ZeMe

ZeMe is a personal story made by two exciting artists – the queen of the kokle, Laima Jansone, and Monsta, master of the turntables and electronica.

Earth is our home, it’s our shelter and at the same time it is a living being that talks through the sounds of water streams, the sea, wind, tree leaves, rain, rolling pebbles and other sounds. Often people call it the silence. In this silent harmony, I see a complex system. A rule governed order of things that has been around for millions of years. In every land, nature takes on a unique sound, w

hich is reflected in traditional music. In this concert, you will hear my conversation with the Earth, my home of Latvia, through its sounds of nature and folk music, as well as sounds from other countries that have inspired me. You will hear contemporary interpretations of folk songs and our original pieces of music. Laima Jansone is a virtuoso of the kokle, a traditional Latvian instrument. Improvisation is an important part of her performance style, with a musical interaction between the meditative and impulsive; the ancient and contemporary. Laima Jansone started her professional career as a musician and a composer in 2011 by releasing her first solo CD, Sidrabs. In 2014, she was nominated for the Great Music Award of Latvia for her work in starting a new movement of kokle players. She has expanded kokle playing techniques and has also embraced genres such as ethno jazz, ambient and classical music. She has brought her performances to the public at the largest concert halls in Latvia as well as in Italy, Belgium, Australia, Norway, Germany, Japan, USA, etc. Monsta (Uldis Cirulis) is an electronic musician, scratch DJ, turntablist and producer. Monsta challenges himself to use new technology when creating live music as well as in recordings. He has collaborated in several projects with Latvia’s best hip hop artists and jazz musicians. Experimenting with electronics and scratch, he has participated in large-scale projects with the world renowned Latvian Radio Choir, European chamber choir Tenso and The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. In 2016, he received 11th place in the world DMC Online Championships and in 2014, became Latvia’s “Red Bull Thre3Style” champion. His newest challenge is blending electronic sounds with Latvian traditional music, rhythms and old values. Currently performs with folk groups and Latvian traditional instrument kokle virtuoso Laima Jansone.