Zodiac (musical group)
Encyclopedia
Zodiac was a space disco
music band that existed in the 1980s in Latvia
, then a part of Soviet Union
. The band was extremely popular in the Soviet Union and has been credited by critics as the Soviet answer to the French
band Space who were popular at the time.
at the Latvian State Conservatory in Riga
(now Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music
). The other four members of the group were also students of various faculties of the same conservatory.
Zodiac's first vinyl record Disco Alliance (Russian: Диско альянс, Latvian: Disko alianse) was released in 1980 on the monopolist
Melodiya
label
, during the band members' studentship. A significant part of the group's success was that the album was produced by Aleksandrs Grīva, also the father of band member Zane Grīva. The music featured a lot of then-unusual synthesized
sounds and effects together with more conventional euro disco
elements.
The second album Music in the Universe released two years later was much inspired by a meeting with cosmonauts in the Star City, Moscow and their tales about space flights. The music of the second album was much more rock
-influenced than the first.
During that time the band also performed the music of Viktor Vlasov for the films Zhenskiye radosti i pechali (Woman's Joys and Sorrows, 1982) and Ekipazh mashiny boevoy (The Tank Crew, 1983), the soundtrack
s for the both films were released on a vinyl record Music from the Films in 1985. The music of the group was also used in the documentary film
about the cosmonaut artist Aleksei Leonov
Zvyozdnaya palitra (Star Palette, 1982).
The album In memoriam was composed and produced by Jānis Lūsēns alone and released in 1989. The album was dedicated to the ancient and modern cultural and natural heritage of Latvia
. The sounding of the album turned from disco to light techno/synth pop while gaining a lot of classical music influences as well as the influence of Jean Michel Jarre
's ambient
works.
The last album "Clouds" was released in 1991 by RiTonis (former Melodiya
). It contains a hit song of early 1990s in Latvia
"My favourite flowers".
Disco Alliance and Music in the Universe were released together on compact disc
by Mikrofona Ieraksti (which represents EMI
in the Baltic states
).
In the early 2000s, the Russian electronic duo PPK
recorded a remix of Zodiac's composition "Zodiac" from the Disco Alliance album. This remix, titled "Reload", entered the charts in a number of territories.
Disco Alliance:
Music in the Universe:
The line-up on Music from the Films is unknown, the original CD cover has only the following info:
In memoriam:
Clouds:
Space disco
Space disco is a term used to describe the fusion of disco music with futuristic themes, sounds and visuals, which was popular in the late 1970s...
music band that existed in the 1980s in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, then a part of Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The band was extremely popular in the Soviet Union and has been credited by critics as the Soviet answer to the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
band Space who were popular at the time.
Biography
Zodiac was formed by Jānis Lūsēns, then studying compositionMusical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
at the Latvian State Conservatory in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
(now Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music
Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music
Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music is a higher education establishment of music at 1 Barona Street, Riga, Latvia.-History:Latvian Conservatory of Music was founded in 1919. There were junior and senior courses that covered around 9 to 10 academic years...
). The other four members of the group were also students of various faculties of the same conservatory.
Zodiac's first vinyl record Disco Alliance (Russian: Диско альянс, Latvian: Disko alianse) was released in 1980 on the monopolist
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
Melodiya
Melodiya
Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, during the band members' studentship. A significant part of the group's success was that the album was produced by Aleksandrs Grīva, also the father of band member Zane Grīva. The music featured a lot of then-unusual synthesized
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
sounds and effects together with more conventional euro disco
Euro disco
Euro disco is an all encompassing colloquial term used to describe a variety of European electronic dance music that first originated from disco in the 1970s; incorporating elements of pop, New Wave and rock into disco-like continuous dance atmosphere...
elements.
The second album Music in the Universe released two years later was much inspired by a meeting with cosmonauts in the Star City, Moscow and their tales about space flights. The music of the second album was much more rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
-influenced than the first.
During that time the band also performed the music of Viktor Vlasov for the films Zhenskiye radosti i pechali (Woman's Joys and Sorrows, 1982) and Ekipazh mashiny boevoy (The Tank Crew, 1983), the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s for the both films were released on a vinyl record Music from the Films in 1985. The music of the group was also used in the documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about the cosmonaut artist Aleksei Leonov
Aleksei Leonov
Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov is a retired Soviet/Russian cosmonaut and Air Force Major General who, on 18 March 1965, became the first human to conduct a space walk.-Biography:...
Zvyozdnaya palitra (Star Palette, 1982).
The album In memoriam was composed and produced by Jānis Lūsēns alone and released in 1989. The album was dedicated to the ancient and modern cultural and natural heritage of Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. The sounding of the album turned from disco to light techno/synth pop while gaining a lot of classical music influences as well as the influence of Jean Michel Jarre
Jean Michel Jarre
Jean Michel André Jarre is a French composer, performer and music producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and New Age genres, and known as an organiser of outdoor spectacles of his music featuring lights, laser displays, and fireworks.Jarre was raised in Lyon by his mother and...
's ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
works.
