[Interview] Exclusive interview with Latvian Holy lamb

Dear readers we are pleased to offer you in this article an interview with a historic Latvian band offering Progressive Rock sounds, formed in 1991. We welcome Holy Lamb.

Hi, a real pleasure to have you among our pages, how are you?

Aigars Červinskis: “Hey, thanks for reaching out. All good here.

The band was formed in 1991, how did the project and the schism of the name Holy Lamb come about?

Aigars: “Perhaps this is the question weā€™ve been asked more often than anything else. We started out as a thrash metal outfit, though there was this lingering gut feeling that we were somewhat alien to the local headbanging community. Maybe because we formed a little too late, but could as well have been due to a number of other musical influences outside of metal which really showed in the early stuff we put together. The band name, Holy Lamb, came from a track off the ā€˜Big Generatorā€™ album by Yes ā€“ the lyrics to that song strongly resonated with me and my brother who was our drummer at the time, and the other two guys accepted the idea of calling us by that name, so we settled on it. As one can imagine, we used to be perceived as a bunch of Christian rockers which we really never were, even though some of our earlier songs may have had such implications.

You offer Progressive Rock sounds, how was your passion for these sounds born?

Aigars: “My dad had a huge record collection, and even though he was not into prog at all, he had a few LPs that grabbed my attention for being different to the other stuff. ā€˜Moving Picturesā€™ by Rush, ā€˜Dramaā€™ by Yes, a Roxy Music compilation and a couple of Styx records worked as a mind-opener at a tender age of 14 or 15, so I soon discovered a whole new world with the likes of 70s Genesis, Mike Oldfield, Asia or Marillion at the very core. Even as I started to develop interest in metal, there was always room for prog in the soundtrack to my adolescence. The major push in the right direction, though, came in the early 1990s when an older friend of mine introduced me to the epitome of prog (King Crimson, Gentle Giant, ELP, Van Der Graaf Generator etc.) which I had no access to prior to the fall of the Iron Curtain that had been dividing us from the Western world for decades. So, with my musical interests diverged from metal to prog, I started to incorporate certain leanings into the bandā€™s repertoire which eventually resulted in the first of many line-up changes.

Aleksandrs Voļperts: “As most of the 80ā€™s kids, I was very much into metal, but there was always a part of me that was longing for something more sophisticated and elegant. The feminine part of my family was all into teaching classical piano, so that part of the musical heritage was well covered at my place, but rock music of any kind was not very popular.
Somewhere around ā€˜88 or ā€™89 I heard Jethro Tull and Rush for the first time almost by chance, so those two bands were my first entry points into the prog universe. Then it all unfurled quite rapidly since Iā€™d understood what I was missing in my life, and by the mid 90ā€™s I had become rather well-versed in this music genre, including even zeuhl, RIO, Canterbury, etc. Many years later I am still an avid prog collector and admirer, thus it makes me feel even better being able to contribute!

What were your sources of inspiration in this regard?

Aigars: “In the transitional phase, between 1993 and 1995, we collectively drew our inspiration from the classic rock and prog acts of the 70s while also keeping an eye out on the concurrent developments in metal. By the mid 90s, the latter had largely been replaced by British neo-prog and the likes of Dream Theater, Queensryche, Faith No More, and Fates Warning. Of course, as time wore on the names would change or disappear entirely from our scope of interest, and I think thatā€™s the important part, because you need to expand your outlook as much as possible to maintain your creativity.

Aleksandrs: “Like Aigars, I was also very much into the 70s classic rock and prog titans, and prog metal also draw my attention at that time as it was new and exciting. However, Iā€™ve never been very much into neo-prog, and in the second half of the 90ā€™s I was much more interested in experimental subgenres, such as the aforementioned zeuhl (Magma, Weidorje, Eskaton) and RIO (Univers Zero, Present, Henry Cow) as well as the Swedish prog revivalists ƄnglagĆ„rd or Anekdoten. Actually, seeing Anekdoten and Hƶyry-Kone live shows in the mid-90ā€™s gave me a rather clear idea of what I want to do myself.

Your fifth and new album ā€œMinefield promenadeā€ was released in November 2024, how would you describe this work?

