“Edvards Strazdiņš: Latvian New Country Star Releases Debut Album with Pop and Country Elements”

The 20-year-old Edvards Strazdiņš, known as the star of Latvian new country (and/or new country), released his debut album with a dozen songs right before the national holiday.

The author of practically all the music and also the lyrics is the young man himself, and Guntars Račs put his hand as a poet on only a couple of pieces, and Gatis Mūrnieks on one. The album was produced by Gints Stankevičs, and the cover photo was taken by the legendary photo master Jānis Deinats. The photo session took place in the Abgunste manor, which could really be an ideal “harbor of peace in rural life”, besides, Deinats has masterfully woven an element into the photo that “steals the whole show” – a tricolor cat. There is no information about his (the cat’s) origin, while the “MicRec” website says about Strazdiņš that he is “a native of Riga in love with Talso”.

PAR. Edward has a sympathetic and deep voice – he will definitely be able to captivate the audience. This album is hardly recorded in the country style, rather it is a hit with pop and country elements, however, it must be admitted that musically it is not “balle Baložos” or “letam pa vecam” (on the side of “brother, don’t bargain with life” though) , but quite an acceptable product.

At the concerts, “Lauku žības miiras miara” and “Dziesma par Kurzemi” will go to the hearts of hit listeners, fans of Mārtiņš Freimanis’s work will probably appreciate the song “Celties tűrgios” with the participation of Freimanis’s clone Gatis Mūrnieks, but for more neutral listeners we can recommend the beautiful “Ezer kluss”, the very stylish duet with Anna Wohl, who lives in Scotland (she was chosen for this role in a special competition, but in the presentation concert Anna was well replaced by Ilze Savicka) and “Esi kā vīrs” adapted to the club version (Stankevičs probably expressed his heart here), while “Latvijas Sirdsdziesmai” can be delegate “Sister, come with me.”

Praise for courage – three years ago, the guy simply wrote to Guntar Rach that he wanted his songs to be played on radio stations, what should he do?! It turns out that this is exactly what should have been done. Praise also for not being afraid to make music in the genre he wants – Edward’s peers hardly perceive him as an object of worship for this kind of music…

AGAINST. It has never been understood why young people choose hits, albeit with a country touch, as is the case with Edvards Strazdins. It’s as if he’s been listening to various American country stars since childhood, and from there these musical influences, but still…