Folklore music group
Laimas muzykanti

      Name: Laimas muzykanti
          meaning: Laima's musicians (Laima is happiness goddess)
          recommended transcription in English: Laimas muzykanti
          approximate pronunciation in English: Laimas muzikanti
          Listen pronunciation in AU format (24 Kb)

      Created: 15 October 1995
      Location: Daugavpils, Latgalia
      Leader: Artūrs Uškāns
      Number of participants: 7, of them by age:
          from 14 to 24 years: 2
          from 25 to 44 years: 5
      and by gender:
          males: 6
          females: 1
      Forms of activity: sing, play music
      Musical insruments: squeeze box (hromka), violin, bagpipe, monochord, hornpipe, pipes, guimbarde, drum, washboard, accordion, zither, kokle (psaltery), various thin pulsatile instruments, bass guitar, guitar.

      Description: The folklore music group Laimas muzykanti was founded on October 1995 as an accompanying ensemble of Daugavpils Pedagogical university Students dance ensemble Laima.
    Laimas muzykanti participated in X Latvian Songs festival in Toronto (Canada, 1996), in festival of Latgalian television in 1997, in festival Baltica-97. In 1999 the group gain first place between vocal-instrumental folklore ensembles in International music festival Music World in Fivizzano, Italia.
    Under the initiative of the musicians in DPU is created a folk dancing pub, in which play not only Laimas muzykanti, but also other Latvian folklore ensembles.
    Year 1999 Laimas muzykanti made records for folk dance compilation of various artists Danco Dievis (God's Dancing). The same year the group together with friends from other folk bands recorded Alus Dziesmas (Beer Songs) - a CD characterizing Latvian beer drinking traditions. In 2001 this album gains the Latvian Music Awards prize as the best folk music album of the year. In 2003 the first full album of the group - Gonam gona (It is enough for a shepherd) - was released.
    The group is characterized by two most styles of performance: authentic folklore and ethno-folk-rock (in co-operation with some of Latvian artrock music veterans). The thematical basis of our concert programs are Latgalian match-making, wedding, obscene and beer songs.
    Laimas muzykanti had performances in Latvia, Lithuania, Canada, Japan, Australia, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, etc.

      Sounds samples:
Tuoli dzeivoj muna mīluo (My darling lives far away) (2003)
Full song in MP3 format (751 Kb)
Dzīsme (Song) (1997)
Full song in MP3 format (761 Kb)

      Address:
          in Latvian: Artūrs Uškāns, Saules 36-15, Daugavpils, LV-5400, Latvija
          in English: Arturs Uskans, Saules 36-15, Daugavpils, LV-5400, Latvia
      Phone: (+371) 54-07226 (o.), 54-22594 (h.), 9701775 (c.)
      E-mail: art_N@N_dau.lv
      Home page: http://laimas-muzykanti.lv/

      Date of presenting the information: 4 August 1998, 24 September 1999, 8 February 2000, 21 January 2004, 7 January 2005