Mārtiņš Freimanis (7 February 1977 – 27 January 2011) was a Latvian musician, singer, songwriter, actor, and TV personality. Freimanis was born in

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

, but spent his childhood in

Aizpute Aizpute (; historically Polish language, Polish: ''Hazenpot'') is a town in South Kurzeme Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia, in the valley of the Tebra River, situated northeast of Liepāja. History The territory of modern Aizpute ...

Career

Music

Mārtiņš Freimanis was the lead singer and songwriter of the popular Latvian rock band "Tumsa". They released 6 albums under the "Microphone Records" label. He also collaborated with other Latvian musicians, writing music, lyrics or both for them. His most popular and successful co-projects were with

Lauris Reiniks Lauris Reiniks (born July 11, 1979) is a Latvians, Latvian pop music singer, songwriter, television host and actor. He has graduated from Jelgava Music college, studied communication science at the University of Latvia and trained as an actor in L ...

(lyrics), "Putnu Balle" (music, lyrics) and "Per" (music, lyrics).

Eurovision

Freimanis represented Latvia in the 2003

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

with the group F.L.Y. He also composed "

The War Is Not Over Latvia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "The War Is Not Over", written by Mārtiņš Freimanis, and performed by Valters and Kaža, Walters and Kazha. The Latvian participating broadcaster, (LTV), organised the n ...

" for Latvia's

Valters and Kaža Valters and Kaža, known internationally as Walters and Kazha, were a Latvian music duo consisting of Valters Frīdenbergs and Kārlis Būmeisters. They were best known for representing in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "The War ...

, for the 2005

Acting

As an actor, Mārtiņš Freimanis appeared and starred in a musical "Kaupēns Mans Mīļais", TV series "Neprāta Cena" (LTV), "

UgunsGrēks FireSin (Latvian language, Latvian: UgunsGrēks)The literal translation of the show name is "The Sin of Fire", which is the normal Latvian term for "Conflagration" is a Latvian daytime soap opera that was broadcast on TV3 Latvia from 2009 until 2 ...

" (TV3) and movies "Man patīk, ka meitene skumst" and "Dancis pa Trim" that came out on big screens after Martin's unexpected and early death.

Death

On 18 January 2011, Freimanis was taken to the Infectology Centre of Latvia in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, with what was first reported to be severe respiratory tract infection. He died nine days later. It was later revealed that Freimanis died of

hepatotoxicity Hepatotoxicity (from ''hepatic toxicity'') implies chemical-driven liver damage. Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a cause of acute and chronic liver disease caused specifically by medications and the most common reason for a drug to be withdr ...

made worse by

fatty liver Fatty liver disease (FLD), also known as hepatic steatosis and steatotic liver disease (SLD), is a condition where excess fat builds up in the liver. Often there are no or few symptoms. Occasionally there may be tiredness or pain in the upper r ...

, and a weak heartbeat, which had caused

chronic kidney disease Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a type of long-term kidney disease, defined by the sustained presence of abnormal kidney function and/or abnormal kidney structure. To meet criteria for CKD, the abnormalities must be present for at least three mo ...

, and

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (Pulmonary pleurae, pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant d ...

References

Latvian pop singers Latvian rock singers 1977 births 2011 deaths Musicians from Liepāja 21st-century Latvian male singers Latvian composers Latvian male composers Latvian male film actors Latvian male television actors 21st-century Latvian male actors Actors from Liepāja 20th-century Latvian male singers Deaths from hepatic steatosis Deaths from kidney disease Deaths from pleurisy {{Europe-singer-stub