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A trip to Latvia awaits in hour two tonight as flight TD074 takes off for Riga, and in the warm-up we repped all the Baltic Nations and one or two more as we headed for the airport. Great tunes old and new throughout our two hours with tour guide Dunia Aljawad!
"The Drop with Danno" on GFN 광주영어방송 98.7FM in Gwangju & 93.7FM in Yeosu, Korea. An eclectic radio curation of all things musical spanning the spectrum every week. Broadcasting 8-10pm KST nightly.
May 25, 2022
The Drop with Danno
KALUSH – Stefania
Monika LIU - Sentimentai
Walters & Kazha – The War Is Not Over
Juri Pootsman – Play
Collage – Mets Neidude Vahel
Tarmo feat Toomas Urb & Vanemode – Valgud Piglis
Velly Joonas – Kaes On Aeg
Big Band Katowice – Ballada dla Alicji
ansis feat JeeKaa – Sis Rindas Dzivos
Hoax – Ohjad
Prata Vetro feat MUSIQQ – Debesis iekrita tevi
Ugis Praulins – Easter Comes
I.
It is 20 hours past midnight, and flight TD 074 is readying for takeoff from Incheon International Airport, so we are about to get in the cab to the bus depot here in Gwangju, and we do so hope you also have your boarding pass at the ready. This is Danno ready with bag in hand and passport in pocket from studio 2, GFN HQ in Downtown Gwangju, how do you do? Tonight our destination is Latvia, and we’ll of course be joined by the lovely Dunia Aljawad in hour 2 once we take off for Riga, the country’s capital. A lovely place to visit this time of year in spring, and for a warm-up we’ll be exploring the sounds of all three Baltic nations along with a surprise or two thrown in both old and new. First phase of part 1 we’ll be going over some Eurovision entries from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and then we’ll get into some older sounds for the end of part 1 and opening of part 2, then go more contemporary for the final lengths to the departure gate. As for right now though, we’ll play the winning entry from 2022’s Eurovision song contest hailing from Ukraine, and we’ll talk about all there is to know about after the roundabouts but for now, let’s roll. THIS is The Drop.
Kalush Orchestra – Stefania
The Drop begins the journey tonight headphones on as the bus rolls out to ICN. What’s happening tonight, Drop Gangsters (Korean)? Danno on the mic in our traveling imaginations from studio 2, GFN HQ, downtown Gwangju.
For those just joining us, we head to Latvia tonight on this week’s edition of our Round Trip travel special and we’ll be joined aboard flight TD074 by our weekly travel partner Dunia Aljawad. To open, we just rocked the winning entry of this year’s Eurovision song contest, and that was Kalush Orchestra with Stefania.
The band out of Ukraine, formerly more of a hip-hop act known as Kalush claimed the country’s 3rd Eurovision win, and obviously the context of the ongoing war there created a most significant backdrop for the victory here. Especially given the group’s stage garb, which are traditional Ukrainian folk outfits, with the music being a meld of Ukrainian folk and modern hip-hop sounds.
Congratulations to Kalush and please remember to donate to the Red Cross and other organizations to the ongoing humanitarian crisis there, as it seems Russia is gearing up for a truly long war there.
#9870, @gfnthedrop, podcast details, etc.
So, with a lot of mentions of Eurovision entries from Latvia coming up in hour 2, let’s explore some of the sounds that each of the Baltic nations have put forward for their entries into that famed contest. First up we have Monika LIU to be followed by Walters & Kazha along with Juri Poostmann, all of which we’ll discuss after the sounds come down but for now THIS is The Drop on your Round Trip Wednesday night to the Baltic coast.
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Back on The Drop and in the home stretch to the terminal now, so making sure the bag’s still where we left it along with the passport in our pocket. We head for Latvia in hour 2 this evening with Dunia Aljawad, and for right now we just wrapped playing a few Eurovision entries from the Baltic countries of Estonia Latvia and Lithuania, so let’s run down what you just heard…
Monika LIU – Sentimentai (…this was Lithuania’s entry in this year’s Eurovision contest, selected by the national broadcaster in a final that happened in February. The singer is the daughter of music teachers and studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and this song eventually placed 14th at the grand final in Turin, Italy.)
Walters & Kazha – The War Is Not Over (…this was Latvia’s entry in the 2016 contest, and the current war is obviously causing huge tension in all of the Baltic nations being next door to Russia itself. This song is not Latvia’s highest ever finisher at a Eurovision final but placed very high at #5 in the final tally.)
Juri Pootsmann – Play (…this was Estonia’s entry in that same contest in Eurovision 2016, although it did not make the final. The artist might not have won then but did in the end, signing with Universal Music immediately after.)
