Contemporary re-imagining of Lithuania’s unique polyphony
Formed in the autumn of 1998, Atalyja (“The rain is coming”) is a Lithuanian folk-rock music band bringing the ancient songs of Lithuanian folklore closer to the contemporary listener through unique and ingenious arrangements. Ancient melodies with rich tonal palettes are enriched with elements of rock, jazz, funk, blues rock, metal and Indian music. At the core of the repertoire are sutartinės (polyphonic archaic songs – glees), and traditional Lithuanian instruments (kanklės, panpipes, violin, bagpipe, Jew’s harp) are ingeniously combined with an eclectic mix ranging from electric guitars and rock percussion to North Indian instruments like the bansuri (transverse Indian bamboo flute) and tabla (Indian pair drum).