April 24, 2007
A DVD of a Dec. 1 concert by Mielavs un Pārcēlāji has been released by UPE Recording Co. The DVD is appropriately title Koncerts Jaunajā Rīgas teātrī. The concert took place in Jaunais Rīgas Teātris and featured the group performing some of its newer material as well as songs by Jauns Mēness.
For those unfamiliar with the three-man group, its core is Ainars Mielavs, who rose to wide popularity as lead singer of Jauns Mēness, a rock group formed in 1987 that remained active through the 1990s. Mielavs went on to a solo career, often performing his own lyrics set to music composed by Imants Kalniņš.
His new group, Mielavs un Pārcēlāji, was created in 2005 and also includes longtime collaborators, guitarist Gints Sola and drummer Juris Kroičs. The trio’s music can be described as laid-back, thoughtful pop. Both the instrumentation and Mielavs’ voice is restrained, a far departure from the rock of Jauns Mēness, especially in its early years.
Mielavs un Pārcēlāji has released two albums, Parunā ar sevi in 2005 and Tad, kad pasauli pārdos in 2006. Both came out on the UPE label, which coincidentally is owned by Mielavs.
For more on the group, visit www.parcelaji.lv.
Andris Straumanis is editor of Latvians Online.
