1960s-1970s

During this period, the Communist government of the Lithuanian SSR

Lithuanian SSR

The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Lithuanian SSR, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union...

 confronted rock music

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

, which was considered a decadent and corrupting cultural invasion from the West

Western world

The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...

. The younger post-World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Lithuanian generation under Soviet rule had few means to get acquainted with popular Western music. One was Radio Luxembourg

Radio Luxembourg

Radio Luxembourg may refer to:*Radio Luxembourg , a Long Wave commercial radio station that began broadcasting from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 1933...

, the only radio station available on Soviet frequencies that played current, popular rock. Another means was to smuggle LPs

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 of popular Western bands into Lithuania and copy them onto magnetic tape

Magnetic tape

Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic. It was developed in Germany, based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and video using magnetic tape are tape recorders and video tape recorders...

.

The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 were one of the first influences on Lithuanian rock musicians. The first local rock bands started to emerge around 1965 and included Kertukai, Aitvarai and Nuogi ant slenksčio in Kaunas

Kaunas

Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...

, and Kęstutis Antanėlis

Kęstutis Antanėlis

Kęstutis Antanėlis is a Lithuanian composer, architect and sculptor.In 1975 he graduated from Vilnius Civil Engineering Institute and later from the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts....

, Vienuoliai, and Gėlių Vaikai in Vilnius

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

, among others. Most of these bands did nothing more than play covers

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 and Rolling Stones, sometimes adapting Lithuanian lyrics to these songs.

The dominance of covers bands started to change around 1968, when local artists started to explore original songwriting.

Such bands were popular at student parties, known as sessions. These parties were deemed illegal by the communist establishment, which considered them a corrupting influence. The most famous session of the time took place in Vilnius in 1971, when major local and Latvian bands performed before a crowd of several hundred - a huge number of people to attend such an event at that time. After the concert, its organizers were persecuted by the KGB

KGB

The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...

.

In addition, a distinct genre of song formed during this period. Musicians like Vytautas Kernagis

Vytautas Kernagis

Vytautas Kernagis was a Lithuanian singer-songwriter, bard, actor, director, and television announcer. He is considered a pioneer of Lithuanian sung poetry.- Career :...

 and Vytautas Babravičius

Vytautas Babravicius

Vytautas Babravičius, stage name Simas, is a Lithuanian country and folk rock musician. He is often described as a founder of Lithuanian country music scene.-Musical career:...

 created intimate acoustic ballads featuring their own lyrics and those of other Lithuanian poets.

Due to conditions imposed by the totalitarian regime, almost no records from this period survive to this day.

Despite the regime's stance against invasive Western culture

Western culture

Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...

, some musicals influenced by rock-and-roll managed to surface. For example, Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...

's rock-opera 'Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...

' was staged by Lithuanian composer Kęstutis Antanėlis

Kęstutis Antanėlis

Kęstutis Antanėlis is a Lithuanian composer, architect and sculptor.In 1975 he graduated from Vilnius Civil Engineering Institute and later from the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts....

 on December 25, 1971 at the Vilnius Academy of Art

Vilnius Academy of Art

The Vilnius Academy of Art in Vilnius, Lithuania, grants a variety of degrees in the arts.The academy was created as a separate entity in 1940; it had previously been part of Vilnius University. It was closed during the Nazi occupation of Lithuania, and re-opened in 1944...

. It was the first staging of 'Jesus Christ Superstar' in Europe.

Lithuania's first and most popular movie musical 'Velnio nuotaka' ('The Devil's Bride'), written by Viačeslavas Ganelinas, was released in 1975. Its catchy melodies combine traditional folk motifs with a rock-and-roll rhythm. Spirited and emotional, The Devil's Bride tells the supernatural story of an impish devil who used to be an angel but got tired of singing Hosannah, and was thus condemned to live on Earth. From his home in a windmill, he pursued love and happiness in a hilarious and sometimes tragic tale of turmoil that affects the whole countryside.