Aigars: “Labour of love, really. We had been looking forward to getting it out a year ago, but due to grim circumstances the mixing had to be put off until we found someone to do the job. While I cannot speak for the other guys in the band, let me just say that I am absolutely pleased with the outcome. I think that Tālis Timrots, a reputable sound engineer and a Holy Lamb associate since our early demos circa 1992, made a solid effort putting the whole thing together. To me, the entire album sounds like a clenched fist where nothing can be taken away or replaced. Once again, some of the material is quite old, for example, the title track which was written around 2010 and was initially intended for our previous album ā€˜Gyrosophyā€™. The other tracks were written or completed over a period of two or three years before the pandemic, except for the last song on the album, ā€˜The Third Decadeā€™, which we wrote at the tail end of 2022. Once we had done it, that song seemed to be the perfect closer of the album.

Aleksandrs: “Work on the album was difficult, but as for the result, Iā€™d say itā€™s the best album we have ever made. All of the songs had so many iterations that it almost makes my head spin. Of course, finding the proper person to mix the album and make use of our ideas was not an easy task at all. For me, one of the important features of ā€˜Minefield
Promenadeā€™ is that it sounds very unique to my ears, I donā€™t know what or who it can be compared to, and that it is definitely a huge positive in my book. The songs themselves? They are awesome!

Intense instrumental textures and vocal parts, what themes do the lyrics deal with?

Aigars: “Thereā€™s not more than three tracks with lyrics on the album. The opening track, ā€˜Still Afloatā€™, is a story which will probably go down well with those who favour procrastination. Time waits for nobody, so, lyrically, thereā€™s the carpe diem moment highlighted in that song. ā€˜Joy Galoreā€™ is a song about the modern-day yuppie, someone whoā€™ll do anything for recognition, even betray their ideals, relatives or friends. The lyrical content of ā€˜The Third Decadeā€™ was sparked by the pandemic and everything it entailed socially and politically, although the subject reaches much deeper than that. Itā€™s now the third decade of the century, the band has been around for over 30 years, and, in oneā€™s life, 20-something is a crucial age. Itā€™s been really sad to see young people leave their homes, their country for other places where they can feel better off overall. The song offers some hopefulness, though.

Aleksandrs: “Aigars is our sole lyricist, however, for me this album lyrically and musically is about expression of hope, redemption and even salvation. In ā€˜Still Afloatā€™, there are new horizons waiting for the protagonist, and even if he has missed some chances in his life there are still surely other windows of opportunity to open. I see ā€˜Minefield Promenadeā€™ as
a musical story of successful navigation through the maze or, as the name implies, minefield, starting from peaceful pastoral entrance to the convoluted unknown and ending with a glorious return. It is like initiation of some sort. Then, in ā€˜Joy Galoreā€™, we have a wry outlook at modern politicians, but even for them there is still a home to come back to, some part of their souls is still alive and human (allegedly ā€“ do not take my word for that). ā€˜Disintegrate Into Nothingā€™ is the most melodious and bright of all the songs on the album: something old should go to make space for something new, like in our world consisting of ravenous black holes and space dust, ethereal emptiness and massive burning stars, where everything eventually comes to peaceful universal harmony and balance ā€“ and that is exactly how this song ends. Nothing does not exist, there is always something there! And of course, ā€˜The Third Decadeā€™ is, to quote, about the light which is always somewhere there in the distance, beacon of hope, a statement, that it is never late even thirty years later, which brings us once again to our protagonist from Still Afloat, and the cycle is closed. It is definitely never too late to give ā€˜Minefield Promenadeā€™ another spin ā€“ the album will hopefully (yep!) be issued as a physical CD this year.

Long instrumental textures characterize this work, how does the creative process of your music take place?

Aigars: “I guess the way we work is pretty commonplace. Since none of us is a natural singer, a great deal of our music is initially conceived around instrumental themes or riffs rather than vocal melodies or lyrics. When someone comes up with an idea or a piece of music thatā€™s already developed to a great detail, the others provide their own contributions or put forward their suggestions. On two occasions, the music came about through jamming, namely ā€˜The Third Decadeā€™ and the first part of ā€˜Disintegrate into Nothingā€™ which stems from a creative weekend by one of those beautiful Latvian lakes (hence the subtitle ā€˜Lago di Rabbiaā€™). I had the rest of the latter track already written, and all we had to do was find a way to segue from the first part, which was really easy. Our late guitarist Ansis threw in a reprise of the main theme from the first part, and that was it. ā€˜Still Afloatā€™ is a combination of separate sections I had written years before we commenced work on the album ā€“ I linked them together, showed the result to the rest of the band, and Ansis suggested that I write some words and vocal melodies for it, which I did. The title track saw quite a few magic touches added to the original stuff by our guitar player Alex. Ansis wrote most of the music for ā€˜Joy Galoreā€™, and I brought in the counterpoint mid section, lyrics and vocal melodies. By the way, that one and ā€˜Disintegrateā€™ quickly made it into our live set as a taster of the album that was still in the works.

