Former dance-pop singer Ilze Kalve releases book about 1990s Latvia and her band Pamatinstinkts
Journalist Ilze Kalve, who sang in the dance music group Pamatinstinkts in the 1990s, has published a humorous novel about that era. Launch events are planned for 15 October in Riga and 17 October in Cēsis.
A book by journalist Ilze Kalve, titled “Grupa “Pamatinstinkts”. Trakie 90. gadi un deju mūzikas aizkulises” (The Band Pamatinstinkts: The Wild 90s and the Backstage of Dance Music), has been published in Latvia. The author works for Latvian Television's news service and for the publisher Latvijas Mediji, lives in the United Kingdom, and in the 1990s was the singer of the dance music group Pamatinstinkts. The book launch will take place on Thursday, 15 October, at the Ex Libris cultural space.
What the book is about
The work is a humorous novel about Latvia after the restoration of independence. Its blurb describes the period as one of anything-goes attitudes, gangsters and a sexual revolution. The story follows a newly married young couple who found a dance music group. It seems doomed to fail, but Pamatinstinkts becomes a cult band and, travelling around Latvia, gets into a variety of funny and sometimes dangerous situations at its concerts.
The book is based on real events and on notes made at the time about the concerts. For that reason, accounts of specific places and events, such as a church congregation's outrage over risqué concert posters, keep their historical accuracy. Several well-known people are mentioned too, but the publication is a novel rather than a historical study.
About the author
Kalve is now best known as a journalist reporting on events in the United Kingdom and on diaspora topics. Some readers may also remember her from the portal LSM's 2019 campaign “Diagnosis – Cancer”, in which she described her cancer diagnosis and recovery within the UK healthcare system. Songs by the group (known in English as Basic Instinct) include “Neskaties manī”, “Es tev vienkārši esmu” and “Funky”, which reached the final of the first worldwide internet music contest, “Born on the WWW”, as well as “Sūti man SMS” and a dance version of “Pūt, vējiņi” released last summer.
Events
Visitors to the Riga event are encouraged to dress in 90s style. A calmer launch will be held for people in the Cēsis area on Saturday, 17 October, at the World Latvian Art Centre, where journalist Sallija Benfelde will lead a conversation with the author. The book's publication was supported by Riga City Council, and the publisher is Latvijas Mediji.
