Kurak

It's debatable whether „stars“ is a right word to describe prominent performers of alternative music scene. However, in this particular case, it's difficult to avoid it. That was the start of Kurak – the act's debut EP, released in 2012, featured supergroup formed by a bunch of well-known artists who have proved their point in other bands and ventures – like Eglė Sirvydytė of mmpsuf fame, Markas Palubenka or Karolis Ramoška, the lead singer of Proper Heat. However, they were all held together by studio boffin Vygintas Kisevičius, who is best described as mainstay of Lithuanian underground and alternative circles – starting his career in jazz, he then moved on to become a part of Milky Lasers, Magic Mushrooms, Left I Right, Fusedmarc, Empti and some other still active and defunct elecronic and alternative bands that are all well worth your attention. Kurak, though, is the first time he stepped out into the limelight – as the sole leader and producer of this sonic experiment. The debut EP Notes was followed by sold out gigs, mesmerizing festival performances and invitations to play both at Tallinn Music Week (Estonia) and Positivus (Latvia), the most important music events in the Baltics. Performing an intriguing mixture of pop, electronica, indie, trip hop, Vygintas made a bold step of changing the playbook totally for the second Kurak EP Surface, released in February 2014. It features five pieces of subtle downtempo music with shades of jazz and chill out grooves. Another unorthodox release followed in April – My Holy Senses features both two original tracks by Kurak featuring singer Markas Palubenka and reworked versions of these tunes by acclaimed Lithuanian electronic music artist Few Nolder and other producers.