Once upon a time, rapper Gustavo, real name Gustavs Butelis, transformed into Arstarulsmirus (the name officially recorded in the passport is even longer), but now Arstarulsmirus is back again as Gustavo – with a new song and its video “We need Gustavo back”.
For those hip-hop fans (and not only them) who were absolutely not attracted by Arstarulsmirus’s work, Gustavo’s new single “We need Gustavo back” will be like a balm for the soul – it really is the old, good Gustavo, moreover, even more experienced, powerful and with huge plans.
A number of well-known people also participated in the video, whose voices can also be heard in the song – rappers Ansis, Ozols, She (Zelma Jäger), Jānis Krīvēns or Krivenchy, roland če, Prusax, xantikvariāts and Steps, radio personality Sanda Dejus, former football player Kaspars Gorkšs, Jānis Skutelis, who is considered a comedian (he really manages to look funny in the clip) and TV journalist Kristīne Garklāva. A very interesting text, a successful melody and a memorable chorus – the new single makes us look forward to what Gustavo will offer again.
“The title of the song and the words of the song “we need Gustavo back” in an insistently playful and to some extent reflective of the truth partially answer the question – why has the project resumed its activity? A little more than ten years have passed since the last composition of the project was released, but during all this time, fans of Gustavo’s work had diligently and systematically listened to the musical material released so far and persistently asked me if and when the project could resume its creative activity. This is the moment when you can safely say – it has finally happened, also thanks to you – the dedicated listeners!” the culprit himself speaks about the new song and the resumption of the project.
“The motivation for resuming the project can be commented on by quoting one of my early song lyrics “do you have anything else to say? If I have!”. Because since the project was put on hold, I have been accumulating content and musical ideas that cannot be accommodated in the direction of Desire Songs outlined within the Arstarulsmirus project. They are much more compatible with the stylistics that are characteristic of Gustavo’s work and the direction of hip-hop in general – musically it is a more intense, aggressive, playful form. In terms of content, they will be personal, direct, deep and at the same time simple, descriptive of the present and retrospective, lyrics with dense and skillful rhyming, witty word games, “punches” and diverse rhythmic patterns,” says Gustavo.
Along with the release of the video, Gustavo also announces the fifth studio album, which will include ten new compositions, to be released at the end of November. In addition, a book of Gustavo’s lyrics written between 2001 and 2011 is planned to be published at the end of the year, including stories about the context in which the songs were written and previously unpublished images from personal archives.
The creative process is combined with a crowdfunding campaign, in which the author invites fans of his work to invest in the project (this can be done on the website www.baijot.lv), “becoming co-creators of the project and thus promoting a harmonious creative process and smoother achievement of the result.” As thanks for their participation, listeners have the opportunity to receive various goodies made by the musician, including a reissue of the legendary album “Beidzot”.
It should be noted that the release of the new album and the upcoming book will be combined with Gustavo’s big concert, which will be dedicated to the repertoire of the rapper’s debut album “Finally”. The date of the concert is already known – it will take place on November 25, “Arena Riga”. “Even though the concert will feature compositions loved by the audience, in which many people already know every line and measure by heart, it will be a show full of pleasant surprises,” promises Gustavo.
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