Photo courtesy “Solo ansamblis”

The presentation of Lithuanian music is another important element in the line-up of  “Wschód Kultury – Inne Brzmienia 2019”. At concerts in Lublin we will see: “Solo Ansamblis”, “Garbanotas”, “Sheep Got Waxed”, “Fume” and “Infiltrators Trio”.

“Wschód Kultury – Inne Brzmienia” (“East of Culture – Different Sounds”) is a festival that keenly follows the phenomena occurring in the music of our neighbours. For years, festival has been featuring artists from the Eastern Partnership countries as well as groups from the Czech Republic, Germany or Scandinavia. The upcoming edition will concentrate on Lithuanian sounds. This year is a particularly great moment to do so because 2019 is the 450th anniversary of signing the Union of Lublin.

For the overview of Lithuanian music at “Wschód Kultury – Inne Brzmienia”, we will try to capture different genres and phenomena in order to show a broad spectrum of what currently shapes the identity and uniqueness of the music stage of this Baltic country.

The first “Litewski Focus” band to perform in Lublin this year is “Solo Ansamblis” – a quartet strongly inspired by sounds in the spirit of “Bauhaus”, “Tuxedomoon” or “Killing Joke”. The artists operate on the threshold of new wave, cold wave as well as electro and new romantic. Characteristically, the band combine all this with theatre and performative activities, and during concerts they often incorporate video projections, elaborate stage designs and costumes.

The next project is, like “Solo Ansamblis”, from Vilnius. In terms of style, “Garbanotas” are closest to psychedelic rock. As the artists themselves assure, their music brings joy to every corner of the world. The claim is certainly substantiated. At their concerts “Garbanotas” are able to create truly international vibes, regardless of whether songs have Lithuanian lyrics.

The third band for the “Litewski Focus” is the excellent trio “Sheep Got Waxed“. To define their work, we can safely use the prefix “post” because the Lithuanians explore, in a very fresh and creative way, new sounds in post jazz, post punk or post rock styles. On the one hand, they draw themes from jazz and academic music, only to perform a spectacular deconstruction a moment later, making a trip towards metal, experimental electronic music, improvised free music or techno.

On the same day as “Sheep Got Waxed”, we will also meet the musician and producer working under the moniker “Fume“. The artist, recording for the great Lithuanian label “Suru Records, oscillates around deep, dub, electro, and trip hop. For his live sets, “Fume” often uses visualisations dedicated to individual compositions.

The final project for the presentation of Lithuanian music at “Wschód Kultury – Inne Brzmienia” is the trio “Infiltrators Trio“. These artists using the classic instrument set (piano, drums and saxophone) rank among the leading Lithuanian jazz bands. It can’t be any other way when the band consists of three excellent instrumentalists, virtuosos in their fields – the pianist Dmitrij Golovanov, the percussionist Arkady Gotesman and the saxophonist Jan Maksimovic. The latter is already familiar to the festival audiences because he came to Different Sounds in 2015 with the Polish band “Variété”.

Considering the above selection of artists and the variety of their styles, the upcoming edition of “Wschód Kultury – Inne Brzmienia” will be an excellent starting point for the adventure with contemporary Lithuanian music which absolutely deserves wider recognition.

However, music will not be the only Lithuanian element of this year’s “Wschód Kultury – Inne Brzmienia”. We will soon present the full programme of the “Litewski Focus” which also includes a number of events in the area of literature, cinema or photography, prepared in cooperation with the Lithuanian Culture Institute and with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania.

“Solo Ansamblis” will perform in Lublin on Thursday, 27 June. On Friday, 28 June we will see “Garbanotas” whereas a day later – on Saturday, 29 June our stages will welcome “Sheep Got Waxed” and “Fume”. On Sunday, 30 June we will have an extraordinary encounter with “Infiltrators Trio”. Most concerts will take place in Błonia near the Castle (only The Infiltrators will perform in the Old Theatre). Admission, just like to all events at “Wschód Kultury – Inne Brzmienia” is free.

This year’s edition of “Wschód Kultury – Inne Brzmienia” takes place between 27-30 June 2019. Once again, music will become an inspiration and a point of departure for a free exchange of ideas, discussions on the dynamically changing world and a search for what is shared in it, perceptually sensed at the level of natural human sensitivity. Different Sounds is a meeting of different genres, styles and harmonies that come together in the universal need for self-expression. It is here at Different Sounds that world-class stars of alternative music share the stage with rising stars from the east, and the masters and pioneers of genres vital to the development of music meet pioneers of new niches and seekers of original sounds. All this shapes the unique character of the event and its one-of-a-kind atmosphere.

More announcements of the many artists to perform in Lublin at the end of June are coming soon.

East of Culture is a project carried out by the National Centre of Culture with the financial support from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, in cooperation with the local governments of Rzeszów, Lublin and Białystok. The aim of the project is to integrate creative groups from Poland and countries of the Eastern Partnership countries.

More information: www.differentsounds.eu and https://nck.pl/en/activities/the-rise-of-eastern-cultur