Gints Smukais in the concert program “EKSPRESIJAS 1”

Latvia’s 2025 instrumental music artist Gints Smukais is heading out to meet listeners with a new concert program, marking the release of his third studio album, “EKSPRESIJAS 1”.

The beginnings of the music can be traced to events experienced over the past five years - the loneliness that prevailed during the pandemic lockdown, the hardships and worries about the war in Ukraine, as well as everyday and at times amusing moments in life, such as an accidental encounter with a stranger in a grocery store or a love story of neighbors living behind the wall.

The album title reveals what audiences 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 album’s creation.

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

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