December 26, 2009
Browsing the racks at a local record shop, I initially glanced past the display of Southside Soul, Vol. II. But something made me take a second look. At the top of the listing of songs to be heard on the compilation of Minnesota-made music was a familiar name: Lini.
Indeed, the Latvian-American foursome Lini kicks off the 17 tracks on the compact disc subtitled “The Sound of South Minneapolis.” The south side of Minneapolis is where the folk group got its start in 1994 as a spin-off from the long-running Teiksma ensemble. Members of Lini include sisters Zinta and Gunta Pone, their cousin Amanda Jātniece, and Ingrīda Erdmane.
The compilation was released in mid-2009 by the monthly community newspaper Southside Pride. The first track is Lini’s performance of “Kas tie tādi?” and the album ends with the group’s instrumental “Valsis.” For a review of the compilation, see Twin Cities Daily Planet.
To hear more of Lini, look up its debut CD, the self-titled Lini (1996), which includes both tracks heard on the Southside Soul disc.
Andris Straumanis is editor of Latvians Online.
