GINTS SMUKAIS “EKSPRESIJAS 1” | KULDIGA

Last year’s Latvian instrumental music artist of the year, guitarist Gints Smukais, is heading out to meet audiences with a new concert program to celebrate the release of his third studio album, “EKSPRESIJAS 1”.

The origins of these musical works can be found in events experienced over the past five years - in the loneliness of lockdown during the pandemic, in the distress and worries about the war in Ukraine, as well as in everyday and sometimes amusing moments of life, such as a chance encounter with a stranger in a grocery store or the love story of a neighbor living behind the wall.

The album title reveals what listeners can expect at the concert. It will feature dynamic and expressive rhythmic playing, as well as introspective and melancholic melodies. During the concert, Gints will enrich the musical experience with stories about his more than ten-year journey in music and the personal experiences that inspired the creation of the album.

This album brings together pieces that Gints created over the past five years, setting to music his feelings about what is happening in the world, as well as his personal experiences and life journey.

Alongside new material from the album “EKSPRESIJAS 1”, the concert program will also feature guitar solo arrangements created especially for this program of pieces by Latvian composers and artists such as Imants Kalniņš, Uldis Marhilevičs, the group Instrumenti, and others.