Shortly afterwards, in 1976, another musical was staged. 'Ugnies medžioklė su varovais', with the music of composer Giedrius Kuprevičius and participation of Vytautas Kernagis

Vytautas Kernagis

Vytautas Kernagis was a Lithuanian singer-songwriter, bard, actor, director, and television announcer. He is considered a pioneer of Lithuanian sung poetry.- Career :...

 and Gintarė Jautakaitė

Gintarė Jautakaitė

Gintarė Jautakaitė is a Lithuanian-born American female singer.She immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became U.S. citizen in 1983.-Discography:*2000: Earthness, EMI Records *2003: Feathermark, SkySonic Records...

. This musical proved to be a huge success - during the period from 1976 to 1983 it was performed 185 times in cities and towns across Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

 and the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

.

1980s

The emergence of home-grown rock and pop music in the 1960s and 70s was built upon with enthusiasm in the 1980s, during which time several influential Lithuanian bands emerged. Poet and musician Romas Lileikis

Romas Lileikis

Romas Lileikis is a Lithuanian poet, musician, and film director.Lileikis is a director of five movies: Aš esu , Olandų gatvė , Anapus , K+M+B , and Saša , and author of three music albums: Kiaulės sakmė , Evangelija nuo Romo , and...

 released his first unique intimate and lyric recordings, which built a cult-like following.

Hiperbolė

Somewhere around 1982 the band Hiperbolė started to gain popularity on the dancefloors of Lithuania. They played melodic tunes comparable to those of British band Smokie

Smokie (band)

Smokie is an English rock band from Bradford, Yorkshire who found success in Europe in the 1970s.-Early years:Originally called The Yen, then The Sphynx and later Essence, the band was formed in 1964 at St. Bede's Grammar School in Heaton, Bradford as The Yen. The Yen's first gig was at Birkenshaw...

. Eventually, the group split up in 1985 but made a well-received comeback, with an album and several concerts, in 1999.

Foje

1983 saw the emergence of one of the most famous, influential and popular Lithuanian rock groups, Foje

Foje

FOJE was one of the most successful and best known Lithuanian rock bands. It was formed in the present-day Antakalnis Secondary School in Vilnius by Andrius Mamontovas, Arnoldas Lukošius and Darius Tarasevičius in 1983 under the name of "Sunki Muzika", few months later Algis Kriščiūnas joined the...

. The group cited several influences, including the sound of The Stranglers

The Stranglers

The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...

, as well as the 1980s post-punk movement (for example the notable nod to Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...

 on Foje's 1989 electronica

Electronica

Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

 album Žodžiai į Tylą). These influences were combined with the often gloomy, desperate lyrics of the band's mastermind Andrius Mamontovas

Andrius Mamontovas

Andrius Mamontovas is a Lithuanian rock musician, songwriter, actor, performer and record producer. He was one of the co-founders of the Lithuanian rock band Foje . He is also one of the masterminds of the LT United project.-Personal life:His father was Russian and mother Lithuanian...

.

Foje became stars of national importance in 1986 after their appearance in the festival Lituanica 86 and a musical movie Kažkas Atsitiko. The group retained their star status until their split in 1997. Their farewell show in Vilnius on May 17, 1997, was attended by some 60,000 fans. Frontman Andrius Mamontovas pursues a successful solo career to this day. During his two-decade career both as a leader of Foje and as a solo artist he has written and recorded more than 20 platinum albums, as well as masterminding the Eurovision Song Contest 2006

Eurovision Song Contest 2006

The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...

 entry We Are the Winners

We Are the Winners

"We Are the Winners" was the 2006 entry into the Eurovision Song Contest for Lithuania, sung by Lithuanian all-star group LT United.The song, thematically reminiscent of Queen's "We Are the Champions", is a cheery tongue-in-cheek celebration of their supposedly inevitable victory at the Eurovision...

by LT United

LT United

LT United is a six-piece alternative-pop musical group created in 2006 for the sole purpose of representing Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006...

 http://www.eurovision.tv/english/477.htm.

