European Music Collective - Sidrabini No. 1
Klankhaven Records
- 1Full Ensemble
- 2Two Reeds, Voice and Drums
- 3Cello, Guitar and Drums
- 4Guitar and Drums
- 5Clarinet, Voice, Piano and Guitar
- 6Electronics
- 7Full Ensemble (Reprise)
005
•
Edition of 100
Sidrabiņi No.1”: A Collective Debut Album
“Gravel roads, intricate forests, blue skies and lakes surrounding an old countryside house full of musicians busy in creating: timeless, collectivistic and uniquely avant-garde.”
Conceived not in a studio but deep in the Latvian wilderness, Sidrabiņi No.1 is the debut album of the European Music Collective - a group of improvisers who gathered in the remote village of Sidrabiņi to create something deeply collaborative and strikingly free.
This album is more than a musical document - it is a manifesto and a bold testament to a new generation of improvisers who are unafraid to leave the well-trodden path and forge their own way forward, in order to find truth and beauty in a never to be documented matter. It’s music that unfolds like the environment that shaped it: wild, nuanced, and full of hidden depth.
Across the album’s evolving sounds, the music lives in the space between instant composition and improvisation - between the personal voice and collective breath. There are moments of dense intensity, fragile stillness, ritualistic repetition, and spontaneous bursts of joyful chaos. Sidrabiņi No.1 is about intention, presence, and trust: creativity is to be shared with each other. The creation process is based on listening deeply, responding honestly, and allowing the music to take shape on its own terms. It is this spirit of co-creation that gives the album its coherence, its pulse, and its power.
A Collective Language Beyond Borders
The European Music Collective brings together artists from across Europe and beyond - each with their own cultural and musical background, their own voice, their own “accent.” Yet what emerges on Sidrabiņi No.1 is a shared musical language born not of uniformity, but of mutual respect, active listening, and genuine curiosity. These differences don’t clash; they converge, expanding the sonic palette and deepening the group’s collective resonance.
In a world marked by fragmentation, acceleration, and disconnection, Sidrabiņi No.1 offers a compelling alternative: a slower, more intentional form of collaboration that reimagines what a musical community can be - held together by common purpose, communal trust and radical believe into a shared artistic outcome.
Sidrabiņi No.1 is a bold statement of artistic values - a declaration of communal creativity, ecological awareness, and the courage to embrace the unknown. It invites listeners not only to hear, but to inhabit a space where music emerges from relationships, from listening, from deep encounters.
- Christoph Götzen
credits
released June 29, 2025
Artist: European Music Collective
2. Mario Calzada (drums), Francesca Fantini (sax), Gregory Horoneko (sax), Milana Saruhanyan (vocals) 3. Mario Calzada (drums), Christoph Götzen (guitar), Tord Hagbarth (cello) 4. Peter Balhar (drums), Jan Bára (guitar) 5.Ghazal Faghihi (clarinet), Milica Hadžić (vocals), Arto Van Roey (guitar), V. Noel (piano) 6. Ben Finaly & Anton Lambert (electronics)
Album: Sidrabiņi No.1
Recording: Anton Lambert Mix & Master: Mama Studios
Production: Christoph Götzen
Release: June 29, 2025
Co-released by Klankhaven Records
KHR005
license
all rights reserved
“Gravel roads, intricate forests, blue skies and lakes surrounding an old countryside house full of musicians busy in creating: timeless, collectivistic and uniquely avant-garde.”
Conceived not in a studio but deep in the Latvian wilderness, Sidrabiņi No.1 is the debut album of the European Music Collective - a group of improvisers who gathered in the remote village of Sidrabiņi to create something deeply collaborative and strikingly free.
This album is more than a musical document - it is a manifesto and a bold testament to a new generation of improvisers who are unafraid to leave the well-trodden path and forge their own way forward, in order to find truth and beauty in a never to be documented matter. It’s music that unfolds like the environment that shaped it: wild, nuanced, and full of hidden depth.
Across the album’s evolving sounds, the music lives in the space between instant composition and improvisation - between the personal voice and collective breath. There are moments of dense intensity, fragile stillness, ritualistic repetition, and spontaneous bursts of joyful chaos. Sidrabiņi No.1 is about intention, presence, and trust: creativity is to be shared with each other. The creation process is based on listening deeply, responding honestly, and allowing the music to take shape on its own terms. It is this spirit of co-creation that gives the album its coherence, its pulse, and its power.
A Collective Language Beyond Borders
The European Music Collective brings together artists from across Europe and beyond - each with their own cultural and musical background, their own voice, their own “accent.” Yet what emerges on Sidrabiņi No.1 is a shared musical language born not of uniformity, but of mutual respect, active listening, and genuine curiosity. These differences don’t clash; they converge, expanding the sonic palette and deepening the group’s collective resonance.
In a world marked by fragmentation, acceleration, and disconnection, Sidrabiņi No.1 offers a compelling alternative: a slower, more intentional form of collaboration that reimagines what a musical community can be - held together by common purpose, communal trust and radical believe into a shared artistic outcome.
Sidrabiņi No.1 is a bold statement of artistic values - a declaration of communal creativity, ecological awareness, and the courage to embrace the unknown. It invites listeners not only to hear, but to inhabit a space where music emerges from relationships, from listening, from deep encounters.
- Christoph Götzen
credits
released June 29, 2025
Artist: European Music Collective
2. Mario Calzada (drums), Francesca Fantini (sax), Gregory Horoneko (sax), Milana Saruhanyan (vocals) 3. Mario Calzada (drums), Christoph Götzen (guitar), Tord Hagbarth (cello) 4. Peter Balhar (drums), Jan Bára (guitar) 5.Ghazal Faghihi (clarinet), Milica Hadžić (vocals), Arto Van Roey (guitar), V. Noel (piano) 6. Ben Finaly & Anton Lambert (electronics)
Album: Sidrabiņi No.1
Recording: Anton Lambert Mix & Master: Mama Studios
Production: Christoph Götzen
Release: June 29, 2025
Co-released by Klankhaven Records
KHR005
license
all rights reserved
