Martynas Kuliavas And Utara

For his new project called Undiscovered Sensations, Lithuanian award-winning guitarist Martynas Kuliavas invited an ensemble of multipart singers, Ūtara. Rediscovering this genre of archaic polyphony originating in prehistoric times (a cultural heritage protected by UNESCO), guitar virtuoso and composer of songs and musical improvisations of various styles, Martynas Kuliavas is as if entering an unfamiliar space, a closed and undiscovered land of eternal womanhood. Multipart singing is more than mere singing; it is a ritual act, believing that sound and voice echoing across the lands have magical powers. Multipart singing has no distinctive beginning and ending, no rhythm, no usual dynamics—it is flowing and monotonous like a river. Its mystery, introverted movement, and hypnotizing stereo sound, subtly entwined into the creations of Martynas Kuliavas, are awakening a passion for improvisational experiment or erotic 'undiscovered sensation'.

Together with Ūtara and the band, guitar virtuoso Martynas Kuliavas is reviving a deeply-forgotten instrumental tradition of multipart singing, when men accompanying women singing were blowing long pipes or horns, playing the old Lithuanian wind instrument Skudučiai, and chordophones. But this old tradition this time is replaced with a modern one—Martynas Kuliavas' undiscovered musical sensations based on fusion, stylistics of rock, blues, jazz, and jazz-rock.