One of the most relevant and also the most discussed Latvian music albums of the last week – the latest studio masterpiece “Imitācija” by the urban rock group (their own stylistic designation, and also very successful!) “Laika Suns”. I don’t want to risk guessing which number it is in the official discography of the former leader of “Mofo” and member of other projects, Arni Račinskas, but it definitely contains such works as “King of the Night” (2013) and “Gaismas ladiņš” (2015), as well as the so-called lost records EP “Far lights” (2013).
Most of the songs included in the album were created in the group’s creative camps already in 2020, but as Rachinskis has repeatedly admitted in private conversations, the events of recent years due to the pandemic and especially the war in Ukraine have put a heavy burden on his work – what to write about, why to write, for whom in general to write… The recording was gradually polished until it was finally polished, in parallel introducing the listeners to several new compositions, of which the collaboration with Kristini Paži in the song “Rīts, rīts, rīts, rīts, rīts, rīts” thoroughly went through the charts. Also, fans have welcomed the songs “Nav kur iet” and “Amniųs vėdas” (the latter probably more because of Elvij Pārpuch’s fantastic music video).
“We experience our time and place as an excursion, for which the guide, the map, has disappeared halfway, and there are no clear directions for the direction. The writing of the album and the process of its recording quite literally became a refuge with a clear order of things, and in the end it is like a selfie of a place and an era through the “Time Dog” filter,” says Arnis Rachinskis philosophically about the new album. He also expressed the following thoughts on social networks: “Twelve songs in Latvian, documentary and fictional events, intensity from low to exaggerated. “Imitation” is a feeling about the era, but the feeling itself is quite real. Just yesterday I went and thought – you won’t smile in the song. It’s either really there or it’s partially visible that it’s not.”
Here, I would like to oppose Arn a little bit – after listening to this album fragmentarily, a few seconds from each song, so piece by piece, it is not really visible whether it is or not. However, a little, a little deeper into the musical content of the album – it is clear that it is! “Piesieties” could only be the title song, which should draw the listener into the listening process, but somehow it does not appeal, as well as the fact that there are very few songs on the album that you would immediately want to listen to a second time. But it doesn’t even really bother, because “Imitation” is like a unified whole.
Everything is clear about “Morning, morning, morning, morning, morning, morning” – a masterpiece that never gets tired. This same category, or at least close to it, also includes “Nowhere to go” and “Hope dies last” (with the star Gabriela Zvaigznītis in the background vocals and the text “hope dies last and then you yourself” – isn’t it beautiful?!), but for now unfamiliar pieces take your breath away from the song “Meža Migla”. As can be understood, “national daughter” Rancāne helped with vocals here, but not Asnāte, but her sister Aurelia. This is doubly pleasing, because Aurelija Rancāne has a still undiscovered potential, which should be brought to the fore in other projects and works as well. Another beautiful song is “Klaiņoja brārītis”, while “Vientuļa sala” will remain in the mind with the gospels, in which the elegantly singing employee of Arni’s “Mute Studio” Esther Tauriņa played a decisive role.
It remains only to mention biographically what “Laika Suns” is: the group was founded in 2013, Arnis Rachinskis (vocals, guitar), Elvijs Pārpucis (guitar), Kārlis Jost (bass) and Jānis Burmeisters (drums) have joined it. “The music of the Laika Suns group is created by drawing inspiration from the rhythms of today’s big cities, as well as from the golden ages of guitar music, which will clearly prove in the powerful and energetic performances.” One of such “powerful and energetic performances” will take place very soon – on May 24 at the “Palladium”. This concert is promised as the most ambitious event of the group “Laika Suns” so far, or “an evening full of high-voltage energy in the heart of the city, in which, along with the premiere of the songs of the new album, the audience’s favorite hits “Pavasari”, “Dažas no kajalje”, “Atceries Rīga summer nights” will also be performed. , “Let’s smash the windows” and others.” It should be noted that the album will also be released in vinyl format with a design created by Jānis Burmeisters – the records will also be available for the first time at this group concert.
“My thanks to all the people from today and the past who consciously or accidentally influenced the content and creation of this record, to all contemporaries who set the bar high for melodies, lyrics and recordings, and thus. Ideas go beyond the everyday, good ideas – beyond the era!” this again from Arni’s thoughts on social networks.
