It’s happening. Slowly but surely, the alternative music scene is surfacing in Latvia. It used to be that I’d hear a music clip of some no-name punk band and I would want to cry. It was that bad. Oh, sure, there were groups that put out a good effort, but all they got were screaming (singing) and terrible static (music) that was unclear and unsatisfying. However, the group Iedomu Spārni with their debut album Dienasgrāmata could teach the struggling wannabes a thing or two. Call me crazy, but I think there’s just something about clarity to vocals and instrumentals that makes sense.

When the compact disc arrived in the mail, it was like Christmas. Each track held something different and likable. With a mixture of peppy punk rock, dark rock, regular rock, moving ballads, a bit of funk, and songs that could very well be numbers in a musical, Iedomu Spārni completely blew away my expectations.

The group, formed in 2000 by Ieva Zēģele, Jānis Dreiškins and Jānis Kuršs, likes to experiment with their talents and resources, making for a sound that is never repetitive and far from boring. Lead singer Zēģele has vocals that match that of Evanescence’s lead vocalist Amy Lee; Iedomu Spārni even has a few tracks that remind me of Evanescence and other dark rock groups. The only difference is that instead of depressing lyrics about loneliness and heartache, Iedomu Spārni carries more of the angstful “take that” or “you’ll be sorry later” feel that so many punk bands have. Perhaps the best way to describe them at this point is as a “dark punk” band (think Finch or Brand New).

Also appearing on the album is keyboardist Alīna Melngaile, who was with the band from 2002-2004. Now in her place, according to the band’s Web site, is guitarist Toms Skujiņš.

The first track on the album, “Zaiga,” is the song I think would fit in a rock-musical. It’s a song about how love screws with one’s brain, but with carefree and fun lyrics put to rock music. I can just imagine a large group of people dancing on stage in perfect time. Right off the bat, the thing that I like the most is that I can hear the guitar, bass guitar, percussion, keyboard, and… and… no synthesizer?  What?! Amazing! This caught me off guard. Then again, it’s only the first track. Maybe it’s a waste to think it could last. Wrong.

Track two, one of my favorites, starts out with a funky guitar and percussion duet. It immediately gets the head-bobbing response. This song is a motivational speech about not letting what others think or say get to you. Perfect, considering the song is called “Dumpinieku dziesmiņa” (Rebel Song). With this song not only do I like the continuing lack of synthesizer, but I like that even though this is a song about rebellion, it’s not your run-of-the-mill, “damn the man” rebellion. The main point is to live for yourself: “Ja vēlies kļūt par enģeli, uzadi sev spārnus / Ja gribi aizmirst neveiksmes – meklē citus vārtus / Kad jūties slikti – skaļi bļauj /un neļauj, lai Tev neatļauj!”

Right on!

Track three, “Nāc man līdz,” is another one of my favorites. The vocals start out smoothly and quietly, but with the feeling that they’re being pushed tempo-wise, if even the tiniest bit. Then, at one minute and 16 seconds it all breaks loose. Ripping vocals filled with emotion with instrumentals to match. Unfortunately, the fast-paced section of the album is pretty much over at this point. The rest of the CD, starting with track four, is more sonorous and ballad-like, bringing out that bit of dark-rock. Iedomu Spārni proves very well that they can play many different styles and emotions.

For a few of the later tracks the band even brought in some outside help. For track 10, “Enģeļu čuksti,” the group was joined by the string quartet of the Jāzeps Mediņš Music College to create a very moving and beautiful track, making it one of the best on the entire album. And on the last track, a remix of track eight, “Glāb,” Latvian rapper Gustavo lends a hand, adding an interesting new twist to the original.

From a clean cut-looking band to a sound that rocks, Iedomu Spārni is a welcome addition to my CD collection. The final thing I enjoyed about this album is that there are no English tracks to be found. At this point, I don’t think they need to attempt any, but if they do, I hope it’s good. Either way, from my mind to my heart to me standing on my desk chair, to Iedomu Spārni and their first album, a standing ovation.