Alright, so we’re almost to the terminal right now, but we got plenty of time so let’s go back a bit to the old Soviet days of the Estonia SSR with some funk & jazz to finish part 1 tonight. Up next is a band called Collage with a tune that translates to The Girls of the Forest, and then we have a group called Tarmo with a joint called The Protein of Pigs, and that’s gonna be most likely a poorly translated finish for the first quarter of the show. THIS is The Drop on your Round Trip Wednesday night to The Baltic Coastline.
Collage – Mets Neidude Vahel
Tarmo feat Toomas Urb & Vanemode – Valgud Piglis
II.
The Drop is back after the first jump of the evening on our Round Trip Wednesday, departing at 9pm tonight on flight TD074 for the capital city of Latvia in Riga with Dunia Aljawad joining us on board the flight. Danno here in studio 2, GFN HQ, downtown Gwangju and we just started old school right there, so let’s break it down but not off…
Velly Joonas – Kaes On Aeg (… a veteran composer and singer-songwriter from Estonia to start things, the title of this song means it’s time. Joonas is responsible for over 300 songs, although this one is a personal favorite she has stated is more to her taste. The song received a bit of a revival in 2017 with the release of BADBADNTOGOOD’s Late Night Tales mix, on which this tune featured.)
Big Band Katowice – Ballada dla Alicji (…a jazz ensemble out of Poland, and this tune was released in 1978 on an album called Music for My Friends. Just highlighting a bit of history here, as Poland and the Baltic States have a very intertwined history, all part of the same larger Polish nation long ago.)
Moving along SM, #9870, podcast let us know …
Okay, so next block we’ll take it more contemporary with a bit of hip-hop flavor to start, and on deck is Latvian hip-hop artist ansis to be followed by Lithuanian female duo Hoax, and we’ll finish with Brainstorm and MUSIQQ whom we’ll hear more from in hour 2. THIS is The Drop on your Round Trip Wednesday evening to Riga.
_________
The Drop has arrived at the gate, bumping along to the tunes as we enter the final phase prior to boarding on this Round Trip Wednesday. Danno here ready to welcome Dunia Aljawad shortly on our Round Trip to Riga, Latvia tonight, and we’re repping all of the Baltic States here in hour 1 as we ready for the flight. As to what we just played, let’s get to that right about now ...
ansis feat JeeKaa – Sis Rindas Dzivos ( …a song meaning these lines will live, released in 2013 on an album Dekadansa or Decadence. The artist is a 35 year-old rapper and actor, having been credited on a 2017 movie, and has released 8 albums in his career.)
Hoax – Ohjad (Reins) (…not to be confused with the NYC-based indie band, this is a female duo out of Talinn in Estonia, was released in 2017. The group says they are from a calm conservative society, and they aim to provoke and shake things up with their music.)
Prata Vetra feat MUSIQQ – Debesis iekrita tevi (…a pair of artists teaming up (or are they?) on this tune, meaning The Sky Fell On You. We’ll explain the seeming confusion with Dunia in hour 2 tonight, and obviously “both” artists hail from Latvia.)
Okay, so we have one more cut to feature this evening before we head to the jump, and our closer for the first half is Ugis Praulins with a cut called Easter Comes, a more traditional composition by a very experienced composer out of our destination country tonight. Stay tuned as flight TD074 takes off in mere moments after the jump and our blah blah blahs to start part 3, and THIS is The Drop on your Latvian Round Trip Wednesday night.
Ugis Praulins – Easter Comes
III & IV Round Trip
Samanta Tīna - MĒS VAIRS NĒ (WE ARE NO MORE)
Alise Joste – Atslegas (Keys)
Igo - Uz Krustcelēm (At the Crossroads)
Gaujarts – Romana varonis (Hero of Romana)
MUSIQQ - DARI KĀ ES (DO LIKE ME)
Triana Park – Stars
Prāta Vētra - Starp Divām Saulēm (Between the Two Suns )
Imants Daksis - Idiots
BERMUDU DIVSTŪRIS - BALLĒJAM NEGUĻAM (FOR A PALLET)
Instrumenti – Visa Visuma Visumis ir viss
Ailee(에일리) _ I will show you(보여줄게)
Gain feat Bumkey – Fxxk U
Samanta Tīna - MĒS VAIRS NĒ (WE ARE NO MORE)
• After having attempted to represent her country in the Eurovision Song Contest five times earlier (in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2019), she won the national preselection Supernova in 2020 and will represent Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands with the song "Still Breathing".
• Due to the contest being canceled, she was internally selected to represented her country in 2021 instead with a new song, "The Moon Is Rising".
