Album Notes

Vocal group COSMOS

"Six guys with voices that make any synthesizer so embarrassed that it usually explodes. I know there are a cappella groups all around the world. However, what COSMOS does is something beyond singing and even beyond music. I saw their concert just before Christmas and the public went completely crazy. I happened to be on Madonna’s concert in London, and I have to admit that I was less impressed.
Guys sing in an absolute sync, in incredible voices accompanied by all impossible musical instruments and sound effect machines. Only there aren`t any instruments or sound-effect machines whatsoever. Medieval polyphonic singing, modern jazz, pop, rock, techno – all performed by their bare voices. Add to it all a perfect pantomime, dance, storytelling and stage design and you’ll get the picture.
When writing this I was thinking that ”COSMOS” is a perfect name for what they do with their voices. Anything less just wouldn’t qualify. The only problem could be that if you visit Latvia accidentally, they may be on tour somewhere else, so better check their website for their concert schedule."
- Ēriks Stendzenieks, Director of the Advertising Agencie ZOOM -

The Vocal Group COSMOS is a union of six young and talented Latvian singers who have combined their voices to form a unique all male a cappella group – no instruments, just voices that will sound like any instrument you can imagine.

Their friendship stretches back to their school days when they all studied music and toured the World with the Riga Dom Boys’ Choir. Recognized as the best young Latvian group during the first year of its existence in 2003, Vocal Group Cosmos’ first album received an award as the best pop album of the year and achieved platinum status in sales. Since then, Cosmos have released three new albums and have earned increasing fame and popularity in numerous countries. Their distinctive style of a cappella (without instruments) singing and charismatic concert performances has propelled these six young musicians into the forefront of the popular and academic music scenes. Drawing on a professional musical education and with a very broad range of voices, Cosmos articulate their talents across a broad range of musical styles and genres from medieval chanting to modern jazz and pop music.

Cosmos’s professionalism has also been recognized beyond the borders of their own country. After seventeen years of denying his greatest hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” the legendary Bobby McFerrin agreed to sing it once again together with Cosmos when they shared the stage of the Latvian National Opera in 2005. Proud winner of the international competition for young singers of popular music “New Wave 2004” – gaining a television audience of 200 million people – Cosmos also won second prize at the challenging International Choral Music Competition in Gorizia (Italy) the same year. In 2006 Cosmos won the vote to represent Latvia at the Eurovision song contest in Athens and in 2007 they shared the stage with Italian singer Al Bano at the legendary San Remo song festival.

Every performance by Cosmos attracts a full house not only in Latvia but in also in Russia, Ukraine, Germany and anywhere they appear. A young, ambitious and gifted group of musicians, Cosmos’ fame is spreading contagiously overseas as they perform their important role of representing Latvia as a truly musical nation and at the same time satisfy their desire to introduce themselves to yet wider audiences. Drawing on profound European musical traditions, Cosmos enthusiastically put their academic music background to work as they explore the almost unlimited possibilities of the human voice – nature’s most incredible musical instrument.

To consolidate the ongoing evolution of their musical education, Cosmos devote much time to workshops with the world’s leading a cappella music professionals such as The Hilliard Ensemble, Take 6, The Real Group, The New York Voices, The Flying Pickets and M-Pact.