Žalvarinis Explained

Žalvarinis
Background:	group_or_band
Origin:	Vilnius, Lithuania
Genre:	Folk rock, World music
Years Active:	2001–present
Label:	None
Spinoff Of:	Ugnėlakis Kūlgrinda
Website:	http://www.zalvarinis.lt/
Current Members:	Robertas Semeniukas Sigita Jonynaitė-Žostautienė

lt|'''Žalvarinis'''|made from [[brass]], brazen|i=no is a folk rock band from Vilnius, Lithuania. They were formed in 2001 as a collaboration between the pagan metal group Ugnėlakis and the pagan folk group Kūlgrinda. This was reflected in the title of their debut album in 2002, Ugnėlakis su Kūlgrinda.

On 19 December 2023, the band was announced among the competing artists of Eurovizija.LT, the Lithuanian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, with the song "Gaudė vėjai".^[1] They came second in the second semi-final on 20 January 2024, qualifying for the final.^[2]

Style

The lyrics for the band's songs are usually taken from the folklore of Lithuanian people and are sung in their original Lithuanian language. Žalvarinis' music frequently features singing technique of traditional Lithuanian sutartinė (a form of glee), usually sung by the band's three female singers – examples of sutartinė can be heard in their tracks Ailiom susėdom, Dijūta or Ožys. Authentic pronunciation as well as ancient words and their forms in folk songs are also usually preserved by the band. As a legacy of Kūlgrinda, the band also features several folk-songs of Old Prussians.

Žalvarinis's sound, on the other hand, while still influenced by traditional Lithuanian folk music, is more modern – generally speaking, it is a mix of traditional heavy metal and progressive rock. The first album of the band was metal-influenced, however the sound becomes more progressive in later albums.

The song Aš kanapį sėjau (I Sowed a Hemp), taken from the 2005 album Žalio vario was featured on Transformations in Lithuanian Song – a 2006 compilation CD that covered the development of Lithuanian folk music over many years. It was published by the Lithuanian-American journal Lituanus.

Members

Current members

Robertas Semeniukas - vocals, electric, acoustic and slide guitars, keyboards, music director
Sigita Jonynaitė - vocals
Viltė Ambrazaitytė - vocals
Rytis Vasiliauskas - bass guitar
Martynas Lukoševičius - drums

Former members

Domas Žostautas - bass guitar
Sergej Makidon - drums
Jonas Lengvinas - drums
Tadas Žukauskas - bass guitar
Ineta Meduneckytė-Tamošiūnienė – vocals
Laurita Peleniūtė – vocals
Paulius Jaskūnas – bass guitar
Simonas Gudelis – drums
Aurimas Lemežis – bass guitar
Marius Būda – electric guitar
Ramūnas Pocius – vocals, pipes
Eglė Pakšytė – vocals
Dariush Loznikoff – bass
Demonas – bass
Arūnas Lukaševičius – bass
Ilja Molodcov – drums
Aidas Buivydas – guitar

Discography

Ugnėlakis su Kūlgrinda (2002, Bomba records)
Žalio vario (2005, Prior music) translates as [Made] of Green Copper, green copper being an archaic name for brass
Folk n' Rock (2008, Monako Productions)
Gyvas (2014, RS Records)
Teka (2016, RS Records)
Einam Tolyn (2018, RS Records)
The Best of Žalvarinis (2019, RS Records)
Švęskime Laisvę! (2019, RS Records)
Demo & Remix 2008-2015 (2020, RS Records)
Cantabile (2022, RS Records)
Live at Kilkim Žaibu Festival XX (2023, RS Records)

Notes and References

Web site: Carabaña Menéndez. Hugo. Eurovizija.LT 2024: Presentados los artistas y canciones de la preselección lituana cuya final será el 17 de febrero con la vuelta de The Roop. Eurovizija.LT 2024: The artists and songs of the Lithuanian preselection have been presented, with the final set for 17 February and the return of The Roop. es-ES. ESCplus España. 2023-12-19. 2023-12-19.
Web site: Carabaña Menéndez . Hugo . 2024-01-20 . Aistè gana la segunda semifinal del Eurovizija.LT 2024 y consigue el billete junto con Žalvarinis a la final de la preselección lituana . Aistè wins the second semi-final of Eurovizija.LT 2024 and gets a ticket to the final of the Lithuanian preselection together with Žalvarinis . 2024-01-20 . ESCplus España . es-ES.