Žalvarinis

Žalvarinis
Performing at "Rock nights 2005" festival
Background information
Origin	Vilnius, Lithuania
Genres	Folk rock, World music
Years active	2001–present
Labels	None
Associated acts	Ugnėlakis Marijonas MIkutavičius Kūlgrinda
Website	http://www.zalvarinis.lt/
Members	Robertas Semeniukas Ineta Meduneckytė-Tamošiūnienė Laurita Peleniūtė

Žalvarinis (English: made from brass) is a folk rock band from Vilnius, Lithuania. They were formed in 2001 as a collaboration between the pagan metal group Ugnėlakis and the pagan folk group Kūlgrinda. This was reflected in the title of their debut album in 2002, Ugnėlakis su Kūlgrinda.

The lyrics for band's songs are usually taken from the folklore of Lithuanian people and are sung in their original Lithuanian language. Žalvarinis' music frequently features singing technique of traditional Lithuanian sutartinė (a form of glee), usually sung by band's three female singers – examples of sutartinė can be heard in tracks Ailiom susėdom, Dijūta or Ožys. Authentic pronunciation as well as ancient words and their forms in folk songs are also usually preserved by the band. As a legacy of Kūlgrinda, the band also features few folk-songs of Old Prussians.

Žalvarinis's sound, on the other hand, while still influenced by traditional Lithuanian folk music, is more modern – generally speaking, it's a mix of traditional heavy metal and progressive rock. The first album of the band was metal-influenced, however with later albums, the sound becomes more progressive.

The song Aš kanapį sėjau (I Sowed a Hemp), taken from the 2005 album Žalio vario was featured on Transformations in Lithuanian Song – a 2006 compilation CD that covered the development of Lithuanian folk music over many years, published by the Lithuanian-American journal Lituanus.