Aleksandrs: “Exactly as Aigars said, I just want to add that some things came to mind after the first bulky part of recording, like adding some effects or even the ticking of the clock in ā€˜Still Afloatā€™ among other things.

Some guest contributors to the lineup, what did they bring to the sound of the record?

Aigars: “Iā€™ve worked with Ieva ParÅ”a, the guest singer on ā€˜Joy Galoreā€™, before, and, as a composer herself, she knows very well what a particular song requires. Even if I had written down her parts, she delivered them in her own special way no other singer I know is capable of. Flautist and sax player Deniss PaÅ”kevičs (Pashkevich) is a highly skilled and revered jazz musician, and it only took him an hour or so to lay down everything you can actually hear on the finished album. His talent really shines brightly on the title track and the last section of ā€˜The Third Decadeā€™. It was a great experience to be working with Deniss again ā€“ he used to be a member of our band in the mid-90s, but weā€™ve remained in touch throughout the years. Trumpetist Jānis Porietis delivered an interesting version of the intro to the title track ā€“ not exactly how Iā€™d originally written it for the electric guitar, but I think it works very well. The short piccolo part on ā€˜Disintegrateā€™ was nicely played by another Holy Lamb alumna Ieva Pudāne.

Many of our readers and your fans wonder if there will be a chance to hear your music live, do you have plans in this regard for the near future?

Aigars: “Iā€™m afraid we have no set plans to resume regular gigging or go on a tour any time soon. The vast majority of our music is written for a five-piece band, which includes two guitars, a bass guitar, keyboards, and drums. Our keyboardist Juris who had been an integral part of the band since 1997 called it quits in 2023, and our guitarist Ansis succumbed to brain cancer in February last year. Alex, Gustavs (drummer) and I decided to carry on as a trio ā€“ weā€™ve been writing new stuff, some of which is absolutely beautiful and some is extremely sick. If we can re-arrange a portion of the five-piece music for the current line-up and confidently come up with a mixed bag of sounds old and new, then chances are weā€™ll be back some day.

How has the way of experiencing live performances changed from the 90s to today and what has changed for you?

Aigars: “In our country, the evolution has been tremendous over the years. In the early 90s, the underground scene was virtually devoid of knowledge how to properly organize live shows or festivals, yet they were held, sometimes in most unimaginable places that were, simply put, not right for such events. By the end of that decade, things had changed for
good ā€“ there were several companies that provided decent sound and lighting, you would find yourself working with skilled organizers, event managers and what not. In the 2000s, we used to travel around the Baltic countries whenever we could ā€“ some very fond memories from those days, even though our drummers kept coming and going. The band was certainly maturing, and you could tell it from audience feedback during or after the shows. Prog was never really big in Latvia, but over the past 10 years or so the local prog scene has been on the rise, which is great indeed. We have even had a prog festival organized in Latvia for two years running! The upside of playing live for us in the recent years is having to carry around fewer pieces of equipment ā€“ we use in-ear monitoring systems and the Soundcraft stagebox these days which enables a much easier and quicker set-up with far less hassle omnipresent in conventional backline management.

From the beginning to today there have been some lineup changes, how has your sound evolved over time and what have the new entrants brought?

