Antis
| Antis | |
|---|---|
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|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Lithuania |
| Genres | New wave, post-punk, art rock, shock rock, ska |
| Years active | 1984–1990 1996, 2003, 2005 2007–2016 |
| Labels |
Melodya CCS Zona records MP3 Shownet |
| Website | www.antis.lt |
| Past members | Algirdas Kaušpėdas Petras Ubartas Vaclovas Augustinas Linas Buda |
Antis is a Lithuanian postmodernist rock band.
Literally, "antis" means "duck" in Lithuanian, but is also a colloquial term for a false newspaper report. Algirdas Kaušpėdas has stated in an interview that the latter was the intended meaning. Additionally, being a play on the name of the official Soviet-era newspaper "Tiesa" (truth), the name alluded to the biased reporting and truth-bending in Eastern Bloc media. The cover of the band's 1987 album displays the name "Antis" assembled from cut-out letters of Tiesa's logo, with a matching N added. According to Kaušpėdas, contrary to popular belief, "Antis" was not originally intended to stand for "Anti-Soviet". However, upon first hearing the name being interpreted in this way, he found it appropriate and did not object.
In 1986 in the last days of the Soviet Union, there was an alternative music explosion in Lithuania. Before then all "western low quality music" was officially forbidden with lists of proscribed bands including Ramones, AC/DC, and Alice Cooper. Antis was a politically motivated band that played proscribed music in several styles including ska. They also wrote their own songs with jaunty horns and witty ironic lyrics.
Algirdas ‘Pablo’ Kaušpėdas founded Antis in 1984 as a joke to entertain attendees at a New Year party that he organised for the architects' union in Kaunas. The band's performance was such a success that word of it spread all over Lithuania.
In January 1986, a horn section from Vilnius joined the band and Petras ‘Sniegius’ Ubartas (another architect who was a composer, trumpeter and guitarist) took over the musical leadership of the band so that Pablo could concentrate on lyrics and promotion. Antis was invited to play at the semi-underground festival at Vilnius University and at similar events.
At the Lituanica’86 festival Antis's performance overshadowed those of the headline Russian rock stars Aquarium and Bravo. The subsequent publicity turned Antis into a national sensation and they became known as one of the best rock bands in the whole of the former Soviet Union. Antis grew to such popularity that their audiences numbered hundreds of thousands. They toured most of Europe and the United States.
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Wikipedia