In a conversation with “Neatkarīgo”, the singer talks about her various creative projects, about the upcoming concerts in the summer with “Pērkons”, which makes her really happy, shares her emotions about what is happening in Ukraine, does not hide Olga Rajecka’s anniversary concerts gives the opportunity to return to the stage also for the unique quartet “Ladies Pop”.
“Dāmu pops” is a project of four Latvian pop music singers, which was formed in 1989, combining four of the most popular Latvian singers at that time – Ieva Akurateris, Olga Rajeckas, Edita Baušķeniec and Maija Lūsēns, and their best-known song was the super hit “Maybe Tomorrow”. For the last ten years, actress and musician Raimonds Vazdika has been playing in the band instead of Maija Lūsēna.
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When and how was the idea for the quartet “Ladies Pop” born?
I am not the one who knows the exact dates and years – I only remember events, feelings, emotions. It was around 1990, when the “Iron Curtain” finally opened up, which for years prevented Latvians from going to each other. Going to Europe at that time was a huge event, not to mention America! Therefore, when the American Latvian group “Akacis” came to Latvia in 1989, we, many musicians, played together in complete happiness and in order to get the most out of “their happiness”, we also spent many wonderful evenings together. And one such evening came up with the idea of ”Lady Pop.” And the funniest thing is that we are all convinced who is the main author of this quartet – I am absolutely convinced that it was my idea, Olga thinks it is her idea, Maijiņa claims that the idea came from her, and also Edith, although she does not disclose it out loud, sensitively makes us realize that it was her idea. Be that as it may, we went together very nice, fun and very feminine. We are all very different, but when we meet on stage, we sing and play with equal pleasure.
What songs did you start your creative activity with?
We started our work with the charming hit “Maybe Tomorrow”, with which we took part in the “Microphone Survey” and won second place. I had a guitar, Olga played drums, Maija had a “pool” and Edith had keys. Later, the director Jacqueline Cinovsky also made a very nice video for this song, it is worth watching.
Initially, the quartet’s producers were several: Juris Riekstiņš, Ingus Baušķenieks, Gatis Gaujenieks. They were the implementers of our first hit and also the showers of the genre. And the genre is “just for fun,” if I may put it in English. The name itself is insidious, it can’t be taken seriously and shouldn’t be taken. It’s a joke game. Or a day, we do it with such fun and excitement! Although we are very different, we go on stage with an equal spark of joy and excitement and are always able to captivate the audience as well. Olga says that there was once a saying among musicians that as soon as “Ladies Pop” arrives at a concert or festival, the fun goes through the air.
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How much have you performed in these 30 years?
“Lady Pop” has had three concert tours, this is the fourth. However, this is related to Olga Rajecka’s 60th anniversary, which is celebrated throughout Latvia with many concerts. We’re just joining Olga, and this is a wonderful opportunity for us to be together again.
The second “rebirth” of “Lady Pop” was at a time when we were already plus / minus forty years old. I remember at the time it seemed to me that we were terribly old and crazy about how we could behave on stage here! Now I look at the photos of that time and conclude that we actually looked extremely good. We looked super! Young women. At that time, the world was dominated by the cult of youth, so we thought that everything had changed – we have become more open to the world, and although nature is polluting, people have learned to live healthier lives, which will extend their youth by about fifteen years. This is what scientists and psychologists say, not just to comfort myself.
I don’t know if Olga has already told me in an interview, but I remember the “Ladies’ Pop” concert in Bauska, which was attended by her mother. She was enthusiastic about us all the time during the concert, but after the concert she came and said: “Well, you all look frieze by piece, but when you get closer, you can see that you are not so frieze…”
Meanwhile, a moment before the third “rebirth” of “Ladies’ Pop”, the quartet had an internal drama, which I do not want to dramatize. Maijiņa no longer wanted to perform pop music, but focus on genre softer, more nuanced and more spiritual songs. She believed that we should be more “polite”, that we should not be charmed by the stage anymore, because it is not appropriate for women in polite years. But she had her own conditions, and she disagreed. So we looked for a replacement and – “found” Raimonds Vazdiks. As a sporty woman and a wonderful artist, she was ready for anything. I admit that Maybe has her own opinion on this situation. But the key word in this situation is “Ladies Pop,” and we continue to operate within this one genre. And I think viewers from “Lady Pop” expect that too. As Olga says: it doesn’t matter how old you are – it matters whether you have youthful energy or shine your eyes about what you do. When we go on stage with excitement, the audience feels it, believes us and comes along. And don’t ask how many years we have. Because it’s just a game and it has to be played with excitement. And I am really pleased to hear from the audience that “Lady Pop” with its positive energy makes their daily life brighter and more fun, gives them the strength and inspiration to believe in themselves. I think it’s very positive and so it’s worth doing!
