When family and relatives come together, it’s a celebration. Especially when such a time coincides with several days off from work and school. Some family members have not been seen for a long time, children have grown, hair has turned grey, couples have married, others have passed away.... These gatherings are a time to talk and find out how everybody’s doing, how’s work, who has moved to Riga, who has moved to Jelgava. Some have even come to visit from abroad, and they have a lot to tell. When everyone has inquired about everyone else, including those unable to visit, the guys open up beer bottles and begin discussing world politics. Each has his own opinion, each has something to say, each feels the pain of wars fought in other lands (“may the fighting never reach us...”), until the women begin a song. One of the old songs that grandmother used to sing, one of the family’s own songs. Someone pulls an accordion out of the trunk, the little cousin (the one who’s doing so well at music school) takes her violin, and a drum is found, too. There’s a small bonfire, relatives are singing. And they’re playing, joking, laughing, enjoying, dancing until the first car leaves a trail of dust after it drives away, and then another.... But some, especially those who’ve had a bit more to drink, aren’t preparing to go anywhere. They cannot bring themselves to say goodbye to a cousin, nephew or dear brother-in-law.... But finally the dust settles behind the last car to leave, and the relatives all return to their own lives. They return in order to come together again next year – possibly at a wedding or some other special occasion – and meet those members of the family they’ve not seen in a long time, talk about everyone and everything, and sing the long-silent songs.... To sing the songs as they are sung in Latgale....
Laimas Muzykanti

The ethno rock band “Laimas Muzykanti” was founded in 1995. It was begun by Artūrs Uškāns, a well-known multi-instrumentalist, folklore enthusiast and researcher, composer and poet. The repertoire of “Laimas Muzykanti” is based on Latgallian and Latvian folk songs. The group’s style varies considerably, just as folk songs vary widely in their character and content. The character and mood of each arrangement is considered carefully, blending musical experience from both the past and the present. Over the years, “Laimas muzykanti” have performed in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, England, Uzbekistan, Lithuania, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Italy and elsewhere.

Laimas Muzykanti:

Artūrs Uškāns – balss, kokle, vargāns, akordeons, ermoņikas, dūdas, stabules, mandolīna, basģitāra, sintezatori, programmēšana / vocal, kokle, Jew’s harp, button & piano accordions, bagpipes, wooden flutes, bass guitar, synthesizers, programming
Inga Zeile – balss, vijole / vocal, fiddle
Kristīne Kārkle – balss, vijole / vocal, fiddle
Armands Varslavāns – balss, akustiskā un elektriskā ģitāras, mandolīna, buzuki / vocal, acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, bouzouki
Matīss Uškāns – balss, bungas, perkusijas / vocal, drums, percussion instruments
Valdis Rundzāns – basģitāra / bass guitar
Inta Uškāne – balss, blokflauta, stabules, perkusijas / vocal, recorder, wooden flutes, percussion instruments

Ieraksti veikti studijā „Meduza Sound” Rīgā, studijā „Etnisko skaņu laboratorija” Daugavpilī, studijā „Lauska” Ogrē, „Zarasų Kultūros centras studija“ (Lietuva), izbraukuma ierakstu sesijās Braslavas Kultūras namā (Baltkrievija), Raiņa mājā Berķenelē un Daugavpils novada Vaboles pagastā (Latvija).
Recorded at “Meduza Sound” in Riga, “Etnisko skaņu laboratorija” (Ethnic Sound Laboratory) in Daugavpils, “Lauska” in Ogre, “Zarasų Kultūros centras studija“ (Zarasai Culture Centre Studio) in Zarasai (Lithuania) and in recording sessions at the Braslaw Cultural Center (Belarus), the memorial house of Latvian poet Rainis in Berķenele and Vabole civil parish (Latvia).

Skaņu režisori / Sound engineers:
Edgars Skrāģis „Meduza Sound”
Artūrs Uškāns „Etnisko skaņu laboratorija” / “Ethnic Sound Laboratory”
Kaspars Bārbals „Lauska”
Saulius Kuzma, Ramunas Lisinskas „Zarasų kultūros centras studija” - ierakstu sesijās Lietuvā un Baltkrievijā / recording sessions in Lithuania and Belarus

Miksēja un māsterēja / Mixed and mastered by:
Edgars Skrāģis „Meduza Sound” - 1.–11.,
Gatis Gaujenieks „GEM Studio” - 12.

Producenti / Produced by:
Artūrs Uškāns, Edgars Skrāģis, Juris Zalāns