NEWS
Australia. Day 1. Brisbane. We are in this country for the first time. It feels so good here! We are grateful to life for giving us many opportunities to travel and share our music with people from different parts of the world. Today, while walking, we stopped several times and nodded to each other that what is happening is a real miracle and dreams becoming reality.
Artists must be delulu. Otherwise, there is no way they would have chosen this path. There is nothing clear, long-lasting and solid here. But only those who believe in dreams and miracles remain.
Vaidotas: Why didnโt we just admit it? What were we so ashamed of? This question kept coming to mind as I recalled a recent situation in Frankfurt.
Hereโs what happened: we had a long layover before our connecting flight, so we decided to explore Frankfurt. After a while, though, we started to feel exhausted, having gotten up so early that morning.
We decided to find a place to sleep for a couple of hours, and there happened to be a hostel nearby. We went in and asked for a private room. The guy at the front desk looked at me (Vaidotas) and suddenly asked, โDo I know you?โ Mantas and I just smiled but said nothing. Then he added, โArenโt you an artist?โ I continued to stay silent, rolling my eyes slightly. The guy looked a bit confused but eventually dropped the topic.
We got a room with bunk beds, slept for a solid two hours, and then headed back to the airport. But I couldnโt shake the question: why didnโt we just say, โYes, we are artistsโ? Why do we still struggle to accept recognition and compliments? We need to learn to embrace it.
In these times, when tensions are rising and people are increasingly divided, such meetings become especially valuable because they unite.
Madrid. The warmth and openness of the people disarmed us. Thanks to everyone who came and thanks to Eurovision On Tour for these opportunities.
Vaidotas: 2 years ago I went through big changes in my life. After 15 years, my girlfriend and I decided to go our separate ways.
I didnโt talk about it because it was too hard and itโs very personal. I kept quiet so that this wound would not be encouraged by public articles in the press.
The members of THE ROOP supported me. We transferred the feeling to creation. The song โล ilumaโ (โWarmthโ) tells everything. 2 years ago today, this song and video were released to the public.
Step by step we are getting closer to the new album.
The week spent in Sweden, in Karlskrona gave a lot. Wrote and recorded another new song, got acquainted with the possibilities of Virtual Production Studio Lab, met many people with whom we will cooperate in the future. Thanks TAB Project and RTVIC.
Building new paths and building new relationships takes time. We ourselves sometimes think why we are doing it, after all, there are many ways to live easier. But the heart says that we must make our own way, and not follow the good old paths.
The first ever Eurovision On Tour starts next week!
More info and tickets: eurovisionontour.tv
There is no single correct answer to what the creative process should be. Sometimes it seems that way. We just sit at the computer and write the lyrics. Sometimes the required lines appear in 5 minutes, and sometimes - one line in an hour.
Very often you want to drop everything, smash your computer and run away into the forest. But the song will not create itself. Often there is a feeling that everything is pointless, that no one cares. However, we realized that the most important thing is to be interesting to ourselves.
Photo from our creative camp.
USA Travel. Second part. Los Angeles, California. I liked it more than I thought. I had received a lot of information that this city is uninteresting, dirty, nothing beautiful. But I saw diversity, where there are wild parks and great beaches and good people. You will probably find what you are looking for.
The domestic flight from North Carolina was over 5 hours! The distances are really quite different. I was greeted by my friends Beata and Saulius, who gladly showed me the city and their everyday life.
We went to Venice Beach, where Billie Eilish sang during the closing ceremony of the Olympics. The place is very lively! Here you can watch skateboarding maneuvers, watch basketball enthusiasts, drink organic coffee with the owner of the cafe, who does not lack humor.
After dark, itโs worth looking at the endless lights of LA from the Griffith Observatory. There is a wildlife park nearby where you can also hear coyotes.
Saulius is studying at AFI, so he made a personal tour of this mecca of creators. Located near Hollywood, the location is like a campus of its own where A-level film professionals have worked, studied or visited. Iโve been to a library where you can find original movie scripts with signatures. For example, โSupermanโ, โStar Trekโ, โStar Warsโ, etc.
Another difference between the US and Europe is that in America water is usually given to drink with ice, while in Europe it is not. I always had to warn โNo iceโ in advance. No matter how hot it is outside, I still donโt need ice.
It is a coincidence that โLithuanian Daysโ was held in Los Angeles at the same time. So I stopped by to say hello. There were many people and everyone was eating zeppelins, singing and dancing in good spirits. Little Lithuania was really there.
Dream big. Work hard.
His music and dance inspired me to create my own musical journey.
I am currently visiting the USA. The state of North Carolina is very green - there is no shortage of forests here. And very neat, I didnโt see any garbage. It is interesting to observe the differences between Europe, which are not necessarily better or worse, just different.
The houses are beautiful, except that they are not made of bricks, but of a wooden frame and covered with plastic trim. Perhaps the climate allows it. And almost every household here has a truck.
Distances really do vary! It seems that it is not far, but suddenly the GPS calculates a 2-3 hour journey.
I visited Washington DC. A wonderfully organized city with magnificent architecture. Capitol Building, Lincoln Memorial. By the way, there are a lot of good museums here, which are always free for visitors.
There are also beaches that are spacious and not crowded.
It is very interesting to see more and more of the world, which is so diverse. When you travel, you start to see more, understand more, and of course these impressions can be found in future songs.
Very soon Iโm going to Los Angeles, California. There are many more things to come.
Mantas has a secret: crazy socks hidden at every show! ๐ธ๐งฆ The riffs you knew, but the socks? Total mystery.
Why are Creative Camps necessary? It's often very difficult to find time for creativity because the everyday worries and other mundane tasks take away focus, and inspiration never has the chance to come.
Creativity is not a mechanical task that can be easily interrupted by other activities and then picked up again immediately. A creative camp allows you to step away from the constant flow of information and finally start "digesting" what you already have inside, without being overwhelmed by additional streams of news. This is where lyrics and music are born.
We traveled to the Miลกkiniลกkฤs homestead, located in a beautiful part of Lithuania โ Aukลกtaitijos National Park. We stayed in wooden log cabins. At the same time, we invited our friend and producer Vegard from Norway to join us. He liked the idea.
Every day for the entire week, work started at 9:30 AM. Lunch was at 3:00 PM. The workday ended at 11:00 PM, sometimes later. Speaking of lunch, it was a highlight of each day because we were served dishes made entirely from local ingredients. Everything was incredibly fresh and flavorful.
We set up the sound studio in the hall. To avoid a strong echo, we hung up blankets and brought in spare mattresses from the beds, which really helped a LOT. So, welcome to the "Mattress Studio"!
We fully completed four new songs! A few more were started but remain unfinished. We are incredibly satisfied with this camp. It's hard to capture the whole experience in a video, but weโre sharing it here as part of our story. Weโre not afraid to show our imperfect creative process, where we search for melodies. Weโll see where the future takes us.
Happy birthday Robertas! Thanks for the musical journey together! For new breakthroughs! โค๏ธ๐๐
Thank you, Summer, for the warm weather, dewy meadows, concerts full of smiling people, trips, new acquaintances and the cherry on top - to be an opening act for Ed Sheeranโs concerts. An intense autumn is coming with a creative camp, a trip to America and the "Eurovision On Tour" tour in Europe and Australia. We are ready!
