A week ago, the album “Pauls and Paula” was released, in which the melodies of Raymond Paul were sung by Paula Saija, but now we have a new Paula album in front of us, only it is not sung by the same Paula who recorded Paula’s songs, but by another Paula, besides, the album contains compositions not composed by Paula , but Paula’s own pieces created in collaboration with other authors.
Okay, enough puns – this time it’s about the debut album of singer Paula Dundere with seven songs, which was presented last Thursday in the “Hangar” of the Tallinn street block. This girl is from Agnes Rakovska’s or Rozniece’s music and educational platform “Zvaigznājs” precincts, so it was clear that she would definitely be worth seeing and hearing. What was seen exceeded the most reliable predictions, because Paula feels like a fish in water on stage.
Paula has been actively creating content on the YouTube platform since 2013 and was one of the first to be called a YouTuber in Latvia, filming videos about lifestyle and her daily insights, but now she has focused on music and education.
However, the ten-year long training in front of the camera gives results even now – even despite the anxiety (at least she herself claimed that she was), Paula confidently and fearlessly demonstrated on stage “stand up” comedians, event managers, audience movers, and of course, singers as well. and even the talents of a dancer. Corporate events agencies should rush to sign a contract with this girl, because she can become the absolute No. 1 in this field – an absolute nugget, but there is nothing that Paula does not ask for! In addition to that bonus, this Valmieri woman also looks good and speaks a good language from the point of view of expression.
Paula’s debut album was made in nine months. Several well-known musicians have been involved in its creation, including Artūrs Strautiņš, Kristaps Ārglis, Matīss Repsis, and of course Rakovska as well. The name of the album “CGI” or “computer generated imagery” is translated in Latvian as “computer generated images”. “I think this metaphor fits the main idea of the album perfectly,” muses Paula. “I made this album as a retrospective of my life, which has happened in the last three years. A lot has changed, but the idea and dream for this album has always followed. Its main message is that each of us, including me, must learn to understand and distinguish between real emotions and people from fake ones. Nowadays, these boundaries are very difficult to see. The main thing I have learned during these three years is to love myself, understand myself and become a better person every day.”
PAR. Paula has a very good voice and an interesting timbre, the songs are also not bad. Stylistically – danceable pop music with “r&b” and sometimes also hip-hop elements.
As the latest single, the song “Delulu” has been sent to radio stations, which will probably live up to the expectations placed on it, and it is absolutely deserved – a stylish piece in the style of Greta Grantiņa. At the concerts, the audience will be moved by the dancey “Reflections” with an almost autobiographical text. Also, the audience will probably also like the title song – if only because Edavārdi also participates in it, although there is nothing special about it musically, its biggest plus is the text. The closing lyrical song “Vienatā” (co-authors – Emīlija Yermola, Monta Liba, Aivo Oskis) is also excellent. However, the reviewer as the best crowned song “Chemical addiction” (co-authors Agnese, “another boy” Dagnis Roziņš and rapper Zeļgis), it is only a pity that it was Zeļgis who sang in this song – one can only imagine how incomparably better it would sound in tandem, for example with Vultura .
AGAINST. A whole team of different authors worked on each of the songs together with Paula, which also has disadvantages – each song has some nuances, but still sounds in a much different style. Another thing – for example, in the song “Palaid vała” the handwriting of its co-author Emilija Yermol is so strong that it would have been better for Emilija to perform this song herself. But the average listener probably won’t feel it at all.
The songs are good, but they are not outstanding, but there are quite a few such stable singers in Latvia – without a “live” vision, Paula will have a hard time in the abundance of Latvian singing girls. If we talk about this album as a musical unit, then out of the seven songs included in it, some three have already been heard on radio stations, so it is only relevant from a representative point of view. Since the album is also available on CD – a welcome exception in today’s streaming age! – then it can be used exactly like that.
2023-10-16 16:16:58
#REVIEW #Paula #CGI
