From “Rammstein” to Tchaikovsky to Bach
In their previous studio albums (they have six in total), classical music hooligans “Dagamba” thoroughly “processed” the works of Ludwig van Beethoven and the German industrial metallers “Rammstein” (album “#LudwigVanRammstein”, 2017), after which they approached the composer Peter Tchaikovsky (album “Dagamba feat. Tschaikovsky”, 2019), but fortunately the unlucky (or vice versa) lot fell to Johann Sebastian Bach and the American rock group “Rage Against the Machine” (RATM).
“A lot of people will probably think that we’re just going to connect Bach with Rage Against the Machine, but it’s not a ‘cover’ – it’s more of a story where we give Bach a role of humanity and natural beauty, but Rage Against the Machine as if personifying the urban environment, artificial intelligence, mobile phones, technology and everything else that occupies people’s minds in these times. It shows what happens when these two environments meet,” explains Walter Puce, leader of the “Dagamba” group.
The beginnings can be found in the former “Pioneer”
Although Walters & Co. repeatedly mentioned in the presentation that the road to the release of this album was far and long, what was said was more related to the four-year break since the release of the previous disc (the pandemic was largely to blame), but it turns out that this road was much further and longer than one could imagine.
“The path of this project began in 1999, when Walter and I visited the Oskars cinema (its predecessor was the Pioneer cinema, but then the famous Essential was located in these premises – aut.) – we bought two tickets in the first row to would watch the movie “The Matrix”. And what was the main track there? That’s right, Rage Against the Machine [dziesma “Wake Up”]! Therefore, it can be said that this album has come a long way since 1999,” says Antons Trotsyuks, a member of the band. “After that, we listened to and watched a VHS tape of Rage Against the Machine that was given to Walter by his ancestors, and we ‘tweaked’ it to the point where it stopped playing.”
He listens to both classical and heavy music
The members of “Dagamba” are academically educated musicians, but they are very good friends with heavy rock music, for example, Walters has been seen at metal music concerts in the club “Melnā Piektdiena”, a couple of years ago the group also appeared on the same stage with “Skyforger”, etc. “I’ve been to Black Friday too, and I like heavy music too, like Architects, also Metallica and Rammstein, some more. But I also listen to classical music, and maybe that’s why such projects are so successful for us, because we manage to connect the incompatible, that is, we dress the basics of classical music in a modern shell,” thinks Anton.
The main idea of this album – the musicians of “Dagamba” have tried to get into the shoes of Zach de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Tim Comerford and Brad Wilkes, playing like them, only with their instruments and their own ways of expression. “We didn’t want to use ready-made sound material written by “RATM” themselves – only one “cover” was allocated for it. We approached the recording with the idea that we, influenced by “RATM”, write our own music similar to their style and present it in a way that they could play it with our instruments,” said Anton.
Contrasting two worlds
Valters Puce: “The conceptual concept of the album was born after the successful concert program “#LudwigVanRammstein”, but the right time to realize it came only now. Listening to it is like watching a movie. Each piece is designed like a chapter of a book, which together form a single story. The idea is about two opposite worlds that constantly interact in our lives – the beauty of nature, humanity and the continuous impact of technology. It is a story that contrasts two worlds that coexist. About technologies that have broken into our everyday lives, taking over our senses and minds, about injustices, about the dulling thirst for power. At the same time, the primordial, the true and the benevolent stand against it, without which there would be no progress.”
By the way, the summary of what has been said about moving forward in a musical sense can be found in the closing composition of the album “Legacy Of Bach”, in which this path or musical family tree leads from Bach to Beethoven and further to Chopin, Ravel and Prokofiev, then strays into jazz, moves to “Led Zeppelin” and close with “Rage Against the Machine”.
Ralfs, a local “RATM” fan, is also coming
To listen to the album – although a supermarket is not the most suitable place for it – Ralfs Eiland, the most prominent supporter of “RATM” in the country, who has also been to the concerts of this group in person, also came. “I came because Walter is a very good friend of mine, and therefore the whole group is my friend. But if I didn’t know them either, and someone invited me to a presentation with Rage Against the Machine playing, I would definitely come!” confirmed Ralph. “I wouldn’t want it to sound like my idea – it’s their idea! – but once I had mentioned to them that it would be really cool if they made something with “raid” music. I haven’t listened yet [albumu]because I knew there would be a concert here, but of course I know the song ‘Killing In The Name Of Bach’.”
It should be warned right away that before listening, it is better to first read the available information about the new album, otherwise you may end up like a reviewer, who was very disappointed at the beginning, that in this work, direct references to the work of “RATM” can be found in only about three tracks, and even then in two of them quite fragmentary. When the thinking process of the “Dagamba” musicians in creating this project becomes clear, the sound material included in the album can also be listened to with completely different ears.
It’s good, but “live” will be better
If you take into account the attitude of the musicians of “Dagamba” to play like “RATM”, then “Father And “Son”” can be recognized as the best composition, in which nowadays it seems that Morello and Comerford also took up the instruments. “Bachivitus” is also exciting, while “Burning Monk” with its energetic “raige” introduction will probably sound great in concerts. There is not much to add about the introductory pieces – “Killing In The Name Of Bach” and “Killing In The Name” “cover”, they are the essence of this masterpiece. Just like “Legacy Of Bach”, which is the logical conclusion of this musical story, when the musicians themselves probably wanted to tear the strings and beat their instruments to the accompaniment of “RATM” chords, only the basic principles of good behavior did not allow it (but maybe they did behind the scenes?) to do.
But in “live” it will definitely sound and look much more effective. You don’t have to wait long for that: on June 3, the big concert of “Dagamba” will take place at Mežaparka’s Great Stage – there you will be able to make sure of it in its entirety.
