Girių Dvasios makes hand-tufted dub, punching strands of circular song into a canvas of very rootsy dub, with organ bubbling, guitar doodling, and flutes and melodica singing along, ultimately creating a bridge arching all-inclusively between techno and folk (im)purity.
Song means so much to the peoples of the Baltic, as witnessed via worldwide media during the “singing revolution,” the non-violent protests massed in 1987-91 that led to the eventual liberation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from the crumbling Soviet empire.
On Ratu, Girių Dvasios (Lithuanian for “spirit of the woods” and nom-de-musique of Evaldas Azbukauskas) has seamlessly woven sampled vocals from a trio of Lithuanian folk troupes—Trys Keturiose, Turėja Liepa and Kūlgrinda—performing sutartinės, an ancient, domestic polyphony, into his hearty, timberland dub. Its unique pitch and plaint has certain family resemblances to Finland’s Värttinä or to Mari Boine (just to grab at artists in geographical proximity with whom international listeners may be more readily acquainted). But it is also something else altogether. And when combined with this heady, unhurried dub, interspersed with strictly instrumental tracks, you have an album that is kind of astonishing.
The sutartinė is deceptively simple and unwaveringly symmetrical, and thus a perfect fit for the immersive repetitiveness of dub techno. It is propulsive, on the brink of tribal, and pretty intoxicating—particularly “Nuslaida Saulala.” The incremental intensity of Girių Dvasios’ accompaniment makes the lone vocalist on “Čiutyta” seem farther and farther away and more and more isolated, until she is joined by hand-clapping multitudes. And sometimes, the round is very sweet, as on “Kanapé” or the lilting, star-kissed closer, “Žemyna.”
Girių Dvasios makes hand-tufted dub, punching strands of circular song into a canvas of very rootsy dub, with organ bubbling, guitar doodling, and flutes and melodica singing along, ultimately creating a bridge arching all-inclusively between techno and folk (im)purity.
Ratu is available on Cold Tear.
