TOUGH AT THE TOP - Bogdan Teran / Amber Muse

Growing up in Communist Latvia, Bogdan Taran’s exposure to alternative music was limited and his earliest memories are of listening to his parents’ Soviet records. As the USSR fell apart, access to new music became easier, and after a friend’s visit to Amsterdam in 1993, Bogdan discovered the wonders of house music which led, at the age of 16, to hosting his own electronic music show on Latvia’s first privately owned radio station. In 2003 he launched his own label, Amber Muse, which has been working to promote local electronic artists ever since.

This issue of ‘Electronic Beats’ is all about Europe. Do you feel especially European in Latvia?
In USSR times Latvia used to be a periphery of a big country, now it has the same geographical position within the EU. After Latvia restored its independence in 1991 people felt a lot of enthusiasm about it and especially about their national identity. Latvians still relish being independent from the Soviet state and enjoy being a part of the EU.

As a relatively new member of the EU, what have been your experiences dealing with people in the music industry from other countries?
I’ve been running my radio show, Dance Box, since 1998 and in that time I’ve spoken with a lot of industry people from the UK and USA. I can say Europeans are well-educated people. I never had any confusion with what and where Latvia is. Some Americans showed they didn’t know about my country - but they were very open to new information. At the beginning of the 2000s our neighbour Estonia was the best known of the Baltic States. It’s a result of their club scene, especially the Sun Dance festival. After Latvia won Eurovision and promoters started developing the club scene here, people from Europe started to recognize us much more.

Latvia has gone from being a Soviet-controlled communist country to becoming an independent member of the EU. Do you think the country’s political upheaval reflects in the music being produced?
I believe music itself is an emotional bearer, which is used by any artistic person as an instrument of their world vision. So I would say the music produced here reflects the global processes which we are all involved in. Being a Western periphery of the USSR has always been an advantage to Latvia. Soviet people used to think about spending time in Riga as an alternative to foreign trips. This defined the thinking and approach of Latvians working in dance music. I feel modern producers here are very up-to-date musically.

Are musicians/DJs in Latvia influenced by music from the West or are they doing their own thing?
I suppose the Baltic sound is pretty special. Of course, mainstream dance music ideas make an impression on what Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian producers do, but I constantly hear from foreign DJs about our Baltic sound. I can say the people whose music makes the main association with the Baltic sound are Rulers Of The Deep and Dave Storm from Estonia, Craft B and Electricano from Latvia and RyRalio in Lithuania.

Anything coming up from Amber Muse that we should know about?
My first love was house, so the main direction of Amber Muse is house. But guys here also do harder stuff which I also spin in my sets and radio shows. So I decided to establish a sister label, Amber Digital. The name doesn’t mean I will switch to digital only. I still want to carry on putting out vinyl and CD singles. The first Amber Digital release is scheduled for spring.

Are there any other Latvian musicians/DJs which you think we should keep our eyes on in the future?
Electricano is the one of them. He is a friend of mine who has the digital label Electricano Recordings. Probably it’s immodest to speak about myself, but at the end of last year I decided to work on a production with Max Lomov, so this year you will hear a few records and remixes from me and Max!

Do you find it difficult to promote your label outside Latvia, given that the country is not a massive music market?
Yes, it’s definitely hard to promote the label and artists abroad because of this. Another reason is lack of financing. There are different grants and programs from the EU, but at least in Latvia, record releasing is not in the field where one could apply for European money. I think it would be easier to get the label and its artists known better if I had more money. Nevertheless, the future is bright for Amber Muse and Latvian producers!

TEXT BY NEALE LYTOLLIS | PHOTO BY ROMAN SIDOROV