Four years ago in Vienna, she brought Latvia their best result in a decade with “Love Injected”. Since Eurovision 2015, Aminata has been busy releasing two albums and a number of singles. Now, the Latvian singer has dropped the new extended play Maiga Vara (Gentle Power).
The majority of Aminata’s new songs since Eurovision have been in the English language. But, this new EP sees the star turning to her native Latvian.
Aminata has slowly been dropping the songs from the EP over the past few months. She released not one, not two, but four singles to lead up to this EP. Here’s a rundown of the six tracks that feature on the new project.
“Maiga Vara”
The EP’s title song, “Maiga Vara”, is the perfect track for the star to highlight her amazing high notes and vocal control. It’s a power ballad that builds up and explodes with power when it nears the end. It successfully breaks the language barrier and runs shivers down the listener’s spine. That is, if Aminata’s Eurovision 2015 entry was your cup of tea.
“Pamet Mani”
“Pamet Mani” (“Leave Me”) is an indie pop track that Aminata premiered the music video for just a week ago. It’s rather progressive in terms of production, changing tempo and building up and down. But, it still has a very contemporary and accessible feel to it, with a catchy hook leading the song to the end. All in all, it’s a fun track that just really screams ‘Aminata’.
“Šaubas”
“Šaubas” (“Doubt”) is easily the most surprising track of the release. It’s 2:47 minutes in length, with the first two minutes sounding very mysterious and experimental, as though leading up to something. Just at the two minute mark, it bursts with colour and a fierce rock outro. It’s certainly a standout track, showing how out-of-the-box Aminata can think. It’s been four years since “Love Injected” finished in sixth place at Eurovision 2015, and this track shows Aminata’s sound has really developed since then.
“Paliks Pāri”
“Paliks Pāri” starts off strong, with an R&B vibe reminiscent of Aminata’s 2016 album Inner Voice. It’s a cohesive piece with a consistent pace throughout its 2:40 minutes. The sound of the Eastern Baltic language really compliments the melody and production here, too.
“Dzīvot Citādāk”
Aminata released “Dzīvot Citādāk” (“To Live Differently”) as a single, with a music video, two months ago. It’s the result of a collaboration with Tautumeitas, a popular Latvian folk group. It’s a brilliant folk-rock track that shows Aminata’s effortless success to break her artistic boundaries. You’re almost guaranteed to like it, even if you don’t understand a single word.
“Maiga Vara (Acoustic)”
Finally, the EP finishes with an acoustic, stripped down version of its title track. This version of “Maiga Vara” conveys its pain with more passion, and goes to show just what Aminata is vocally capable of. The accompanying live music video, where the Latvian singer soulfully plays the piano while performing the song, has so far racked up 260,000 views.
What is your favourite song on the EP? What musical direction would you like to see Aminata take from here? Sound off in the comments below!
There was a post on Latvian newsletter which mentioned something like “a surprise appearance is expected”, but that might have be about a Staro R?ga object inspired by Maiga Vara and her album presentation next to it, but it may also be her returning to Supernova. We will probably find out soon, as today is the last day to submit entries for Supernova.
Loving some of these songs
Aminata please return in eurovision
Now I’m a huge fan of aminata love all her songs but for me this just isn’t doing it . I just don’t like the songs and I think she should go back to songs like love injected because that was powerful