Antis

Antis

Antis

Antis is a Lithuanian postmodernist rock band. The name is the Lithuanian word for "duck" and is also slang for a false mass media sensation.-Establishment:In 1986 in the last days of the Soviet Union, there was an alternative music explosion in Lithuania...

 was formed by a group of young architects in 1984. At their inception the band, led by frontman Algirdas Kaušpėdas

Algirdas Kaušpedas

Algirdas Kaušpėdas , is Lithuanian rock musician, the leader of Lithuanian rock group Antis, architect and one of the Sąjūdis iniciators.-Biography:...

, engaged in punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

ish experiments, but things changed considerably in early 1986 when the group developed an impressive horns section.

Petras Ubartas became responsible for the music of the band while Kaušpėdas concentrated on writing lyrics, which were full of irony and satire on the Soviet way of life.

Antis began to play in various semi-underground events and soon became well-known across the country - not least for their extravagant glam

Glam rock

Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...

 image. But the real hour of glory struck for Antis after they played in rock festival Lituanica 86.

Although the music of Antis embraced many aspects of new wave

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

, they developed a unique and original style and sound of their own. Despite this, one of the group's biggest ever hits was Zombiai, a reworked cover of Men at Work

Men at Work

Men at Work are an Australian rock band who achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to have a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United States . They achieved the same distinction of a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United Kingdom...

 song Down Under

Down Under (song)

"Down Under" is a pop song recorded by Men at Work for their debut album Business as Usual . The song went to #1 on American, British, Canadian and Australian charts....

. In their late period, Antis began experimenting with complicated and hard-to-grasp jazz-rock structures.

The band released their first album in 1987, followed by their second and last in 1989 before the group split in 1990.

Antis staged many live shows in front of huge crowds in Lithuania and the Soviet Union, and toured throughout Europe and United States in 1989/1990.

Antis' first comeback took place in 1996 when they performed three big concerts in major Lithuanian cities. The second comeback occurred in 2003 on the occasion of the release of their four CD anthology Visa Antis. In December 2003, Antis performed a sell-out concert in Vilnius - their last appearance on the stage to date.

BIX

Another phenomenon of the Lithuanian rock scene - BIX

Bix

This article is about the Lithuanian rock group. For other meanings, see Bix .BIX is one of the oldest and most famous rock bands in Lithuania. They got together in 1987 in Šiauliai and in a few months became a cult band. After a period of intensive touring throughout Europe and the US they were...

 was formed in 1987 in Šiauliai

Šiauliai

Šiauliai , is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.-Names:...

. Built on ska

Ska

Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...

 riff

RIFF

The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....

s with Latin beats and socially-oriented, brave and ironic lyrics, the group soon became one of the most interesting local acts.

Bix were also well received by European audiences during 1993-1994, particularly in France, thanks to their intense touring. However, due to the declining interest in rock music in Lithuania they practically ceased their musical activity. Now BIX give gigs with a reformed line-up (though the frontman Saulius Urbonavičius is the same) on an occasional basis.

Katedra

Katedra

Katedra

Katedra can refer to:* The Cathedral, a 2002 short animated movie by Tomasz Bagiński, nominated for an Academy Award in 2003* Chair , a type of a university department in Poland...

 - best known Lithuanian heavy metal band that formed in 1986 and year later became one of the most popular bands at the time. Its first record Mors Ultima Ratio got pretty well known in Europe. Katedra's success ended in early 90's when singer Povilas Meškėla left the band, though the band is still active to this day.

Punk scene

1986-1987 marked the appearance of the punk

Punk subculture

The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...

-scene in Lithuania. Bands like Už Tėvynę, SKAT

Skat

Skat is an early 19th century trick-taking card game devised in Germany. Along with Doppelkopf it is the most popular card game in Germany and Silesia.Skat features prominently in Günter Grass's novel The Tin Drum and leads a trail connecting the plot...

, and Erkė Maiše were citing old fashioned punk 77, while others like 33% kiaulių pakeliui į Vatikaną and Turboreanimacija were more inclined towards hardcore punk

Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

 (HC) stylistics. Turboreanimacija can undoubtedly be regarded as the most influential HC band of Lithuania, which in its time was well-received by such fanzines as Maximum Rock 'n Roll in the US.

