Gads, kas beidzas ar ‘7’, ir īpaši laimīgs

Mēs stāvam uz jauna – 2007. – gada sliekšņa, un es novēlu visiem, lai šis nākamais gads būtu veiksmīgs, sekmīgs un nestu jums visiem to, ko sirds kāro un ir iecerējusi!

Man šķiet, ka tas gads, kas beidzas ar “7”, ir īpaši laimīgs, un es novēlu visiem tiem, kam gadā, kas beidzas ar “7”, iekrīt apaļas jubilejas, tas būtu īpaši svētīgs un laimīgs gads.

Mēs mēram laiku pēc Saules ceļa, arī pēc Zemes ceļa Saulei apkārt, tamdēļ gribētos novēlēt, lai nākamais Jums visiem būtu īpašs Saules gads, kurā jums Saule tāpat kā mūsu senčiem būtu kā Visuma svētības simbols. Saule visiem spīd vienādi, un viņas gaisma neatšķir bagātos no nabagiem un veiksmīgos no neveiksmīgiem. Viņa ir visiem mums pieejama tāpat kā Visuma svētība, un tas ir kā pilnības rags, kuram nav robežu, kuru nevar izsmelt, kurā vienmēr ir kaut kas jauns un neatklāts, un vienmēr ir jauna svētība. Es novēlu visiem, lai jūs justos, ka jūs paši esat sev saules koks un sev dzīvības koks, un lai šajā Jaunajā gadā mums augtu spēks kā ozolam, kas sakņojas Latvijas zemē un smeļas spēku no zemes dzīlēm, no zemes bagātības, lai augtu spēks no sava mantojuma kā latvietim, šīs zemes mantotājam, kas tāpat kā koks sniedzas pretī debesīm, savā dzīvē ir vienmēr gatavs augt, veidot savu dzīvi dažādāku, košāku, kuplāku tāpat kā koks, kas pavasarī izplaukst lapās. Viņš ir vienmēr tas pats, bet nekad divas lapas nav vienādas, nekad divi zari neizaug vienādi.

Lai jums nākamais gads būtu inovācijas, jaunrades, dažādības gads, lai jūs justos, ka jauna diena nes jaunas iespējas un izdevības, ka katru dienu jūs atrodat sevī vēl neizsmeltus spēkus un iespējas, lai viss, ko jūs uzsākat, laimīgi un sekmīgi beidzas un lai par katru padarīto darbu jums nāktu prātā desmit citi, kas ir tikpat diži, nepieciešami un svētīgi, bet galvenokārt – aizraujoši. Es novēlu visiem, lai šis nākamais 2007.gads nestu Jūsu mājās laimi, mieru, saticību, veiksmi katram jūsu darbā un vienmēr šo sajūtu, ka jūs esat daudz bagātāki kā jebkad jūs to esat apjēguši.

Lai 2007. būtu laimīgs un bagāts gads!

 

Tribes of the City album polished to perfection

For the Sleepy People

Tribes of the City’s recently released new album, For the Sleepy People, is actually the band’s second album. The first album, Running to the Sun, was released in 2004 under the former band name, The Movies.

This new album isn’t just a collection of humming-along songs. It actually takes a few times of concentrated listening to get into it. The liner notes say: “Recommendations for better listening: finish all your important business first, make yourself a cup of something nice and warm, put your body in the most comfortable postion, relax and push the PLAY button.”

The album kicks off with a real in-your-face song called “Road,” a rather lengthy track at 7.5 minutes, but this ain’t no Top 30 song. The drums pound away, alongside dazzling guitars and the mesmerizing vocals of 20-year-old Ksenija Sundejeva. A wall of sound is offset by a light middle bridge section, before a return to a barrage of guitars and drums to finish off the song.

“A Day in the City” is the name of the first single from the album. It is a happy-sounding song that has a great video featuring Sundejeva, who traps a group of girl guides, a hunter, a couple of mushroom pickers and an orienteer as reluctant dinner guests in the middle of the forest. To their surprise, she serves up the rest of the band members—live in miniature—on a silver platter.

