A Europop blog by an American appreciator of all things Eurozone. Opinions expressed here are personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views/opinions of Warner Music Group. Contact here.
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ProektKOZA Have Latvian Teens Locked In New Clip
How do you take over the under 25 scene in Latvia? It's easy. Just make high energy rap music that leans pop and make vibrant low budget videos. That's been the recipe so far for Proekt Koza and it's working for them again with their latest single and video, "Я взял телефон." Already the clip has racked up over 200,000 streams in just a few days (a big number for any Latvian clip) and the promo bursts with energy, just like the tune. "Я взял телефон" translates to "I picked up the phone" or similar and boasts shots of Riga, where apparently their filming drew the attention of a lot of young female fans. Wrote about these guys before and they are a lot of fun. Check out their latest clip below.
Latvia: Yana Kay Drops "Kad Nakts" Video
It's a new year and a new song/video for Latvian singer Yana Kay. Like her 2011 single/video "Hurts," "Kad Nakts" (translates to "When The Night" or similar) was also written by Markus Riva (he also directed the promo you'll see below). "Kad Nakts" might be even better then "Hurts," actually, and this new today video for the track is hitting all of Europopped's sweet spots. Good pop/dance tune that has already received play on Latvian radio stations such as Capital FM in Riga. Yana Kay is currently working on dance music compositions in English, Spanish and Italian, for those who don't like the sound of this tune in Latvian (though we love it in Latvian, such a lovely language!).
Latvia: All Hail Riga's New Club Queen Samanta Tina ("Esi Man Klāt" Clip)
If you want to know what's hot in Riga, iTunes charts are not a reliable metric. The difference between the #1 most downloaded and #10 can often be the difference between 70 a week and less than 10 downloads sold. Seriously, that's how small the market is for paid downloads in Latvia. A better metric is radio charts or You Tube streams....and for the past few months two clips in the dance/pop genre from Latvia have been on fire at You Tube. The first is Samantha Tina & Rassell's hot "Esi Man Klāt" promo. Per the copy below the video, "This composition will surprise listeners with its novelty...the song is built in an electro-pop and R&B musical style, which in Latvia is quite rare." Next up is a track by hot DJ Dween, who scored a few minor hits at Latvian radio already this year, but his "Ir Jāmeklē!" featuring Sabīne Berezina and Grafomāns is the best of the lot. Check out both below.
Dreaming Of Manhattan In Snowy Latvia: Triana Park's "New York" Clip
So there's this band from Riga named Triana Park. In 2010 they released their debut CD which was published on their own record label. The album was nominated for the Latvian Grand Music Prize and the act has since played a bunch of summer festivals in Europe such as Positivus and Summersound. Today, they released this snowy yet sunny promo for a song simply called "New York" and it's kind of awesome. Check out the Ivars Burtniek-directed video below (song in English). By the way, according to the band, it was minus 17 degrees outside when they shot this clip.
Riga's Electro Champions Gacho Return ("Stampā Grīdu" Video)
We all need to get on a plane and head to Latvia this summer. Once there, priority #1 is seeing Gacho live in concert. This new video from the electro rap act shows that they (really just one guy) really know how to put on a show! The crowd reacts accordingly in this promo clip for "Stampā Grīdu" (translates to "stomp floor" or "stomp the floor?") and it looks like a wild time (filmed at a 2011 concert). Wrote about Gacho before but I had no idea how popular Gaucho is becoming (just judging from the crowd in this clip alone they certainly appear popular, anyway). Check out the latest below, which sounds really tight thanks to production by two french guys living in Basel, Switzerland (L' Amère Conspiration) and mastering via Swedish sound engineer Sören von Malmborg.
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