VARTAI - Pro Vartus

VARTAI - Pro Vartus A film by Ričard Žigis Pro Vartus is the debut publication of Vartai. It manifests itself as a triptych including a film, an album and a booklet. An outcome of experimentation and attentive compositional processes, the publication consists of three pieces that encapsulate the band’s sonic arsenal. Heavy guitar chords, hammering drum patterns, chanting vocals and an alternative approach to the traditional Lithuanian instrument kanklės are combined to create dense drones and outbursts of noise. “Then from the furthest reaches of the self, in sonorous transfiguration, may be heard a noise, a sound, a tonality which by its very insistence must either paralyze us forever or preserve life anew”. E.M. Cioran This is the Vartai sound - profound, gripping, daring and open to im-possibilities. Nothing safe, nothing compromised. For Vartai every note, chord or noise aims for this sonorous transfiguration. VARTAI Edvinas Siliūnas – guitar Toma Čepaitė - kanklės, violin, vocals Matas Karūnas – bass Kristupas Kmitas – drums Yiorgis Sakellariou - guitar, vocals, loops Music by Yiorgis Sakellariou and Vartai. Lyrics and texts by Yiorgis Sakellariou Pro Vartus was filmed and recorded at Ideas Block – Kompresorinė (ideas-block.com) Live recordings by Roberto Becerra and Glen Strachan Additional recordings, mixing and mastering by Glen Strachan at Straw Port studio (strawport.com) Pro Vartus film directed and edited by Ričard Žigis (www.instagram.com/ricard.zigis/) Camera operators: Ričardas Ralys and Tomas Poška Assistant editor: Gintarė Martinionytė Listen (download/stream) https://vartai.bandcamp.com/album/pro... Booklet design: Ieva Brenciūtė (www.behance.net/brenciutei) Special thanks to: Filippos Raskovic, Gleb Divov, Ieva Raubytė, Stelios Efentakis Vilnius, October 2023