canada in 1989 and became a Canadian citizen, but missed the July 2005 deadline for reclaiming her Latvian citizenship.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.