“Lietava” – radical minimal folk touring in the UK
"The world changes; so should folk. It has to be a living thing. Because we live now!” - Domas Strupinskas. Lithuanian project "Lietava" is embaring on the UK tour, that starts with their performance this Saturday, 4 PM at Union Chapel, London.
Lietava is a celebration of 16 rare traditional Lithuanian folk instruments, produced by two highly respected and prodigiously talented Lithuanian musicians. These instruments once had pivotal roles in Lithuanians’ cultural and social lives, yet many are now all but forgotten; some have never been professionally recorded before.
Produced at the Nida Art Colony in Lithuania and inspired by minimalism and documentary sound recordings, Lietava is also a challenge to folk orthodoxy. It is an aesthetic manifesto about the relationship between tradition and renewal, an approach for which the artists have coined the term shifting folk. This makes for an album that is at once reverent and beautiful but equally striking, minimalist and radical. The artwork for Lietava was conceived and produced by Lithuanian artist Lauryna Narkevičiūtė, drawing on the concept of shifting folk, historic Lithuanian cultural artefacts and minimalism. Beautiful CD and vinyl albums will be available from November 10th, alongside a companion book exploring the stories of Lietava, including the histories of the instruments and the concepts behind the project.
UK concert tour of “Lietava” is produced in partnership with the Lithuanian Culture Institute.
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4th November, Daylight Music, Union Chapel, London (Afternoon performance)
4th November, St Casimir’s Church, Bethnal Green, London (Evening performance)
6th November, St Cecilia’s Hall, Edinburgh
8th November, Centrala Gallery, Birmingham
Partner: Embassy of Lithuania in the United Kingdom, Lithuanian Culture Institute, State51 Conspiracy