Aigars: “Well, this band has had numerous line-up changes over the years. I would say that, artistically, almost everyone who has been engaged with the band for a period in excess of a couple of months has left some kind of a mark on the bandā€™s sound in the respective time span. Iā€™d rather abstain from naming past members one by one, so let me just say that without their creative input this band would not have been able to carry on for such a long time. Besides me, guitarist Alex is the bandā€™s longest serving member ā€“ he joined Holy Lamb in 2004 and automatically propelled our guitar department to a whole new level. Previously, in the latter half of the 90s, our then-drummer Eric, my brother, and keyboardist Juris had this vision of dual lead guitars as the bandā€™s trademark neo-prog sound. Back then, I was one of the guitarists and the other was Uldis Ēlerts, and when he left in 2002, the spell broke apart simply because I was not a very good guitarist and I also had to do the singing. When Alex stepped in, the band was saved and the magic was restored. In 2010, co-founder UÄ£is ZemÄ«tis quit and I decided to switch to the bass, which allowed for another line-up change to keep the dual guitar thing alive. We were joined by Ansis, a highly technical guitar player, an exceptional arranger and a computer geek with a small recording studio set up in his apartment. Ansis probably gave his all to this band, and we are still finding our ways to recover from his passing. Drummer Gustavs arrived in 2015, and all of a sudden everything clicked just the way it had 20+ years prior ā€“ weā€™ve got a dedicated powerhouse behind the kit, and heā€™s also a great chap with a strong sense of musicality.

Aleksandrs: “As long as Aigars is at the helm of Holy Lamb we can be sure that the band will be Still Afloat, even if The Third Decade has successfully passed. And having Gustavs as the drummer is a total Joy Galore.

You are the pioneers in your country, how do you see the modern musical trail as far as Prog sounds are concerned?

Aigars: “Donā€™t know, really. Iā€™m one of those people who think that the best prog records were composed in the 70s. Nearly everything that came afterwards sounds derived from those seminal albums to some extent, offering very little originality ā€“ and we are no exception in that. To me, Prog as a term has become almost free of any boundaries, which
is neither good nor bad, just the way I see it. There are people who keep discussing relentlessly whether or not Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple are prog, which makes me want to yell, ā€˜Get a life!ā€™ Itā€™s music that counts, not the tag you put next to an artistā€™s name. At a prog festival, you get to see, say, 20 bands over the course of three days representing subgenres such as prog-metal, symphonic-prog, pop prog, fusion prog, neo-prog, prog-this, prog-that etc. Who cares? The last truly great band I saw in a prog festival was Lazuli from France, and that was many years ago, but are they really prog? Can you compare them to Yes, King Crimson or any other band thatā€™s universally considered prog? Nope, theyā€™ve got their own thing going, which has a name, and itā€™s Lazuli. Unique and original. So, if I woke up one day and read on Facebook that prog is no more, I wouldnā€™t shed a tear. Itā€™s high time to coin new terms for contemporary music rather than dwell on the old ones.

Aleksandrs: “There are new prog or prog related bands even in our home country (Aston Kais and Mother), and I am discovering something new every year, like the aforementioned Lazuli, or Shamblemaths, or Seven Impale, just to mentioned a few. The world is changing and so are prog sounds and approaches, which is not a bad thing in my opinion.

Given your experience, what advice would you give to young artists approaching music by proposing more elaborate sounds like yours?

Aigars: “Do not follow any blueprints. Use them only for educational purposes while focusing on the development of your own style. In order to achieve that, you need a vocabulary ā€“ as long as itā€™s music, build one for yourself by listening to records as versatile as possible, then sift through and see what youā€™re left with. Learn, sink your teeth into it.
Once youā€™re done, proceed to the next level the same way. Keep expanding your vocabulary until you feel you cannot anymore.

Aleksandrs: “A lot of things have been made and done before we were even born, so educate yourself, just donā€™t repeat the mistakes of the past.

Do you have any other artistic activities or passions outside of music?

Aigars: “Technically speaking, I am not a professional musician and never intended to be one. My day job is web editor whose main task is confined to running a university website content-wise. Apart from music, ice-hockey has been an almost equally important part of my life since I was very small ā€“ one month shy of 57 and still playing for an old-timerā€™s
team.

Aleksandrs: “I am a scientist, and part of my job (the best one) is about being creative, which always keeps me on my toes, at least I like to think so. Also, I like some computer games from time to time, but that is a true rabbit hole.

I thank the band for the interview and wish them the best as they continue their artistic careers.

Read our Review of their new album here: [Review] Holy Lamb ā€“ Minefield Promenade

Purchase the album on Bandcamp: https://holylamb.bandcamp.com/album/minefield-promenade

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Author: Jacopo Vigezzi

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