When five plus five is not a mathematical ten
The mini-album or EP included the songs “Savvaļas pāše”, “Kur saule” (together with Boo), “Aphrodite”, “Ko Tu dari ar mani?” and “The Tide. Bēgums”, and all of them can also be found on the new album, only “Paisma” has the remixed version. Last year, Aminata did not even submit this work to “Zelta Mikrofonam”, because even then it was planned to supplement it to a full-format work. Only – without the EP’s included songs “Savvaļas päše” and “Ko Tu dari ar mani?” it could have been done last year, but in the new album it was definitely necessary to “accidentally forget” them…
Unbelievable, but adding five new songs to the already published material also changes the overall view of this work – if the mini-album seemed weak and worthy of the rating “Aminata can do better”, then the full album already deserves “well, we said that Aminata can do better” !” mark. You can’t help but get excited about Aminata’s voice, but it’s nothing new. A great start to the album with the stylish and slightly pop song “We own this night”, the energetic “Aphrodite” is still not tired, neither is “Kur saule”. Among the new songs, the heartbreaking “Nobūri mani” and the elegant “Waterfall” should also be noted with a plus sign. It is clear that they wanted to see and hear this program “live”.
Music lovers are told to sit on three chairs at the same time
If someone is not lucky with concert dates, then it is Aminata – only Don could compete with her. The singer’s concert planned for 2020 at “Hanza Peron” ran into pandemic restrictions at the last moment, so it had to be postponed, then postponed again, until finally canceled altogether, while at the beginning of August 2022, the big concert in the Andrejosta quarter took place in the shadow of the big event in Liepāja. This time, Aminata marked October 27 in the calendars as the date of her concert, but…
Last Friday gave music lovers an unprecedentedly difficult moment of decision – at the same time they invited American experimentalists “Swans” (in the Mežaparka Grand Stage Kokaru Hall), German electronic music wonders “Moderat” (in the culture and entertainment center “Hanza Perons”) and domestic pop princess Aminata ( in the concert hall “Palladium”). Where to go, what to prefer, what to sacrifice with great heartache? It was not an easy task today. However, many listeners preferred Aminata, and although the concert was not completely sold out, the hall could not be called half-empty either.
Ahead of its time
Aminata already had a solo concert at the “Palladium”, but it was seven years ago – in October 2016. Over the years, a lot of water has flown, and Aminata has only increased her skill and power, and she has also started to sing mostly in Latvian.
In the warm-up position was… Markus Riva. However, not as a singer, but as a DJ, but the fact that he can do it proved already last year at Aminata’s concert in the Andrejosta quarter (he replaced someone there), and this time too, Markus was well entertained and “singed” the audience. Aminata herself started with the pieces “Acis saļas” and “Nobūri mani” – content-heavy songs that made one wonder that the singer decided to start her big concert that way. It seems that she only really loosened up with her very first composition “I Can’t Breathe”, which was made some nine (but maybe more) years ago – Aminata said that she always reminded herself why she is on the stage at all. From the outside, it seems that the English repertoire included in the albums “Inner Voice” (2015) and “Red Moon” (2016) is closer to her, and even the feeling does not leave that Aminata, trying to satisfy the demands of the local music market, does not really feel in her own skin and is even forced to lower the bar of her abilities so that local listeners can understand and appreciate her undeniable professional qualities.
What surprised, but what didn’t
In the first half hour, it seemed that Aminata, speaking in sports terminology, “didn’t come to the game”: no matter how strong her vocals and powerful visual image were, the singer was unable to fill the stage with only the accompanying group and asked for backing vocalists. This issue was resolved with the participation of the dance group “Space” in the conditional second part of the concert, when everything was in the best order – with the song “This is my time” it could be considered that the event had finally started for real, but “Kur saule” together with Boo, “Waterfall” and energetic “Aphrodite” were already above everything – especially from the point of view of choreography. From a vocal point of view – of course, “Love Injected” and “Maiga vara”, which were played before the “encore”.
The singer was not particularly impressed with the invitation of guest musicians (the exceptions were the already mentioned Boo, but one song was performed together with the Ukrainian singer Constantine), with lights and special effects – not too much, such a low-budget large-format concert in a large hall. The most negative moment – Aminata surprised by… not surprising with anything. At times, with horror, I even had to catch myself thinking that there was an ordinary Latvian pop singer standing on the stage, who was only given a stronger voice, but this thought was quickly pushed out of my head, because it was not an ordinary Latvian pop singer – it was Aminata herself!
Stepping out of your comfort zone
After the concert, Aminata was laconic on social networks: “I am filled with emotions and a feeling of gratitude! Thanks to my fiery team for their hard work!” There is no doubt that the emotional singer will live for a long time in the aftertaste created by this concert, which should be very good for her – a lot of work was invested and a good result was achieved.
“The ‘Wild Side’ album has been an unusual experiment for me and stepping out of my comfort zone,” says Aminata. “Working on this album not only made me flourish again after a period in which I felt creatively exhausted, but also allowed me to step into a completely new and feminine image. For example, the song “Aphrodite” is so distinctly light, with coquetry and flirtatious moods, that it makes me feel exactly that way, even when I perform it on stage. The release of the album is a holiday for me, but I will be even more happy to celebrate it on stage with my listeners”, – this was expressed even before the concert.
We celebrated, Aminata. Really! That’s all right.
2023-11-05 03:15:04
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