• She also competed in the Lithuanian preselection twice (in 2013 and 2017), and in the Lithuanian version of The Voice.
Alise Joste – Atslegas (Keys)
- Interesting artist here who’s been playing music since 2008. Joste says that it’s hard to talk about the things that are happening or about one’s self, but songwriting is the she uses to do that.
- Alise recorded her self-titled debut album on her own in a country house and released it in 2011.
- In March 2014, Alise’s debut album was released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland via G-Records (Rough Trade).
- It took almost five years for Alise to complete the next album but it was worth waiting. “Hardships are Ships” was released in October 2015 and received two most prominent music prizes in Latvia
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Igo - Uz Krustcelēm (At the Crossroads)
• Igo won the Grand Prix in 1986 during The Soviet Young Singers Competition known as "Jūrmala-86" with the song "Грибной дождь" (rain to sun)
• and took part in the TV festival "Song of the Year" in Moscow with "Путь к свету" (Path to the light)
• In November 2006, he launched a collection of poems under the title Bezgalīgs tuvums. There he included stories and poems that are reflected with illustrations by Igo.
Gaujarts – Romana varonis (Hero of Romana)
- The band name here is actually French meaning “to write,” and this is a band that’s been around since 2007.
- The indie group put this out on an album called Brothers and Sisters in 2014, and it still would seem they are on the level of known in Latvia, but haven’t broken out still.
MUSIQQ - DARI KĀ ES (DO LIKE ME)
• a Latvian pop music duo.
• The duo first gained exposure in June 2009 with the release of their first single “Klimata kontrole”("Climate control"), but on October 1 their second single "Abrakadabra" came out, which was a radio hit in Latvia and "SEB Musical Bank 2009" winner.
• Musiqq represented Latvia in 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in a German city Düsseldorf with the song "Angel in Disguise".
• They are also known as Latvian rap duo called "Bermudu Divstūris", which formed in 2011.
Triana Park – Stars
- This is a group from the capital city in Riga and has four members.
- This tune is from 2018 after the group had represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2017 after many, many tries.
- This obviously upped their profile immensely.
Prāta Vētra (Brainstorm) - Starp Divām Saulēm (Between the Two Suns )
• a Latvian pop/rock band that became popular internationally in 2000 when they finished third in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "My Star".
• The band was formed in the summer of 1989 in Jelgava, Latvia by four former classmates and later joined by another classmate
• In 2004, one of the band founders died on the night between 22 and 23 May in a car accident on the highway between Riga and Jelgava – bassist Gundars Mauševics or as his friends called him – Mumiņš was only 29 years old.
• Despite this loss, the other band members continued working.
• Concerts have been held by the band recently in Western Europe and they continue to gain popularity in the United Kingdom due to their similarity to Beirut.
Imants Daksis – Idiots
- I can’t find a lot on this artist, but this is from another 2018 album called an a word which we cannot say on the air.
- Interestingly, the album cover is a simple black image of a complex design that looks kind of like a pentagram, which the artist has tattooed on the forehead. And that is all I know.
BERMUDU DIVSTŪRIS - BALLĒJAM NEGUĻAM (FOR A PALLET)
• a Latvian humorous rap duo formed in 2011 . The group consists of Marats Ogļezņevs and Emīls Balceris
• In 2014, the duo released their debut album " BALLĒJAM NEGUĻAM " , which won the Zelta Mikrofons of the Year Award for Best Hip-Hop or Dance Music Album . [4]
Both singers have also formed the group Musiqq
Instrumenti – Visa Visuma Visumis ir viss (The Universe of the Whole Universe is the whole thing)
- This is a band originally formed by two classically trained music students from Riga who call themselves Shipsi and Reynsi.
- Over the years, the band has incorporated a rolling cast of members from all over the Baltic, including Lithuania and Estonia along with Sweden, Finland, and even France and Iceland.
- The band have performed all over Europe and even North America since their foundation, and winning awards for their witty, multi-genre style along the way.
Ailee(에일리) _ I will show you(보여줄게)
• a Korean-American singer and songwriter based in South Korea
• majored in Communications before she had to drop out and pursue her music career.
• She had her Debut on February 12, 2012
• She is called the Korean beyonce
Gain feat Bumkey – Fxxk U
- This is the solo moniker of Son Ga-in from the artist’s 3rd mini-album Truth or Dare, released in 2014.
- If the name rings a bell, it’s most likely due to Ga-in being a member of Brown Eyed Girls previously. In fact, it was a bit of shock value as Ga-in was always the youngest, innocent member of the group, but once solo the imagery was rather risqué and sexy.