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What else is happening in your creative life this spring, this summer?
Thank God I do a lot of concerts. I have a lot of events with the group “Thunder”, we perform in different places, bigger, smaller and very big, and that’s my complete happiness. Even ecstasy, yes. We had some big concerts last summer, but there were no huge festivals, except for the “Kulakov Night” on the Roja open-air stage. And this summer there will be not only many more concerts, but also several big festivals, and that makes me very, very happy.
At a time when concerts were limited, I was lucky enough to play acoustic music. I have several acoustic music compositions. One is with Leon Sējāns and Matīss Akuratera. We sing both patriotic songs and acoustic versions of “Thunder” songs – with the permission of colleagues. Since people were very long after the concerts, they were happy to hear the songs of “Thunder” in such a performance as well. After all, the two of us are from Thunder, but Matiss is my cousin, who was born and raised with Thunder like all our children.
The second – I play together with two wonderful artists – actress Raimonds Vazdikas, who just celebrated her 60th birthday with the presentation of a new album “Letters in Fine Handwriting”, and Ilze Gruntis, who is an ingenious twelve-string guitarist. We often perform in such a small group.
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And the third one – together with Aivars Herman we perform the songs we created together, with my lyrics and Aivars music. We also include songs by our friends and like-minded people in these concerts. It is a particularly sophisticated and sensitive music, Aivars’ “pulsating guitar” with associative poems brings colorful dreams and similarities into the world.
And also – I play alone and I feel like I’m back in hippie times. Yes, in the limited circumstances of the pandemic, I was also invited to speak on my own – people were happy and I could sing for hours alone. Shameless. Previously, there was a feeling that at least one more guitarist was needed on stage to fill the space and music. But it turns out that it can be – just go on stage with a guitar, address people with your position, and everything happens!
But you are so loved by the people that you do not need an “accompanying suite”.
I am shy and reserved every day, but if I am convinced of my idea, then I am happy to be able to share my love with people. And then, going out on stage alone, everything goes with a helper.
How do you feel at this time of so much unrest and misery in the world?
When the war broke out in Ukraine, I was shocked. I believe that the whole humanitarian world is convinced that we are on the path to humanism, that the world will only become more humane in the future, that society will be more compassionate, inclusive and supportive, and that all its horrors, cruelty and genocide will be a thing of the past. I think the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a huge shock to all of humanity – that this huge neocommunist monster had been asleep like a dragon all the time and has now raised its head to try to devour the world and start with Ukraine… We have to be extremely vigilant and do everything we can to resist !
In fact, at the start of the war, I was overwhelmed by insane depression because I felt co-responsible for what was happening in the world. What’s more, for my children and grandchildren, and here I don’t just mean relatives, I had promised a new, beautiful and free life. Because I believe we have overcome evil. I had a huge sense of guilt in front of them – what should I do now ?! How should I behave? How can I save ?! And when I was offered a job in the Saeima, I felt like I was drafted into the army. I “grouped”, got a second breath, because – I saw the point. Yes, I have to go and fight!
As for the occupation monument, in my opinion, it is similar to the Lenin monument still standing in Riga, and we would still like to know if we could demolish it. I understand that for a large part of society, especially the Russians whose parents fought against Hitler, it is associated with World War II and the victory over Hitler. Of course, we are all pleased that it is all over, that all this kind of horror is a thing of the past, of the last century. But – this monument is more than just a monument. And to put it down is a gesture of our courage, of strength, of our own liberation. It is a loud statement to the world, especially to Russia, that we will never be under their control again! I believe that the whole world will join hands to push Russia back to where it is. And at the same time we will pray for future generations to be healed there. Of course, we are a humane, developed and legal country, where everything has its place, including burial sites and brothers’ graves. The fallen can be mentioned there, but the symbols of foreign power in Latvia must be removed!
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