The best-known selections of Raimonds Lagimovs or Dambis, the leader of the group “Inokentijs Mārpls” and the steward of the Latvian music program “Bitīt Matos” on the radio “Naba”, are the legendary “Colognes”, but he has been collecting songs by Latvian punk rock and hard choir performers for years. Dambis started this series of samples in 2002, with a total of eight such punk / hc samples, but the previous summary was released in the summer of 2016. In total, the new selection includes 31 songs – both well-known groups (“PND”, “Tumors”, “Inokentijs Mārpls”, “Wagars”, “Kapakmens”, “Ghettozloba”, “Jūdas Graši”, “VIPP Basbočka”, “Gene Kruppa” ) and a lesser-known team (‘Reiner’, ‘Pauls Raimonds’, ‘White Guest’, ‘Your Sister’s Nose’, ‘Never’, ‘Constitution in Tea or KTP’, ‘Ended Ulmans’, ‘Have No Heroes’), but also performed by brand new associations (“Lisijs Biskvīts”, “In Bed with Phantom”, “Nicotini”, “St. Bertulis’ Night”, “Gandreiž 10ņīkā”, “Kūķis”, “Batra”).
Most of the songs were recorded from 2016-2020, but there are also some previously recorded compositions. The name of the association “Kart Blanš” and its piece “Molotok” recorded in Bolderāja in 1988 may not say much (although the current “favorable type” Artūrs Kutepovs played the guitar in it), but the group “Dzelzs ceļš” is an absolute musical archaeological gem: the record was made in 1983 in a concert at the Dzintarpils Culture House, and at that time such men as the latest group “K. Remonts ”vocalist Vilnis Linužs, guitarist Gints Sola (known from the times of“ New Moon ”) and Igors Linga (at that time still Vasiljevs), who took the place with percussion instruments. Archival value! It should be noted that the selection is available on both CDs and cassettes.
THROUGH. There will never be too much praise for Dambis, who tirelessly creates such selections, which serve as a reflection on the domestic “punk / hc” stage activities, sounds and even novelties, and at the same time there is a kind of report on such music activities in Latvia. The booklet attached to the sample can provide information about the groups included in the sample in a short and transparent form, and this booklet can also serve as a clear testimony to the Latvian non-commercial music movement in the future. As for the musical values, first of all we should mention the record “People are dying” made by Dambja’s own blitz “Inokentijs Mārpls” this year – well, where something even more characteristic of these times! “People die / And they die every day / Every hour they die / They get stuck in meat / They drive a car / They are shot in a war / They are stabbed in the street / They hang on a tree / They eat them alive / They die, they die / They die” and ” They have all kinds of abominable diseases / Their hearts stop / Their legs fall / Their heads rot / They die ”. Of course, there are all sorts of nice things in the lyrics of this song, but it ends with the optimistic “But we will not die / Because we / We will live forever”. Hi, it doesn’t seem like that right now…
This time, PND has offered a cover version of the song “25 frames” by their colleagues “The Warps” – strangely, the original has also remained in mind. A very stylish song is performed by the group “White Hand” “Tumors”, which was recorded nine years ago – it is unfortunate that the bright avant-garde group of the Riekstins brothers stayed on the horizon of Latvian music for such a relatively short time. As always, there is “Wagars” (the song “Helsinki Affair”), as well as “Kapakmens” (the song “Wake up once the noble spirit of freedom”), against the background of which even the bountiful “VIPP Basbočka” seems relatively calm, but therefore no less commendable ( song “Too Much”). Among the lesser-known words, the elegant hardcore “Sv. “Johnny & The Burnouts” catches up with the rhythm changes, while the project “Dragon” stands out with the most appropriate song “Everything is the most appropriate for the current mood” in the performances of “Children’s Night” (song “Man is an Animal”) and “Never” (“Dance of Fire”) is bad ”(good, good, not only with that, of course…). The group “Baltais ciemiņš” sounds very hopeful – and this has been said by several “underground” music specialists, while “Constitution in Tea or KTP” has presented a very stupid piece “Copper Day”, which turns out to be amazingly sticky and gets in the head. But the favorites of this selection are the postbank bank “Have No Heroes” with the heavy, fast, energetic and at the same time melodic song “What is with us”, as well as Latgalians from Rēzekne region “Kaandate parish” Gandreiž 10ņīkā, who are neither punk nor “Hc”, but the song “I want” is melodic and nice. See how many songs were marked in the “about” column, even a surprise!
PRICE. There is and cannot be any specific objection. Of course, a couple of songs could also be left overboard here, some quite dubiously recorded under the “punk / hc” sign, but that’s a trifle. For example, the Rabbit with all his “Call me a Rabbit” could safely be saved for one of the next “Colognes” or, better yet, left for archaeological excavation by an enthusiast who will issue such or a similar selection in 2063.
Sandris Vanzovičs
The material was created in cooperation with the music store “Randoms”.
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