Ugis Praulins
Paganu Gadagramata
UPE (www.upe.parks.lv)

Listen!
"Meitas Gula Abolaje"
This is a high concept folk music album, and your reaction to it will probably be determined by whether that sounds attractive or oxymoronic. The songs are meant to sequence through "a whole year for the inner self of an urban man." If you don't mind generous doses of synth washes, Enyaesque echoing plucked arpeggios and world-beatification through the addition of bongos, djembes, balafon, and kalimba, then no problem. If you are a folk purist, then it is best to seek other sources for traditional Latvian music. The best moments are when environmental sounds like wind and thunder are used effectively to evoke a desolate landscape against which the melancholy songs develop. - John Cho

Song © 1999 UPE, Latvia

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