God-blessed and Satan-driven music lovers find right beat

  • 2012-06-27
  • By Linas Jegelevicius

ECO-NOISE: Music festival Tundra has strong bonds with nature, as it mixes a wide variety of music with mystical forces.

KLAIPEDA - Can ear-drum blasting electronic music go along with the eco thing? Can music make the local clergy speak of the Satan itself? In such a small country like Lithuania, both these things can happen.

Electronic beats along with ecology
Electronic music and ecology? Both are compatible, say organizers of the traditional alternative electronic music festival Tundra that is to take place on the picturesque peninsula of Lake Duburys, Zarasai region on the holiday weekend of July 5-8.

Signifying that weekend’s commemoration of the coronation of the only Lithuanian king, Mindaugas, Techno, Bass, Psytrance and Chillout sounds, produced by more than 100 world-famous electronic music performers from a dozen countries, some as far away as Canada and the United States, will fill up the peninsula and its surroundings.
“Tundra is one of the leading electronic music festivals in Lithuania and the Baltic countries, one in which can be distinguished a strong bond with nature and a nine-year history. Based on a beautiful lake peninsula, the festival covers a variety of musical genres, from techno to IDM, from drum’n’bass to post-dub-step, and from psy-trance to ambient,” says Aivaras Ustinavicius, the festival spearhead.

He says this year’s Tundra will be as mysterious as never before. “At night, all wanderers and dancers will be illuminated by the bright full moon and supervised by four majestic gods of Tundra. The dreamy location will offer daytime activities, too – workshops, meditation, performances, baths and yoga sessions. Numerous kitchens will deliver ample energy, while the acts on the four stages will provide the space and the sound to burn it,” relates the Tundra Festival organizer.

For environment-conscious Zarasai Municipality to let this army settle into the picturesque peninsula was a big challenge. The authorities braced for the worst, but the Tundra folks have appeared to be of no concern so far. “Already for five years, we have been cherishing the eco traditions - encouraging all festival participants and guests to protect the local nature,” says Ustinavicius.

And that goes well beyond nice words: along with the stage, a number of different eco-workshops will be set up to teach the festival guests how to properly recycle garbage.
“Besides, we’ll use bio-degradable ashtrays and china,” adds Ustinavicius. The festival initiator says tickets are still available and can be bought online via Tiketa.lt.

Devil-driven ones will swarm Anyksciai
And no other Lithuanian music event can rival it for the clergy’s curse and accusations of Devil worship The traditional Devilstone open-air extreme-alternative-metal music festival this year will be held on July 12-15 in the traditional location, on the bank of the Sventoji River in Anyksciai region.
Devilish music and the mad spirit of rock-and-roll are the cornerstones of the four-day-long festival.
Separate Metal, Rock and Music Laboratory stages will house as many as twenty bands from all over Europe and beyond.

Anathema, Aura Noir, Demonical, Scarab, Warbringer, Alcest, Enforcer and Kampfar are just a few of the Metal music performers to be seen and heard this year. As for rockers, Ruckfighters, Haken, Honcho, Lucky Funeral, Blowback and some others will rock on the river bank stage, forcing priests as far away as 15 kilometers cross themselves.
The Devilstone Festival, its organizers claim, has the unexplainable power to make people dance, even if they wear that grim black metal attitude and look on their face.
Once you get wobbly after dancing off your bones, you might need some rest – chill while watching movies at the festival night cinema.

What else could max out your devilish pleasure and comfort? Yes, the river, the sun, cold beer, smiling people and a fantastic atmosphere all around! And, finally, why the Devilstone? A legend says Anyksciai’s huge Puntukas stone was carried above the town by the devil, aiming to crush the Anyksciai church. But the devil failed, dropping the stone just where he stood at that moment when a rooster scared him away as dawn broke. Some marks are still visible on the stone. Check them out.

Too scared of the Devil’s spell? Then, swing by the traditional Classic Music Festival in Pazaislis Monastery, in Kaunas region, on July 5.