Laiksne

Lauma Garkalne violin, vocals
Baiba Indrevica kokle, vocals
Dina Liepa flute, vocals
Vineta Romane vocals
Aija Rozentāle vocals
Kaspars Indrevics percussion, vocals
Gatis Gaujenieks base

The folklore group Laiksne was founded in 1993 in Riga, Latvia. Its repertoire consists of Latvian seasonal ritual and lyric songs as well as traditional dance music. The group’s vocal style is firmly rooted in Latvian tradition but Laiksne also allows present day influences to creep in. Songs and melodies come from whole Latvia, slightly more from Latgalia in the East where folklore traditions are well preserved. Also the name of the group comes from Eastern Latvia where “laiksne means water lily. Laiksne performs vocal and instrumental folk and post folk compositions. Laiksne’s instrumental compositions utilize several Latvian traditional instruments – kokles (string instrument), pipes, bagpipes, violin, accordion, mandolin and percussions as well as some modern instruments – guitar and bass guitar.
Laiksne has participated in various festivals in Latvia, Czech Republic, Poland, Belorussia, Slovenia, Russia, Sweden, Estonia and Lithuania. The group has recorded three CDs, Kyukova dzagyuze (Songs of the Cockoo Bird) in 2001, Jāņu nakti zelta rasa (Midsummer Night Golden Dew) in 2002 and Es jauna būdama (Me Being Young) in 2003 as well as participated in several folk music compilations, for instance Sviests (2005) and Sviests 2 (2007).