This Friday, May 20, at the concert hall “Palladium”, the big concert of the presentation of the album by local rapper Arthur Skutelis – this is a completely fresh work, which was released only a week ago.
Skutelis has been on the Latvian hip-hop scene since the very beginning of this century, when the creative association “PKI” was established. He has held numerous rap festivals and non-commercial events, and his recent multi-headed hip-hop concert in support of Ukraine is his handiwork. In his discography as a soloist, he has released the albums “My Myths” (2009), “The Flow of Consciousness” (2011), “Heat” (2013) and “Avalanche” (2019), together with the works “Fabrics” (2016) and “Never Nowhere” (2018), there are still various albums made in collaborative projects, etc., utjpr. – You can find out all about the musician’s well-designed website, but if you are brief, there is no doubt that this man will have something to say at the big concert.
Skuteelis’ new album contains ten compositions.
“At the heart of the album is the artist’s question of freedom and reflections on the interaction between the musician and the music industry. It was important for me to emphasize the aspect of underground or independent music – I have heard it said that being an underground musician in Latvia is synonymous with failure, that it means the inability to achieve any kind of success. I don’t think so, ”explains the musician. “For me, underground music is not a failure, but a choice – the choice to freely implement any of your creative ideas exactly as I want, without being dependent on any external circumstances. If in one sentence, then “Yes” is the artist’s manifesto of freedom, or more precisely, the attempt to write such a manifesto. Somewhere in the flames of the album you can see Vladimir Nabokov’s novel “Dar” and Federico Fellini’s film “8½”, but “Yes” is my story – a story about hip-hop in me and me in hip-hop. “
Most of the recording was made in Riga, in the studio “msonic Baltic”. The album was edited by Jānis Šmēdiņš or Fakts in Jelgava, in the studio “PrimeTime Records”. A number of Skuteelis colleagues have also taken part in the recording of the album – Ūga, Bush and xantikvariāts, flutist Alise Golovacka, saxophonist Dita Frīdenberga, guitarists Mārtiņš Vilnītis and Gatis Ziema, runner Dj Vinvins and others. NiklāvZ, Shenfi, Oriole, Oskars Iļjins, Rihards Strauss, Noitro, Robis GKW and Arturs Skutelis himself have worked on the musical accompaniments of the album.
PAR. Latvian hip-hop musicians with experience in “take with quality” – this was true of Kurt and Bush (they were the first to come to mind), the same can be said of Skuteli. Listening to the album, it is felt that it is the work of an experienced rapper who has eaten a lot of salt on the stage, as all that remains is to listen to and appreciate it. And this evaluation can be started with the very first composition “On the Move” included in the album, which starts this conceptual story or freedom manifesto on the way to the producers of the record company and ends logically with the songs “Laikatrīce” and “Ata”. When it comes to individual pieces, “Bēgums” with the participation of Ūga and Rolexus from Latgale, as well as “Sponsors” with xanthistory as a guest and, of course, “Laikatrīce” with Dj Winin’s miracles fell into my ears. But the most interesting thing about this story is when you listen to it all.
AGAINST. A matter of taste. The viewer would prefer rapists like Roland Che, Prusax and Ods.
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