A melancholic journey around the world. Review of Reina New album 'Earth'

Seven albums is a serious figure. And a guitarist Reinis Young, who just released their seventh album – “Earth”, also hardly jokes. Although his sound art seems airy, it speaks of close-to-earth and important themes. Mostly about loving this planet, not destroying it. In addition, Latvian melancholic, not offensive or thirsty imitations of other cultures.

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Reinis has been inspired by instrumental compositions and also songs (there are two in this album) while traveling around the world. In a normal, crown-free year, he manages to perform up to 250 times, changing countries perhaps more often than socks, but 2020 is known to be an exception for everyone. As a result, Reinis Jaunais has gained rapidly rising recognition in his homeland, because he does not sit with his arms folded in his lap, even at home. Given the circumstances, however, there have been a lot of concerts, and here is a new and quite eloquent album.

His audience has been significantly expanded both by performances at the international music festival “Rīgas ritmi” and by more and more frequent appearances in the mass media. This is gratifying, because Reinis, in his travels around the world and playing, playing, playing, so to speak, has “built the guitar muscles” to the level of a true master and is accordingly able to entertain the listeners in a free, almost playful way.

The playing technique is also unusual, as Reinis obviously enjoys placing the guitar horizontally on his lap and allowing it to sound reverberated both as a string and a percussion instrument with the help of effect pedals. The listener and the spectator can also enjoy his concerts, because the New Manner of the Game is an eye-catching performance.

The visual aspect of the album is omitted, so those who have not been to any of Reinis’ concerts are advised to watch at least a video of the performance to understand that the percussion guitarist on the disc actually plays himself, using the guitar body and doing everything at the same time.

The music on “Earth” is mostly quite meditative, although the percussive elements are driven forward, so it requires going deeper or, on the contrary, freeing its flow in the winds of thought. For an unaccustomed listener, this is likely to turn into a neat-sounding background, but that doesn’t mean that the music lacks a soul or various “hooks” behind which to catch the ear.

The main “hooks” this time are the international guests invited to the album via the Internet. Ivars Štubis, an Australian Latvian guitarist who has been stuck in Latvia due to a pandemic and has been quite satisfied with it, has already become a member of the Reinis group, and is no longer a real guest. But “Earth” also features Indian string instrument sarcasmaster Regan Avale from Nepal, guitarist Kent Hayashino from Japan, flamenco virtuoso “The Flamenco Thief” or Kreg Saton from Great Britain, violinist Balazs Danko from Hungary, percussionist Rob van Barshag from the Netherlands Oscar Stenmarks from Sweden. In addition, another world traveler, Harry Vagrant or Harry Juniper, has played the restraint of Persian percussion instruments. also cello (Erna Daugaviete).

A colorful musical carousel that sticks well together and does not create a cacophonic feeling in the album. On the contrary, the persistent flow in which it is not so important to distinguish the sounding components. This is a conceptual work on this mottled colored ball we live on, and it is only in our own hands that we have the choice to repaint it in black, or to keep others. Reinis “Zemē” plays from “Kailsala” to “Tveice”, from “Stepes” to “Black Sand Beach” and from “Storm” to “Dance Epidemic”.

Dancing, as you know, is forbidden, but the 12 compositions of this album offer to dance in the heart and think about true values. Sounds trivial, but wasn’t it that the banal is the most important thing, so it has already become banal.

The album is unlikely to become a giant hit and is not intended to be. This is another stage in the already long road of the Reinis Young Musician, which is definitely not just another kilometer ahead. He always seems on the road and is always ready to challenge himself to new developments. Therefore, “Zeme” is rather a beautifully designed album, which should definitely be added to the disc collection, which you can enjoy on not too busy days, planning where you can borrow a trip after all this bad time. Maybe really to Nepal, Japan or Australia? Maybe Britain, the Netherlands or Sweden will work? But maybe there is nothing wrong with traveling around the homeland?

The Rhine drive will definitely be useful for the trip, because it does not clog and does not teach to live. He has put almost all his emotions into his passionate guitar playing, which at times is even dizzying and does not lose a rather modern, forward-looking rhythm.

“The next step in the branches is winding, in the winding depths the paths will be called,” The young man sings in the rather melodically sticky ballad of the album “Remember (In the Mountains)”, which inevitably turns into the fastest twists of his percussion guitar and Erna Daugaviete ‘s shy cello. Reinis has already developed his own, recognizable musical handwriting, but it is more than clear that he will not stop there either, so it will definitely be interesting to watch his sonic branches and paths in the future as well. By the way, Reinis originally intended to call the seventh album “I don’t know where I’m going, but the road there is beautiful”. It will probably be called the eighth.