Their first up-tempo albums reminded listeners of early records from Scottish HC legends the Exploited

The Exploited

The Exploited are a Scottish punk band from the second wave of UK punk, formed in 1979. Originally a street punk band, they transformed into a faster hardcore punk band with a heavy political influence. From about 1987 on they changed into a crossover thrash band...

, while later Turboreanimacija embarked on the power-punk road.

Turboreanimacija was disbanded in 1997 after granting themselves status of a cult-band among the Lithuanian underground.

More recent acts of this genre are ska-punk band 'Dr.Green' (who are famous for their numerous DIY activities and intensive touring through the punk scenes of Europe), street-punkers Toro Bravo and hardcorists Bora and Mountainside.

1990s

The 1990s in Lithuania can be described as a dead period with regard to rock music. The audience began to lose interest in rock in favor of local, often low-quality, pop music. Therefore almost the entire rock scene, with very few exceptions, went underground.

The main rock music event of this period was the annual Blogiausių grupių festivalis (Worst Bands Festival), in which underground rock bands were presented with a unique opportunity to introduce themselves to the public.

Some bands of this period were trying to build upon the music scene emerging in Manchester

Music of Manchester

-The pop groups of the 1960s and early 1970s:Manchester had an impressive music scene before 1976, with groups like The Hollies, The Bee Gees, Herman's Hermits, Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders, Freddie and the Dreamers in the 1960s and Barclay James Harvest and 10cc in the early 1970s. Top of the...

 at the time (e.g. Lygiai Lyja, Šiaurės Kryptis) - often fairly successfully; while others preferred grunge

Grunge

Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...

, noise and psychedelic

Psychedelic music

Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...

 experiments (for example, SH, Empti, Blyškūs Veidai, Summerland, Dogbones

Dogbones

Dogbones was a Lithuanian rock band, which existed from 1995 to 1998.-History:Dogbones was formed in Vilnius in 1995 by Sidas, Marksas, and drummer Teo. The trio soon built up an underground following, and became noticed by the local independent label Zona for their energetic and lively punk/grunge...

). Skylė

Skylė

SKYLĖ is a band formed in Vilnius in 1991 at a crucial turning point in the history of Lithuania during the fall of the Soviet Union. The main principles established at the very beginning – such as the spread of alternative music and poetic thoughts based on philosophy, mythology and history -...

 from Vilnius became the favorites of Lithuanian philology

Philology

Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...

 students due to their often acoustic, intimate sound and poetic lyrics. Airija

Airija

Airija is a folk-rock band formed in Alytus, Lithuania in September 1992. Irish art and culture have had a great influence on the creation of this group. Name of the group Airija means Ireland in the Lithuanian language.- Biography :...

 (the name is Lithuanian for Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

) from Alytus

Alytus

Alytus is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the capital of Alytus County. Its population in 2007 was 68,835. Alytus is the historical centre of the Dzūkija region. The city lies on the banks of the Nemunas River. The major highways linking Vilnius, Kaunas, Lazdijai, and...

 skillfully combined rock music with Irish folk melodies. Leader of Airija Darius Mileris currently resides in Dublin, Ireland and plays similar music to that of his former band in an outfit called Nojus.

Also during the 1990s, Fun-Punk bands Kamštis from Utena

Utena, Lithuania

Utena is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the settlement has been known since 1261.Utena is an...

 and Armatūra from Vilnius

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

 had huge success.

2000s

In the early 2000s, several new names appeared on the scene, including Britpop

Britpop

Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...

-influenced Lemon Joy, Merlin and Biplan. Lemon Joy and Merlin drifted to the side of pop/electronic music

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 shortly after the release of their debut albums, while Biplan have stayed rather successfully with rock.

SKAMP

SKAMP

-About SKAMP:SKAMP blends pop, rock, Hip Hop, and reggae genres into a unique alternative sound. Skamp rose to fame in Lithuania in May 1998, with a cover of George Gershwin's Summertime. The song was an instant success in Lithuania and they have gone on to release 6 studio albums. The members have...

 is one of the most popular bands in Lithuania since its inception in 1998 and is well-known abroad. SKAMP blends Pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

, Rock, Hip Hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

, and Reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 genres into a unique alternative sound.

