Artist
Lithuania
Influences:
Scandinavian
, East European
, West European
IN THE CHARTS
28 times in the Global Top 40
BLOGS
"The Gate of Dreams" is an album about escaping the rush and forgetting worldly troubles. Each composition, in its own way, guides the listener to a serene space where dreams warmly greet us. The album is dedicated to celebrating peace and reconnecting with oneself.
S. Petreikis explains about the backstory of the album:
In the past couple of years, I travelled extensively in every sense—exploring different genres and foreign countries. After active concert activities with my brother Donatas, we joined forces to refresh the musical program, searching for the key to continue our journey. This gave birth to the new album and the musical live performance program.
Starting on December 3rd in Luznava (Latvia), Saulius Petreikis and the band will tour 2 Latvian, 3 Estonian and 9 Lithuanian cities. The concert will include short interludes during which Saulius will present several different ancient instruments. The artist wants not only to show the instruments but also to encourage the audience to make music at home, for their own enjoyment. S. Petreikis emphasizes that in his concerts, there is no age censorship. Find the closest venue here!
Petreikis says:
Music, the abundance of instruments has a therapeutic, balancing effect on everyone, which is very needed in our fast-paced world. This musical program is important to me also because I created it with my brother Donatas, who is, in a musical sense, a part of me. We understand each other without words and want to share this message of creating unity with everyone.
The musical program will be tailored to each concert venue. Talking about the musical tour across Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania accompanying the new album, S. Petreikis says that the concerts will feature both new and a couple of older compositions dear to the performer and his most loyal listeners.
Concerts:
3 d. - Lūznavas muiža, Lativa
4 d. - VEF Kultūras pils, Riga
6 d. - Kuressaare Cultural center, Estonia
7 d. - Viljandi Traditional Music Barn, Estonia
8 d. - Põlva Culture center, Estonia
13 d. - Utena Chamber Theater;
14 d. - Culture Palace community center of Panevezys
16 d. - Kaunas Culture Center;
17 d. - „Laiptai Gallery“, Šiauliai;
19 d. - The Drama Theater of Žemaitė, Telšiai;
20 d. - Culture Factory, Klaipėda;
21 d. - Šilutė Cultural Center;
22 d. - Saint Catherine's Church, Vilnius (special concert for 700 anniversary of Vilnius);
January 6 d. - Alytus City Theatre;
Link to album - https://open.spotify.com/album/4GI6IRq6aCUKhmMkFxi9va?si=yk3v0XkfQ_mCk8BvezJgHQ
About the album:
“The Gate of Dreams is an album about escaping the rush and forgetting worldly troubles. Each composition, in its own way, guides the listener to a serene space where dreams warmly greet us. “The album emerged from a desire to capture a state of tranquility, connecting deeply with oneself and cherished loved ones. My parents sang various lullabies to me during my childhood. These are among the most vivid memories I treasure. Now, at this phase of my life, I too sing lullabies and narrate fairy tales to my children. This is the most anticipated part of my day. Sharing moments, singing, and reading together offers a soothing escape. After my children drifted to sleep, I would spend nights in the recording studio, trying to freeze that delicate moment when there's no rush, where it's safe, peaceful, and heartwarming. Simply capturing melodies wasn't enough. I aimed to immerse myself in every composition, devoting time to the arrangements and introspection. This creative journey felt like a path to discovering a renewed musical self. After almost four years, one June morning, I was overjoyed realizing this album had reached its conclusion. I'm profoundly thankful to the musicians and the entire team who stood by me and contributed to this creation. My heartfelt thanks to all.” - S. Petreikis"
Video clips:
"Mažutytė" embraces the beauty of world music and transports the listener to a meditative state of mind. A divine and dreamy place, so to speak, where one's avatar can sit on the grass, feeling their soul merging with the forests, rivers, and every piece of nature around. With the tasteful melodies of bansuri flute and whistle, it is almost like entering through the Gate of Dreams and leaving the city and its fast-paced life behind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDe_s2JFvrQ
"Sapnų vartai” is a blissful dream tune coated in the light of #meditative world music. The song radiates the sensation of infinite peace and security, the sacred state we experience in the mother's womb. Like two indivisible origins, synthesizers, accompanied by various melodies of wind instruments, and two vocals – male's, and female's – dwell in a unanimous beauty. Thanks, Vytautė Pupšytė (Manjari Lila dasi) for the help in the recording session. The video was directed by Vladas Novicki: "When are we in reality and when are we in a dream? When we dream, do we enter yet another dream? What is the journey of the dreamer? These questions became my inspiration.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U0m8YzDNo4
After the first snow, I'm sharing a new track and video - Tyli Žiema (en. Silent Winter). It's a song about a pure feeling that often comes only in the hard frost of winter. I want to thank the whole team that contributed to the creation and realization of this song. I invite you to share your thoughts on this piece in the comments. The director of the video - Paulius Dragūnas - on the idea of the video: "I feel that in our society, older people have been sort of erased from the horizon. With this music video, I want to remind you of the incredible people who grew up, who rejoiced on this land of ours.” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2ih7N9ciLk more
"I believe that this concert will allow us to hear lesser-known musicians from neighbouring countries and broaden the audience's knowledge of world music," says Saulius Petreikis, the festival director. His mission is to bring together and nurture the world music community and promote music-making at home.
