"Rave At Its Best Can Be A Transcendental Experience": Lithuanian DJs Combat Autocracy With Music
A small group of Lithuanian electronic music producers have released a new album to challenge dictatorships around the world.
The Vilnius-based anti-Semitic group released "Voice of Freedom" as a manifesto against all the world's dictators, with tracks specifically aimed at the dictatorial leaders of Russia, Eritrea, China, Syria, North Korea, Belarus and Myanmar.
The album was presented to the public by DJ Deri Dako, OBCDN, Maria Paskevich, Carowell, Neri J and Cali. He embodies the words of the unelected rulers, tuned to the rhythm of techno, drawing on a strong tradition of musical and artistic protest.
Our goal was to release a techno album for secret society groups in countries where tyrants rule. Edmundos Bocurius, director of Antidote, said that the songs on the album are directly directed against some tyrants.
Vilnius is home to a thriving electronic music scene, and the protest community hopes to honor its memory as well as the networking parties that have taken place since the Russian invasion of Ukraine .
“For the first time since 2004, there are more dictatorships than democracies in the world. People under a dictatorship are captured by information: propaganda, censorship, false narratives,” added Bochkorios.
"In the name of freedom, seven music producers are confronting these dictators head-on, using their voices to send a message of hope and freedom - a move that would almost certainly ban recording under dictatorships."
Lithuanians were authoritarian after being annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940 and kept behind the Iron Curtain until the 1990s.
After the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, Lithuania and other Baltic countries joined NATO to resist Russian dominance. At the moment, countries enthusiastically support the Ukrainian cause, and this year a party dedicated to the Independence Day of Ukraine was held in Vilnius.
Lithuania's withdrawal from the Soviet Union was known as the "Song Revolution" due to the important role that music played in these events. Antidote hopes that their music will inspire others to fight totalitarianism.
"It's always interesting to be involved in projects that go beyond the usual. Especially if it contributes to a more important cause - in this case, the promotion of democratic values and personal freedom," said Povilas Diknes, aka Derry Dako.
Do electronic music and rave have a special power?
"Good bullshit can be experience at its best - it can change the way you look at the world."
The album also has a unique cover (see below); An AI version of a human face called "Ultimate Dictator". The work is a composition of the faces of 40 dictators.
The works of Pijus Ceikauskas are exhibited at Vilnius Open, an open space in the city's New Town.
"We wanted to define what evil looks like. To do this, we ranked countries using data from several independent indicators of freedom and democracy."
"The 40 worst-performing countries were selected. Then, using a visual AI tool, we combined the faces of these tyrants into one to get the latest dictator, which was used as the basis for creating a work of art."
"Sound of Freedom" is available on Soundcloud and Bandcamp .