The last album "Clouds" was released in 1991 by RiTonis (former Melodiya
Melodiya
Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...
). It contains a hit song of early 1990s in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
"My favourite flowers".
Disco Alliance and Music in the Universe were released together on compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
by Mikrofona Ieraksti (which represents EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in the Baltic states
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
).
In the early 2000s, the Russian electronic duo PPK
PPK
PPK may refer to:*Walther PPK, a handgun made popular by its use by the title character in the James Bond series of films*PPK , a Russian trance group* Punt, Pass, and Kick, a National Football League skills competition for youths aged 8–15....
recorded a remix of Zodiac's composition "Zodiac" from the Disco Alliance album. This remix, titled "Reload", entered the charts in a number of territories.
Discography
All the albums are equally known under their Russian and English titles and had both spellings on their original covers.- Disco Alliance (1981)
- Zodiac
- Pacific
- Provincial Disco
- Polo
- Mirage
- Rock on the Ice
- Alliance
- Music in the Universe (1982)
- The Mysterious Galaxy
- Laser Illumination
- Silver Dream
- Photo Finish
- The Other Side of Heaven
- In the Light of Saturn
- Flight Over El Dorado
- Music from the films (1985) (Russian only)
- Prisheltsy (The Aliens)
- V Tayinstvennom Kvadrate (In the Mysterious Square)
- Zelyonye Chudovischa (Green Monsters)
- Poyedinok (Battle)
- Mirnoye Nebo (Peaceful Skies)
- Ognennye Dorogi (Roads of Fire)
- Deviychiy Gryozy (Maiden's Dreams)
- Volshebnaya Noch (Magical Night)
- Iduschiye Vperedi (Walking in Avantgarde)
- Serdtse Stuchit (Heart Beat)
- In memoriam (1989) (Russian only)
- In Memoriam / V Kurzeme (In CourlandCourlandCourland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...
) - Ostrov Moritsala (Moricsala Island)
- V Muzeye Pod Otkrytym Nebom (In the Open Air Museum)
- Rundalskiy Dvorets (Rundāle PalaceRundale PalaceRundāle Palace is one of the two major baroque palaces built in the 18th century for the Dukes of Courland in what is now Latvia, the other being Jelgava Palace. It is situated at Pilsrundāle, 12 km west of Bauska. It was constructed in the 1730s to a design by Bartolomeo Rastrelli as a summer...
) - Doma Staroy Rigi (Houses of Old Riga)
- Pastorale
- Na Gore Zilayskalns (On the Mount Zilaiskalns)
- Mākoņi (Clouds) (1991) (Latvian only)
- Twilight Flowers
- Staburags and the Daughter of the Sun
- Dedication
- Daugava
- My Favourite Flowers
- Clouds
- Searching for You
- A Game
- Bohemian's Song
Line-up
Since the group rarely performed live every new album had a new line-up except the producer Jānis Lūsēns.Disco Alliance:
- Jānis Lūsēns - ARP OmniARP OmniThe ARP Omni was a polyphonic analog electronic music keyboard manufactured by ARP Instruments, Inc. It ranks as ARP's best-selling keyboard.- Overview :...
, ARP OdysseyARP OdysseyThe ARP Odyssey was an analog synthesizer introduced in 1972. Responding to pressure from Moog Music to create a portable, affordable "performance" synthesizer, ARP scaled down its popular 2600 synthesizer and created the Odyssey, which became the best-selling synthesizer they made.The Odyssey is...
, celestaCelestaThe celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Zane Grīva - pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, ARP OmniARP OmniThe ARP Omni was a polyphonic analog electronic music keyboard manufactured by ARP Instruments, Inc. It ranks as ARP's best-selling keyboard.- Overview :...
, vocals - Andris Sīlis - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Ainārs Ašmanis - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Andris Reinis - drumDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
s - Aleksander Grīva - productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Music in the Universe:
- Jānis Lūsēns - pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, Yamaha SK-50D, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Aivars Gudrais - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
on tracks 2-4, 6 - Dzintars Sāgens - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
on tracks 1, 5, 7 - Ivars Piļka - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Andris Reinis - drumDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
s - Aleksander Grīva - productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
The line-up on Music from the Films is unknown, the original CD cover has only the following info:
- Viktor Vlasov - compositionMusical compositionMusical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
- Aleksander Grīva - producingRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, sound engineering
In memoriam:
- Jānis Lūsēns - synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Zigfrīds Muktupāvels - vocals, DDD-1, violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Dzintars Sāgens - computerComputerA computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Guntis Zvirgzdiņš - synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
- Maija Lūsēna - vocals on track 4
- Normunds Šnē - oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
on track 3 - Aivars Gudrais - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
on track 5 - Ivars Piļka - sound engineering
Clouds:
- Jānis Lūsēns - synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Maija Lūsēna - vocals
- Zigfrīds Muktupāvels - vocals, programming, violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Aivars Gudrais - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Gatis Gaujenieks - sound engineering
- Ivars Piļka - sound engineering
- P. Joksts - Cover design