Latviešu tautas teikas: Pasaules radīšana (Latvian Folk Tales: The Creation of the World) is a collection of 24 tales read in standard Latvian by a professional reader. Leons Krivāns reads clearly and with the right amount of expression—pleasant to listen to, but not too overdone. Kaspars Tobis provides bits of background music (mostly meditative synthesizer) and sound effects, but it still probably goes without saying that this compact disc is primarily for those listeners who understand the Latvian language.

The recording is part of the “Mantojums” series produced by UPE Recording Co. of Rīga. The first three recordings in the series were released in December.

As the title suggests, most of the tales are about the creation of various parts of the world: how the land was formed; how the hills and roads, the stars and the Big Dipper, the rainbow, the big river, and the dew were created. Most are clever explanations and many involve God and the foolish devil, but a couple of the tales are kind of silly. There are three tales about fire, and even a tale about solar and lunar eclipses.

The tales were selected from the collections of the well-known Latvian folk tale collectors Ansis Lerhis-Puškaitis (1859-1903) and Pēteris Šmits (1869-1938).

Lerhis-Puškaitis began already as a child to write down the stories and tales he heard from classmates in his dormitory, and by the end of his life he had recorded around 6,000 folk tales and fairy tales. He always tried to keep the tales true to the speakers dialect and speech idiosyncrasies.

Šmits was a linguist who eventually devoted more and more of his time to the collection of Latvian folklore. He published collections of folk beliefs, folk songs, traditional designs, and mythology in addition to a 15-volume collection of folk tales and fairy tales.

I recommend Latviešu tautas teikas: Pasaules radīšana to anyone who enjoys listening to folk tales. It’s great for children, but great for adults, too.

The other two recordings in the “Mantojums” series are Marija Golubova: Stāsti un dziesmas, featuring Marija Golubova telling stories and singing songs from her long life, and Putnu un zvēru valoda, with stories about the language of birds and animals told by Pēteris Liepiņš.

With the release of Marija Golubova: Stāsti un dziesmas, the Rīga-based UPE Recording Co. has begun a new series of recordings named Mantojums (Inheritance). The compact disc is one of three titles released last December.

Marija Golubova is a simple country woman from the far northeastern corner of Latvia, very near the border with the Abrene region, which is currently under Russian control. Stories and songs have always been an important part of her life, and on Stāsti un dziesmas (Stories and Songs) we hear a few of the stories from her long life—from walking barefoot through the snow after her husband’s arrest to her father’s recipe for beer to her admiration of ants and the whole of nature.

In between the stories, Golubova sings about a dozen of her songs, most of which are not part of the average Latvian’s repertoire. But it’s exactly for that reason that I was very happy to listen to the CD, because I like to hear new songs. All of the songs are, of course, sung in the Latgallian dialect, and two are Russian songs. In “Voi toutīt, kūkacīt,” Golubova sings a long string of verses to a melody more commonly known for its soldier words (“Div’ dūjiņas”). Another is a Jāņi song with the ļeigū refrain. Some of the other songs are: “Lec, saulīte, rijtā agri,” “Voi celinu man nabeja,” “Toutīts mani carādams,” “Patijk man tis kaļnins,” “Tī bej labi olu dzerti,” and “Skanu baļsini palaidu.”

It seems that most of the songs are in minor keys, not uncommon for Latvian songs. But it’s too bad that the CD does not include the song texts, because deciphering them just by listening to them is difficult. Most listeners will also really have to concentrate to understand even half of Golubova’s stories because of the heavy dialect.

There’s no way of putting it nicely—Golubova is an old lady, her voice cracks and goes in and out of tune, and she’s probably a few teeth short, too. But don’t you dare make fun of her. She still has amazing strength and confidence behind her 97-year-old voice, deep emotion in her stories, and a difficult life to describe.

Marija Golubova: Stāsti un dziesmas is not something you would put on as pleasant background music at your next dinner party. But it is an important and interesting recording for those who appreciate oral history and the real “roots” of folk music.

The other two recordings released in December are Pasaules radīšana, featuring creation stories told by Leons Krivāns, and Putnu un zvēru valoda, with stories about the language of birds and animals told by Pēteris Liepiņš.