However, The Tribes lose me on the next song, “Love Forever,” a raunchy and heavy mess of sound, which actually has some Black Sabbath-sounding guitar riffs. The lyrcs are kind of negative, but I suppose they complement the music.

“You’ll Never Come” is a slow, enchanting and mistifying song that really showcases Sundejeva’s singing abilities.

“A Dream,” the fifth song on the album, is a nice steady-tempo song, with tight drums by Ints Barkāns and bass by Juris Justs working well together.

“A House Where We Live,” an acoustic track with a hints of Heart’s “Mistral Wind.” I wonder if Tribes of the City has listened to Heart? “Chaos” is next and you can really hear the Cocteau Twins influences on this song. It’s a really sleepy, free-flowing tune with lots of sound effects. It slowly picks up in a 6/8 tempo. The song is not so chaotic after all.

“I Don’t Know,” the latest single from the album, is my personal favourite. The song rocks and get full points—perfect score! The song has nice guitar riffs played by Sergejs Jaramišjans and Andrejs Vasiljevs, with great keyboard work by Mihails Sergejevs.

“Waves” has a nice split vocal-whisper lead and some hip lyrics: “When there’s only three seconds left… and our thoughts are just radio waves.” Wow, that’s something to think about. Actually the lyrics on the album are quite imagenary and you have to read between the lines to try to get a grasp of them. The album is rounded off by “Walking Blind”, which is an apropriate finale song. The guitars and drums make me think of The Cranberries. Come to think of it, Sundejeva does resemble Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordon.

The album was produced by Greg Haver who has worked with music giants Manic Street Preachers. He also engineered and mixed the album at Sound Division Studios in Rīga. Haver has done a great job producing this album, using a vast array of sound effects and special microphone techniques. He has certainly has suceeded in tapping the band’s full potential. Mastering was done by Shon Joseph at Optimum Mastering in Bristol, England. All and all, this is a fresh and powerful album that has been polished to perfection.

This album is certainly a real step forward for the evolution of the Latvian music scene. Now there’s an album that can compare with any other album written and recorded in Europe. I feel that Tribes of the City just may have what it takes to break into the larger alternative music scene. In the meantime, let’s have something nice amd warm or cold to drink.

Details

For the Sleepy People

Tribes of the City

Platforma Records,  2006

PRCD 182

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

Two Latvian soldiers die in Iraq explosion

Two Latvian soldiers are dead and three injured after a roadside bomb exploded next to their vehicle, the Latvian Ministry of Defense announced Dec. 27. The soldiers were on patrol.

Killed were PFC Gints Bleija and PFC Vitālijs Vasiļevs. The names of the injured were not reported.

President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga expressed her condolences to the families of the two fallen soldiers.

“They were true soldiers,” the president said in a statement released by her press office, “and, professionally fulfilling their duties, guaranteed the safety of many other people.”

The incident occurred at about 11:55 hours Latvian time, the Ministry of Defense said. The improvised explosive device also damaged the Hummer vehicle.

The two who died are the second and third Latvian soldiers to fall in Iraq. First Lt. Olafs Baumanis, 34, died in a June 2004 explosion.

Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks asked Latvians to light a candle in memory of the two soldiers.

Defense Minister Atis Slakteris also expressed his condolences.

“Hate and unmerciful fanaticism today has taken the lives of two Latvian soldiers,” he said in a statement released by the ministry’s press office. “We have to acknowledge this heavy loss, which the heart and mind refuse to accept.”

The Latvian contigent has been serving in Iraq since 2003 as part of the Polish-led international forces stationed between the American- and British-controlled zones. A total of 113 soldiers make up the contigent, according to the Ministry of Defense.

Earlier this month, the Latvian parliament extended the nation’s mission in Iraq until the end of 2007.

A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who was born in Latvia died in August 2004 during combat in Iraq. Capt. Michael Yury Tarlavsky, 30, was based at Fort Campbell, Ky.

An Estonian soldier died in Iraq in February 2004.

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