Pop-rockers Relanium formed in 1999. After signing a contract with Koja records, the band was re-named Laura And The Lovers. In 2005, Laura And The Lovers participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005

Eurovision Song Contest 2005

The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine. The winner was Greece's My Number One, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and performed by Swedish-born Greek singer Elena Paparizou, who scored 230 points,...

 with a song titled Little by Little, but failed to achieve significant success http://www.lauraandthelovers.com/index.php?handler=lt.naujienos.

2005 marked the beginning of the recovery of Lithuanian rock music. The number of rock festivals has increased while new bands are slowly finding their way into the Lithuanian media, not to mention the hearts of the listeners. These include funky Saulės Kliošas, Bitės, and Inculto

Inculto

Inculto is a Lithuanian music group. It has the following members: Colombian-born Lithuanian Jurgis Didžiulis , Aurelijus Morlencas, Sergej Makidon, Jievaras Jasinskis and Laurynas Lapė.-Eurovision 2010:...

; rockers IR, Brainers, Gravel, Sportas, Arbata amongst others.

The Lithuanian gothic

Gothic rock

Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...

 scene is not very big, but has strong support from Lithuanian Goths

Goths

The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....

. There are several bands representing this style. Siela and Mano Juodoji Sesuo are considered the pioneers of gothic music in Lithuania. Saprophytes

Saprophytes

Saprophytes may refer to*Saprotroph, a term used for organisms which obtain nutrients from dead organic matter...

http://www.saprophytes.lt/mainen.html, from the small town of Pabradė

Pabrade

Pabradė is a city in Lithuania, in Švenčionys district municipality, on Žeimena river, 38 km south-west of Švenčionys.Pabradė is a busy place as the Vilnius–Daugavpils railway is close to the city. It was quite a small settlement until the 19th century, when the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg...

 play emotional metal with lucid references to New York metallers Type O Negative

Type O Negative

Type O Negative was a gothic metal band from Brooklyn, New York City. The band also incorporated elements of doom metal and thrash metal. Their dramatic lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "The Drab Four"...

. The band seems to be a strong candidate among the elite of Lithuania's dark music scene.

Many rock bands claim folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 influences. Žalvarinis

Žalvarinis

Žalvarinis is a folk rock band from Vilnius, Lithuania. They were formed in 2001 as a collaboration between the black metal group Ugnėlakis and the pagan folk group Kūlgrinda. This was reflected in the title of their debut album in 2002, Ugnėlakis su Kūlgrinda...

 is a folk metal

Folk metal

Folk metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. As the name suggests, the genre is a fusion of heavy metal with traditional folk music...

 band from Vilnius. Their music is typically very slow-paced with exclusively Lithuanian lyrics. Another interesting and original folk-rock band Atalyja

Atalyja

Atalyja is a Lithuanian folk-rock music band. It seeks to popularize archaic Lithuanian folklore and bring the ancient songs closer to the contemporary listener. The band's creations boast a big variety of musical styles, rich tonal palette and unique and ingenious arrangements...

 is worth mentioning in this context.

Annual rock music festivals include Mėnuo Juodaragis

Menuo Juodaragis

Mėnuo Juodaragis is an annual independent and non-profit Lithuanian music festival for various post-folklore, folklore, neo-folk, alternative, experimental music and contemporaty Baltic culture.-Concept:...

 (summer festival of neofolk

Neofolk

Neofolk is a form of folk music-inspired experimental music that emerged from post-industrial music circles. Neofolk can either be solely acoustic folk music or a blend of acoustic folk instrumentation aided by varieties of accompanying sounds such as pianos, strings and elements of industrial...

, darkwave

Darkwave

Dark Wave or darkwave is a music genre that began in the late 1970s, coinciding with the popularity of New Wave and post-punk. Building on those basic principles, dark wave added dark, introspective lyrics and an undertone of sorrow for some bands...

