Skylė

Skylė
Skylė in 2008
Background information
Origin	Vilnius, Lithuania
Genres	Rock, punk rock, neofolk, art rock
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Via Artis
Website	http://www.skyle.lt
Members	Rokas Radzevičius Aistė Smilgevičiūtė Kęstutis Drazdauskas Mantvydas Kodis Gediminas Žilys Jonas Krivickas Salvijus Žeimys

SKYLĖ (Hole/Chasm) is a band formed in Vilnius in 1991 at a crucial turning point in the history of Lithuania during the fall of the Soviet Union. The main principles established at the very beginning – such as the spread of alternative music and poetic thoughts based on philosophy, mythology and history - haven‘t changed up to now. There are 14 albums in the "luggage" of the band which also include the music for events-performances.

Skylė was formed in the autumn of 1991. In the beginning it was a student rock band trying to merge various music styles, starting from punk rock to folk rock and art rock. They started performing at student festivals, and the atmosphere there used to get really electric. But the five band members, playing the guitar, bass, keyboard, violin and percussion in those days, didn‘t want to restrict themselves to rock music only. Skylė became the circle of open-minded intellectuals and started organizing exhibitions of underground art and non commercial festivals (like "Free Tibet" in 1995), in such a way attracting crowds of young multitalented people. In 1994 and 1995 four issues of the publication called "Balsas is Rūsio" ("The Voice From the Cellar") and also an alternative art and poetry almanac "Plyšys" ("The Gap") were published.
In 1995 Skylė started working with the theatre of puppets, fire and music "Miraklis". The leader of Skylė Rokas Radzevičius together with his band created and recorded the soundtrack for two performances of "Miraklis". At that time seven musicians of the band tried their luck as actors in the performance "Šv. Stepono 7 pro memoria" (St. Stephen 7 Pro Memoria) dedicated to the history of a ruined building in the old town of Vilnius. Also in the same year the band was shot in a German feature film "Kaukazo vakaras" ("An Evening in Caucasus") and performed their song "Žydinčių moterų džiaugsmas"( "The Joy of Women in Bloom") in Russian.
In 1996 the band was joined by a very talented singer Aistė Smilgevičiūtė characterized by her strong and unique voice (she represented Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest in Jerusalem in 1999).
In 1998 Skylė was officially recognized as the Centre of Creative Initiatives (in 2004 the centre was renamed to the public establishment "Via Artis") and organised two impressive pacifistic festivals "Gėlių naktis" ("The Night of Flowers"), filled with the reminiscence about the ideas of love and peace of the 60s. In 1998 Skylė performed in World Youth Festival in Lisbon.
At the end of the summer and the beginning of autumn of 1999 during the visit to Germany, Skylė participated in an international creative camp. The musical "Dialog Is a Lock" was born at this camp. In the same year Rokas Radzevičius created and together with the band Skylė recorded another soundtrack for a play of "Miraklis" called "Žmogus ir Aušrinė" ("The Man and the Morning Star") which was intended for the celebration of the new millennium.
At the beginning of 2000 Skylė together with Aistė Smilgevičiūtė recorded one of their most successful albums – "Babilonas" ("Babylon"). In 2000, Skylė organized an international youth project called "Uniformos" ("Uniforms") where young people from various European countries created and performed a musical based on the topic of democracy. At the end of the year this musical was performed once again in Vilnius and in Magdeburg simultaneously, connecting the two stages by means of video broadcast on the Internet.
In the summer of 2001 a rock opera named "Jūratė ir Kastytis" ("Jurate and Kastytis") which was created specially for the Sea Festival in Klaipėda was presented to the public. The author of this rock opera is Rokas Radzevičius. The rock opera was recorded with the help of some well-known professional musicians. The main roles were played by famous performers like Marijonas Mikutavičius, Kostas Smoriginas, Olegas Ditkovskis, Vladas Bagdonas and others. Another international project called "Svetimi" ("Aliens") was carried out that summer and in autumn the band recorded the music for the last performance of "Miraklis" in Lithuania called "Vilniaus legendos" (The Legends of Vilnius).
In 2002 the soundtrack of "Jūratė ir Kastytis"("Jurate and Kastytis") was released on CD. Two songs from this album, which were also included into the solo album of Marijonas Mikutavičius after a year, conquered the hearts of listeners and are some of the most welcome songs at the concerts of the band. In autumn of 2002, a music and fire theatrical performance called "Saulės žemė" ("The Land Of The Sun") was produced with the help of some famous artists and musicians from Šiauliai and in collaboration with Šiauliai city municipality.
In the summer of 2003 they stopped their active participation in music projects with young people. The final project was "Tilt" where creative young people from seven countries made ten shows in Lithuania, Slovakia, Germany, and Belgium. In the autumn of the same year one more rock opera created by Rokas Radzevičius showed up. It was called "Žuviaganys" ("Fish Shepherd") which was performed for the first time in Alytus with a great number of artists from this city. From the middle of 2003 till autumn of 2005 the band slowed down its activity, there were only a few acoustic concerts. At that time the attention was turned to the personal projects of Rokas Radzevičius and chamber performances of "Jūratė ir Kastytis" ("Jurate and Kastytis") which were finished in 2006 when this rock opera in the form of a movie was recorded on DVD.
The band was reborn in the autumn of 2005. Skylė prepared a new concert programme, renewed the members and started actively performing in concerts, clubs and festivals. They also refreshed the recording of the album.
In the autumn of 2007 they released their album "Povandeninės kronikos"("The Underwater Chronicles") which delighted the fans of qualitative music. The album was released both on audio CD and on DVD which was recorded during a concert shot in a studio of the Lithuanian National Television. The overflow of awards and the appreciation of the fans gave just a stronger impulse which led to a more active and creative phase in the band's history, refreshing Lithuanian rock music culture and moving it onto a new level.
In 2008 the band was actively performing in concerts and some of the biggest festivals in Lithuania such as "Be2gether" and "Mėnuo Juodaragis" ("Moon Blackhorn") In the final concerts of the tour "Povandeninės kronikos" ("Underwater Chronicles") they played together with a chamber string orchestra in Vilnius and Kaunas.
In 2009 Skylė had two concert tours:

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Wikipedia