Circumstances in which certain normal activities are restricted can be used to your advantage, rather than squeaking, that you are not allowed to work, because nothing will change. You can, of course, catch extreme feelings – drink legal and illegal stimulants or sedatives, so that everyone can see how shocked you are, because it is so unbearably difficult! Unfortunately, some musicians (Matīss Runtulis, Guido Linga, Skrips) who have managed to leave us in the meantime can also be considered victims of Covid-19, although the direct cause is not this disease, but inaction, confusion, ignorance, depression caused by the pandemic. forty years ago for the group of Jura Kulakov Thunder musicians were banned from concerts, musicians gained a lot of free time and set up a studio in Ieva Akuratere Mežaparks house, where they recorded two albums, which have become such an important Latvian rock classics, that soon their first edition on vinyl record is expected.
Nowadays, the reasons for restrictions are different, but also Brainstorm meets the winner because of his new album Year without calendar gives listeners a much more luxurious package – like a gorgeous concert film – pausing audio publishing on music streaming sites, in addition to the five previously released singles.
Hairdresser’s story
The band doesn’t have to look for additional strength – the drummer has his own director and set designer Kaspars Roga, under whose leadership the whole album is played in the futuristic town, making you wonder if the musical material that would only affect the auditory senses would work somewhat without the effect of virtual presence? Not in vain, once the MTV channel is unveiled, The Buggles sang, “Video killed the radio star!” Of course, the scenography is grand and colorful, with smoke, lights, projections and animation elements – as usual. Brainstorming which does everything with scope. The work of the dynamic group of operators led by Imants Zaķītis is also at a high level, showing it all and emphasizing the details – not only the members of the group themselves, but also close-ups and dances, dances, dances of percussionist Nelli Bubujanca …
In his story about the making of the film, Kaspars Roga emphasizes the contribution of choreographers, because “dance is an art that is born and dies at the same moment, but we conditionally immortalize it”. All the dancers are brilliant, but especially worth highlighting and remembering the name of Egija Abarovič, whose choreography performance during the first song of the album in and around the barber’s chair, then for a while letting Renara sit down for breath – this is one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, moments in the film. Yes, and this is only possible in a concert film, because in a public live concert on a giant stage, the dancers would disappear, leaving the main focus on Kauper anyway. The whole romantic story of the hairdresser takes place in a carriage, the roof of which is at the same time an aquarium with large fish flying – probably pike, by the order of which all this, of course, happens if we believe in Russian fairy tales.
Folk daughters in the storm
Then the games with fire begin, one of the dancers fighting with flames and throwing innumerable flips in a face mask, a similar (only white) of which was recently used and condemned by Christian Brecht. The mask falls on the actress, who enters Brainstorming on town on horseback, singing a song with Russian actor Alexander Petrov – his virtual action resonates with Renar’s moving image on the screen in the documentary part of the film, both playing with the technical ability to turn off the sound in this seemingly live face-to-face conversation and have no idea that no one hears him. When you press the “mouth” button, the mouth boils but is silent.
A lot of freshness also brings other musical guests – the increasingly unbeatable rapper ansis and Tautumeitas, for whom this is a step in the direction that ethno – music publishers have long expected of them Lauska leaders – to be poorer and more artistic, as Ukrainian as an example Dakh Daughters, who performed at the ethno – festival this year Sviests. Tautumeitas is already quite popular, but Brainstorming a springboard can help everyone. In the title track of the album, Asnāte Rancāne even completely steps out of the comfort zone of her folk girls and allows herself a romantic duo with Renārs, who together with three female vocals Brainstorming) in the sum of the voices makes such a strong sound that it almost cuts in the ears, but remains on the extreme limit of hearing, over which both the eardrums must rupture.
Attack of the Cardinal
“Vampires gently slapped their necks / Whole people followed the blind / Someone learned to smoke marijuana / Every hill celebrated Midsummer / Musicians drunk, poets grieve / As always, a blonde Una… appeared” – these in the closing In the railwayman’s song the sounding words from Renārs’ mouth sound so much after Ingus Bērziņš, not even knowing that he would have to be disappointed if it weren’t for it, but there is something that has stuck from the times when the album came out A kitten who dropped out of naval school (2001) with his texts.
Kaspars Roga, who once called himself the group’s gray cardinal twenty years ago, this time also stood out with several musical side steps, offering and being accepted with both his funny synthesizer and vocal parts, which bring unusual freshness to the songs. Māris Mihelsons says that Vestards was born in Kaspars, but he himself, correcting the glued mustache, corrects: “Imants Kalniņš is born in me!” Of course, this should not be taken too seriously. He is full of all kinds of ideas, but is ashamed to offer them, because the others are usually just laughing.
“Um, shut up! I’m writing my voice,” Kaspars shouts at someone who is making noise outside his virtual studio. Much like, once exhausted, Brainstorm got a new breath by inviting on their album There must be something (2008) producer Gustavo, this time the musicians used the situation and internal resources (Kaspars Rogu) to enter their fans’ home apartments through virtual windows, and it was an honor. Someone on social networks has already made a bad joke that the household is Brainstorming part of an ad campaign – even the exact date. Whether someone else wants to buy a record after watching the movie is already a more complicated question.
“Friends, and how without sweet food!” suddenly, after the documentary part of the film, Renārs cheers happily, asking Don and Intars Busulis to sing the already familiar song together Forgiveness, which we can still listen to, which of the three soloists is ashamed of it. But if, as the three men sing themselves, sin has the great property of turning into forgiveness, then everything is in the balls.
Information: pratavetrafeels.lv
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