, and pagan arts)http://www.mjr.lt/, Kunigunda Lunaria (gothic/darkwave/industrial

Industrial music

Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...

 festival in Vilnius)http://www.kunigunda.lt/; Naujas Kraujas (new bands' festival)http://naujaskraujas.dangus.net/; Kilkim žaibu

Kilkim Žaibu

Kilkim Žaibu is one of the largest open-air black metal/heavy metal and folk music festivals in the Baltic region, Europe. It is held annually since 1999 and attracts approx. 1500–2000 visitors each year...

 (Baltic folk, pagan and black metal

Black metal

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

 festival)http://www.kilkimzaibu.tk/.

Zona

The first independent record company of Lithuania, Zona http://www.zona.lt/, started its record label operations back in 1991, with Baltic releases of artists like Joy Division

Joy Division

Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...

, Pixies, Cocteau Twins

Cocteau Twins

Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for innovative instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals...

, Dead Can Dance

Dead Can Dance

Dead Can Dance are an ethereal neoclassical duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1981, by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry. The band relocated to London in May 1982 and disbanded in 1998. Their 1996 album Spiritchaser reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top World Music Albums Chart...

, Sugarcubes and many other notable foreign acts. Zona's work with local performers included releases from the most famous Lithuanian rock bands Antis and BIX, Russian cult bands Va Bank and Avia, as well as several compilations of young Baltic and Eastern European alternative artists. Zona’s full back catalogue features a total of over 80 releases and co-releases.

In the late 80s to early 90s, the company's head, Dovydas Bluvšteinas, made efforts to organize concerts in Vilnius by such alternative music icons as Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...

, Sugarcubes, Pop Will Eat Itself

Pop Will Eat Itself

Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band, originally formed in Stourbridge in 1986, with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a Grebo act, their style changed to incorporate sample driven indie and industrial rock...

, The Fall and many others. That contributed remarkably to the establishment of an interesting local alternative scene.

Zona's efforts were finally recognized and rewarded in early 2006 with the 'Life-time award' by the annual local music awards Radiocentro Apdovanojimai.

Koja

Koja Records Group is one of the oldest and biggest record companies in Lithuania. Originally it was founded in 1995 as a dance music label. Early on, the company focused not only on their local repertoire, but also on international licensing in Lithuania and other former Soviet territories. In 1998 Koja Records Group decided to exert all of its efforts on finding and developing local artists. Alongside this, the label has broadened to become a pop/dance-music record company http://www.koja.lt/.

Dangus

Dangus specialises in Ambient, Darkwave, Gothic, Industrial, and Pagan music. Dangus works with bands including Kulgrinda

Kulgrinda (band)

Kūlgrinda is a neofolk/pagan folk band from Vilnius, Lithuania, established in 1990 by Inia and Jonas Trinkūnas. The band owes its name to kūlgrinda - a secret Samogitian underwater causeway.-Discography:...

, Girnų Giesmės, Siela, Donis, Notanga, Trolis & The Giberlingers, Mano Juodoji Sesuo, Shadowdances, Ruination, Skardas.

External links

• history of Lithuanian country music
• http://www.eurovision.tv/english/477.htmAndrius Mamontovas of Foje talks about his brainchild, the 2006 Eurovision entry 'We are the winners' by LT United
  LT United
  LT United is a six-piece alternative-pop musical group created in 2006 for the sole purpose of representing Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006...
  
  ]
• Laura and the Lovers' homepage
• Saprophytes' homepage
• Mėnuo Juodaragis festival - neofolk, darkwave, and pagan arts
• Kunigunda Lunaria festival - gothic, darkwave, Industrial music
• Naujas Kraujas festival - new bands
• Kilkim žaibu festival - Baltic folk, pagan and black metal
• Vilnius Hardcore - Ska Funk Rasta Punk Scene, Vilnius
• Zona
• Koja Recordings Group
• Heavy Metal in Lithuania
• Skylė homepage
• Antis homepage
• Nojus homepage
• Baltic Promotions homepage
• IR homepage