On August, the 18th, the Danish indie-rock group Efterklang will present their new project Liima at the Daile concert hall in Riga, Latvia. Liima sees the core trio of Efterklang collaborating with idiosyncratic percussionist Tatu Rönkkö, and their concert is a part of the 25-anniversary celebration of The Danish Cultural Institute in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. The concert is organized by the institute in collaboration with the Skaņu Mežs association for adventurous music.
Liima is the the new band of Finnish percussionist Tatu Rönkkö and Mads Brauer, Casper Clausen and Rasmus Stolberg of Efterklang.
Since 2003, Efterklang have been at the forefront of musical exploration, through electronica, experimental pop and contemporary classical music, spanning four albums, two films and various other projects and releases. They are currently signed to the legendary British label 4AD, and their fourth studio album “Piramida” met both commercial success and critical acclaim. Here’s what Drowned In Sound wrote of the recording: “What is it that could make Piramida Efterklang’s strongest offering yet? The reasons are numerous. [..]This album is what you make it, so rich and deep it is, musically and – if you are inclined to think that way – conceptually. Piramida is undoubtedly the band’s most immediate work to date and it might be strange to be writing it, but nearly each and every track would work standing on its own. Strong though those individual parts are, they are mere dots compared to Piramida as a whole.”
Over the past year and a half, Tatu Rönkkö has been a permanent member of the Efterklang live band, and this musical friendship has now developed into a new project with its own distinctive character.
As Efterklang have decided to rethink and redefine what the band is and how they operate, their performances this year with Tatu, as Liima, are the first steps of this new process.
Over the course of two weeks in Finland during the summer of 2014, Liima wrote and improvised a collection of music to be performed at Pekka Kuusisto’s Our Festival. This was followed by nine days in Berlin last autumn, writing five additional songs that premiered during a private gathering at Berlin’s Vox-Ton Studio. Most recently, Liima spent one January week at Istanbul’s Salon IKSV, crafting and performing even more unique songs, and will venture to Madeira, Portugal, to do the same over 7 days this May.
From these residencies, and their fresh take on the songwriting process, Liima has created a whole new world of music, and the band is taking the new songs on the road this summer.
Here’s what Clash Music wrote of Liima’s performance in London last month: “Playing exclusively new material, Liima make few concessions but there is an almost immediate rapport between the audience and the musicians onstage. [..] Rhythmically complex, the fluttering percussion is built from samples and electronics, a diverse selection that moves from thudding concrete to something approaching the balletic. There seems to be a conscious shift towards the electronic world. [..] Vocally, Casper Clausen remains as beguiling as ever, his melodies soothing the otherwise brutalist spaces occupied by the music.”
As mentioned above, Liima’s concert in Riga is a part of a larger event: On August 18 2015 The Danish Cultural Institute in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is celebrating its 25-year anniversary and activities in the Baltic Countries. The Danish Cultural Institute was founded on the basis of creating cultural exchange and dialogue between people. In this cultural meeting music is an excellent instrument that can strengthen these ties, which is why the institute has chosen to mark its jubilee by a day with focus on music and sound-installations in different guises. In addition to this concert, sound installations by Voldemārs Johansons (Latvia) and Christian Skjodt (Denmark) will be presented at The Latvian National Library.
The concert starts at 20:00.
Tickets to the concert can be purchased at “Biļešu Serviss” box offices in Riga, or online at www.bilesuserviss.lv.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lScLdOWAMhc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwgs5R97X4M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ8_I3WZYY0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJegS2CgTns