The musical part of the concert is complemented by short conversations with the festival guests about creativity, world music and neighbouring countries.
According to Viktorija Buivydė, Head of Development at the Teachers' House, it was great to see the sun and warmth from the festival's title land on the stage and then spread throughout the auditorium.
"After the concert, many people mentioned that they had been on a short holiday, as it were. There was an atmosphere of cosiness and friendliness throughout the festival. We invited the audience not to be afraid to bring their children, even though it was an evening concert. It was incredible how well they took to the music and were very exemplary spectators, sometimes waving and jumping in the aisles. We wanted our festival to be cosy and immediate, and the appreciation of the youngest audience members was the best proof that we had succeeded," she says.
A particularly important part of the events was the education for the whole family - a lecture by Dr. Eirim Velička on "What is world music?", Laima Jansonė (kanklės, Latvia), Kaspars Kurdeko (percussion, Latvia), Andre Maaker (guitar, Estonia) and Peedu Kass (double bass, Estonia).
The culmination of the festival in Vilnius Teachers' House was the closing concert in the Great Hall. It featured guests from abroad, and the evening continued with a joint performance by the participants, joined by musicians from Lithuania.
The organisers are also pleased to announce that this year will mark the third edition of the Sun Music Festival. World music evenings and educational events will take place from 8-12 November at the Vilnius Teachers' House and St Catherine's Church.
This year's events will feature bands from Finland, Estonia, Sweden and Lithuania. The detailed programme of the festival will be announced in the near future, and those who are looking forward to the festival can already buy a festival season ticket.
The concert was recorded and directed by Paulius Dragūnas.
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1ejI0osxio&t=1806s more
http://www.ltinstrumentai.lt/en/
Here you will find short descriptions of Lithuanian folk musical instruments and have a chance to study antique sheet music as well as listen to the traditional songs and improvisations performed by professional musicians.
Most information found on the website is dedicated to the vast group of wind musical instruments. However, the content will be constantly growing. We hope that this website will become an open platform for sharing the tales, legends and knowledge of our musical history.
If you have any interesting stories or observations regarding ancient Lithuanian musical instruments, please do not hesitate to share them and contact us.
Descriptions of the instrument were prepared with the help of the ethnomusicologist Varsa Liutkutė Zakarienė. more
Watch video here --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyKPAcIJoaA more
Watch extract here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1CEDQ3b8wI
https://www.sauliuspetreikis.com
http://www.ltinstrumentai.lt more
PHOTOS
ABOUT
Saulius Petreikis is an internationally acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, composer and performer who holds an appreciation award for his musical input from the former president of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė. Playing more than 50 different wind instruments that he gathered from all over the world he is also regarded as the only professional musician able to play a wide range of ancient Lithuanian/Baltic wind instruments.
Saulius’s performances are charged with exceptional energy and spirit-lifting improvisations breaking down boundaries between traditional Folk and experimental World/Jazz music genres. His music is incredibly diverse and rich in texture and color, thus electrifying both younger and older music lovers from different corners of the world. In recent years Saulius toured nearly all European countries as well as a few exceptional shows in China and the USA.
Saulius Petreikis has released 10 solo albums and has collaborated with other artists in recording more than 50 albums. As a musician as well as a composer he is constantly being invited to participate in different local and international projects by other composers, choreographers, theater and film directors.
Saulius’s performances are charged with exceptional energy and spirit-lifting improvisations breaking down boundaries between traditional Folk and experimental World/Jazz music genres. His music is incredibly diverse and rich in texture and color, thus electrifying both younger and older music lovers from different corners of the world. In recent years Saulius toured nearly all European countries as well as a few exceptional shows in China and the USA.
Saulius Petreikis has released 10 solo albums and has collaborated with other artists in recording more than 50 albums. As a musician as well as a composer he is constantly being invited to participate in different local and international projects by other composers, choreographers, theater and film directors.
