After a nearly three-year hiatus since the release of their debut album, folk rock band Alum Alu is back with a new series of singles scheduled to be released throughout 2026. The harbinger of this activity is the new eight-minute long double single “Ederlezi/Neizturami”.
“Ederlezi” is a Roma song to welcome spring. If in the debut album most of the lead vocals were performed by Alexis Us, then the double single offers a new approach – the lead vocals are sung by Eli Ellere (known for her work in the group “Black Rooster Kapelye” and will surely have been remembered at least with her super long braid), supported by the accompanying voice of violinist Egia Laura Preiss. In this song “Alum Alu” they experimented with a live recording for the first time, with five band members playing simultaneously in the same room.
“‘Ederlezi’ is rooted in the folklore of the Serb-Roma communities and has gone through many different versions over the years. ‘Alum Alu’ interprets this song as a slow ballad,” the musicians explain. Similar to how Goran Bregović turned “Ederlezi” into “Đurđevdan” in his band “Bijelo Dugme”, “Alum Alu” also created this song as a melancholic ballad about loss and heartbreak in Latvian.
“It’s darker in mood and much more musically mature – we’ve all grown significantly as musicians since the first album, and it’s clearly audible on this record. ‘Ederlezi/Neizturami’ is ‘Alum Alu’ – only in a whole new light,” says mandolin player Simon Chisum.
Commenting on the video of the song, Eli Ellere says: “The inspiration for the video came from the movie “Latcho Drom” (1993) – it contains a scene where a Romani singer stands on a mountain early in the morning and sings over the city. The members of “Alum Alu” have also experienced a similar moment when, after the Sabile Wine Festival, friends were still playing music on the mountain all night and waiting for the sunrise. Singing to the suffocating city in the crisp morning air and sunrise has a special feeling, and only after experiencing it, the idea arose that this “Ederlezi” should be filmed in the almost natural conditions of its creation. When writing the words for the Latvian version, Alexis listened to the feelings that this melody evokes. That is why the second part of the video, accompanying the song “Unbearable”, is filmed in the center of Abava. what happened on the spot during the filming process is like a match between the participants – who will come up with a more creative solution for depicting the plot.”
With this video, “Alum Alu” wants to thank and draw attention to the Latvian Roma community, especially the community living in Sabile. “We also dedicate this song to the former member of the group, the late Aleksei Povh (1969 – 2025) – he enjoyed every time we played this piece, both in rehearsals and concerts.”
In April and May, “Alum Alu” is planning a tour of Latvia.
date:2026-02-13 20:43:00