Poetry days in spring. “Radio Naba” chart news / Article

“Alcest” – “Flamme Jumelle”

French post-black metal the beginnings of the musical phenomenon “Alcest” can be found at the turn of the millennium, when its sole leader, Stéphane Paut, was still a teenager. He chose Neige (fr. – snow) as his stage name, although Stefan, who was born and raised in the south of France, hardly got to see this natural phenomenon often. However, the young man experienced something else – Neige claims that in his childhood he happened to establish a spiritual connection with the world of fairies and pixies.

So metal music, shoegaze and “Alcest” was formed in the interaction of elves, until in 2009, Neige also found a like-minded person – a drummer with the pseudonym Winterhalt. The duo’s latest performance is the single “Flamme Jumelle” (“Twin Flame”) with an impressive contemporary dance performance against the backdrop of French landscapes. Metal, as expected from “Alcest”, although there is very little of it, rather this is a rather melodic and harmonious alternative rock composition. We will find out whether the whole album will be like this on June 21, when Alcest’s seventh studio record “Les Chants de l’Aurore” will be released.

Fans should know that in autumn “Alcest” will go on a European tour and will perform in Vilnius and Tallinn in November. Not in Riga.

Aldis Kolosovs – “Castle”

An experienced musician, but a young songwriter – this is Aldis Kolosovs, who was noticed by jury member Edgars Šubrovskis in the “Tīrradnis” competition and soon invited him to record Alda’s songs together in the studio of Ingus Bauškėnieks. A band was formed there with the author of the music himself on piano and microphone, Shubrovski on bass, Edgars Rubeni on guitars, and Nick Moss Rogers on drums. Edgars Mäkens plays the keys in the song “Pils”, but other guest musicians also participated in the recording of Alda Kolosov’s album, which is expected at the beginning of the summer.

All the songs on the album were composed by Aldis to the poetry of Kārlis Vērdins. “Castle”, which lacks neither irony nor personal experiences, is said to be the most romantic among them, but after listening to all the songs, Kārlis Vērdiņš especially praises Alda’s ability to truly and convincingly both interpret and sing texts that are far from rhythmic verses with rhymes.

Genre-wise, in the music of Alda Kolosov, you can hear the artistry of the 1930s, the rock of the 1960s, and perhaps a touch of French chanson or actors’ songs.

Caribou – “Honey”

Electronic music artist Dan Snaith, aka Caribou, knows how to subtly calculate how to turn listeners into dancers without even noticing – both in his recordings created in the studio and in concerts with the accompanying band, which we could see for ourselves at the 2022 “Positivus” festival.

It is known that the art of music and the science of mathematics are quite close in nature, and Caribou could be a good proof of this. Dan Snaith was born in 1978 in Canada, where his father, mathematics professor Victor Snaith from England, was a lecturer at the University of Western Ontario. Dan’s mother was a maths teacher, and his sister, Nina, is a well-respected physicist and mathematician researcher at the University of Bristol. Even Dan, although he was already passionate about creating music, did not let his family of mathematicians down and in 2005 defended his doctorate in this science.

To mix things up a bit, Dan Snaith, still often referred to as a Canadian musician, has been living in London for a long time, and if you ever come across Manitoba or Daphni records, you should know that they were also created by him.

Caribou himself has not yet said anything about a new album that could follow the single “Honey”.

“Fontaines DC” – “Starburster”

First, a group of poetry lovers was formed at a music college in Dublin, where five students were united by their love of beatniks and the poetry of Irish classics. The poetry company even published two small collections of self-composed verses, but only one of these poems later became the song “Television Screens” from Fontaines DC’s debut album “Dogrel” (2019).

Since then, “Fontains DC” three albums have been nominated for almost all the most prestigious Anglophone popular music awards, including the “Grammy”, and the group has also received several of them. Among the latest awards, we can mention the NME magazine award in the nomination “Best group in the world” and the “BritAwards” recognition as the best foreign group.

Well, the fourth studio record “Romance” of “Fontaines DC” is ready for release, but the band’s leader Grian Cheten admits in an interview to “The Guardian” newspaper that he hasn’t got the courage to listen to its final version yet, but he is considering the possibility to listen to the album even before its release date on August 23. .

Meanwhile, a personal meeting with “Fontaines DC” awaits us very soon – on June 15, they will perform at the “Palladium” concert hall in Riga. The first single “Starburster” from the upcoming album will also be played there. For now, you can check out the video version, but be warned that the video for “Starburster” is one of the scariest we’ve seen in a while.

“Varang Nord” – “Latgola”

“Varang Nord” comes from the cold forests of Latgale. In four studio albums over ten years, the group combines harsh death metal riffs with epic accordion sounds, creating a unique mix of northern pagan/folk metal. “Their songs glorify a mighty battle, a bloody sacrifice to the old gods and a joyful northern feast with endless mugs of beer,” says the news released by the group’s representatives about the release of the new song “Latgola”.

Varang Nord’s list of achievements so far includes the victory in the 2019 “Wacken Metal Battle” international battle of heavy rock bands, as well as participation in the “European Black Pilgrimage 2023” tour.

“Yannis & The Yaw” – “Walk Through Fire” feat. Tony Allen

The leader of the British rock band “Foals” Yannis Philippakis has always been a big fan of Tony Allen’s talent, and in 2016 he had the opportunity for a short joint recording session in the legendary drummer’s Paris studio.

Tony Allen is best known as the drummer for Nigerian musician and political activist Fela Kuti’s band Africa ’70, one of Afrobeat to the founders of the music style, but this century he participated in the projects of “Blur” leader Damon Alburn “The Good, The Bad & The Queen” and “Rocket Juice & the Moon”.

“The studio turned out to be exactly what you can imagine in a Fela Kuti recording session around 1972. African percussion instruments and analog equipment on all sides, reflections from the mirrored walls, clouded by the smoke deposits of continuous smoking,” Jannis remembers the first visit to Allen. Over the course of two days, along with several guest artists from Tony’s regular circle of session musicians, they recorded material for several songs, but due to various other commitments of those involved, subsequent pandemic restrictions, and finally, with Tony Allen passing away at the age of 79, the recording never took place completed.

Jannis, however, considered it his duty to polish it and put it into the world, honoring the memory of his colleague. “I was touched when I listened to some of the drum recordings because they were some of his last recordings. You can hear timeless values ​​in them and feel the continuation of his life and energy. He wanted the listeners to hear that and I’m glad I could help him ,” says Jannis Filipakis about the work on the recording.

“Yannis & The Yaw’s” five-song EP “Lagos Paris London” will be released on August 30, and Yannis hopes to bring the spirit of this record to life in concerts in Great Britain and France. “Foals” fans do not need to worry that Yannis has started a solo career, because the group’s activity continues, however, in the “Yannis & The Yaw” project, he also wants to collaborate with inspiring musicians from all over the world in the future.