News

Music Export Latvia, Music Estonia and the Lithuanian Music Business Association are thrilled to present the full Baltic moMENT programme at the Slovenian new music discovery festival MENT Ljubljana, March 28th – 31st.

The programme features a dozen artists from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, along with a wide variety of Baltic industry players sharing dedicated insights into the region’s music markets and scenes – from its recording industry and the media landscape to its singing, rocking and dancing revolutions.

Estonian talent is represented by Ajukaja & Mart Avi, the duo of the longest-serving shaker of the Estonian underground and the country’s swiftest-moving avant-pop agent; as well as the moody new-gen RnB of manna; a pinch of surrealism and modern folklore by Puuluup; and the cross-generational fuzz rock attack of Zahir.

Latvia is proud to present Bel Tempo, an act with one foot firmly in dusty beat-making and the other in soft anthemic storytelling; Elizabete Balčus’ bedazzling dream pop collages and musical vegetables; queer RnB icon-in-waiting Eliza Legzdina; and skilfully sensuous post-rockers Nesen.

Making their way to Ljubljana from Lithuania are Jausmė with her urban lullabies and zither-harp kanklės; the transnational tropical anarchists Planeta Polar; the fearless Plié, ready to lure the crowd into cleansing headbanging; and Superkoloritas with their breezy beach pop and space-age nostalgia.

These 12 acts will be joining the MENT Ljubljana’s diverse line-up of 77 artists that include internationally renowned names like the UK’s hip-hop/post-punk alchemist Wu-Lu, French icons of glamorous psych-punk La Femme and Irish modern rockers Just Mustard. 

The Opening Reception of Baltic moMENT takes place at Kino Šiška on Wednesday, 29th March, followed by a full-day series of presentations, panels and speed meetings at the MENT conference on Thursday, 30th March.

CEO of Music Export Latvia Agnese Cimuška-Rekke, Director of Music Estonia Ave Tölpt and Director of Lithuanian Music Business Association Vaidas Stackevičius will provide an overview of Baltic Music Markets – from each country’s key festivals, venues and promoters, to their labels, music media landscape and notable success stories. 

Guna Zučika from the Latvian Every Little Thing agency, Roman Demchenko from Estonian Damn.Loud Agency and Victor Diawara from the Lithuanian art factory Loftas will share know-how for all those considering touring the Baltics. Those yearning to dig even deeper will get crash courses on the region’s niche scenes – from the revitalisation of the former Lukiskės Prison by Martynas Butkevičius, the head promoter at the Lithuanian agency 8 Days A Week; to the adventurous spirit of Latvian Skaņu Mežs festival by Lena Sme; and the Dancing Revolution of Estonia by Raul Saaremets, the king of the weird and wonderful leftfield of the northernmost Baltic state.

Tallinn Music Week’s Head of PR Ingrid Kohtla will host the Baltic Listening Session, letting the panel of distinguished international tastemakers analyze tracks by all acts from Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. There will also be a special speed networking session to meet the region’s music professionals one-on-one.

MENT conference will also present an interview with Elena Natale, the founder of Tallinn’s “Berghain” HALL about the importance of nightlife in all its variety. Director of Tallinn Music Week Helen Sildna and founder of Latvian Positivus Festival Ģirts Majors will share their perspectives on the post-pandemic festival circuit. Kristine Kleina from Every Little Thing will moderate the roundtable on the challenges of managing new talent, whilst Tanya Korenika from the Estonian UCE agency hosts the discussion about the “Go West” prospects of Central and Eastern European artists.

The Baltic moMENT programme kicks off with Baltic music flicks screenings at Kino Šiška on the eve of MENT on Tuesday, 28th March.

Starring, among others, Estonian Baltic moMENT act Mart Avi, .u.Q. by director Ivar Murd is a hypnotic docudrama about musician Uku Kuut, his soul/jazz diva mother Maryn E. Coote and their manic search for the American Dream. Techno, Mama short directed by Saulius Baradinskas is a visual essay about two Lithuanian generations unable to find a way to love each other in a post-Soviet urban wasteland. Jelgava 94 by Latvian Janis Abele is a coming-of-age tale and a portrait of the cultural chaos that reigned in former socialist states during the 1990s. 

The Baltic moMENT programme is supported by the Baltic Cultural Fund in partnership with the Estonian Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Embassy of Estonia in Prague, the Embassy of Latvia in Hungary and the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of Austria, to the Republic of Slovakia, to the Republic of Slovenia

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Baltic moMENT timeline

Tue, 28th March
Baltic moMENT films
Kino Šiška

19:00 u.Q (EE)
21:00 Techno, Mama (LT) + Jelgava 94 (LV)

Wed, 29th March, 18:30
Baltic moMENT Opening Reception
Kino Šiška (upstairs)

 

All MENT’23 PRO delegates are welcome to join the Baltic moMENT’s kickoff to meet the region’s key players 

Welcome speeches:
Agnese Cimuška-Rekke. CEO at Music Export Latvia
Ave Tölpt, Director of Music Estonia
Vaidas Stackevičius, Director of Lithuanian Music Business Association
H.E. Mrs Gita Kalmet, Estonian Ambassador to Slovenia

DJs
Raul Saaremets (Ajukaja, EE)
Andis Ansons (Bel Tempo, LV)
Giedrė Nalivaikaitė (Superkoloritas, LT)

Drinks, snacks, toasts


Thu, 30th March
Baltic moMENT Conference Focus

A full-day programme dedicated to the music scenes of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. 

10:00 – 11:00 Speed Networking: Baltic moMENT – M Hotel HJ
11:00 – 12:30 Presentation: Baltic Music Markets – M Hotel HJ
13:30 – 15:00 Baltic Listening Session – Komuna (Kino Šiška)
16:00 – 17:30 Ready to Tour the Baltics?- M Hotel AB

Other panels featuring Baltic speakers

Thu, 30th March
11:30 – 12:30  Listening Session – Komuna(Kino Šiška)
13:15 – 14:15  Agent’s Panel: Going East – M Hotel AB

Fri, 31st March
11:00 – 12:00  Speed networking – Meet the Festivals  – Komuna (Kino Šiška)
11:00 – 12:00  Managers in Action: Skyrocketing the Emerging Artist – M Hotel HJ
12:45 – 13:45  The Unpredictable Future of Music Festivals – Komuna (Kino Šiška)
15:30 – 16:20  Interview: Elena Natale (HALL) – M Hotel HJ

For more info see Baltic moMENT panels, speed networking, speakers, schedule
 

Baltic moMENT Music Programme 

Wed, 29th March

Puuluup (EE): 20:00 – 20:40, Kimo Šiška Katedrala
Nesen (LV): 20:40 – 21:20, Kino Šiška Komuna
Planeta Polar (LT): 22:00 – 22:40, Kino Šiška

Thu, 30th March

Elizabete Balčus (LV): 22:15 – 22: 55, Klub Gromka
Zahir (EE); 23:00 – 23:40, Memza Prikoritu
Superkoloritas (LT): 23:15 – 23:55, Klub Gromka
Plié (LT): 00:30 – 01:10, Gala Hala


Fri, 31st March

Jausmė (LT): 21:00 – 21:40, Stara Mestna Elektrarna
manna (EE): 23:15 – 23:55, Channel Zero
Eliza Legzdina (LV): 00:00 – 00:40, Zorica
Ajukaja & Mart Avi (EE): 00:30 – 01:10, Klub Gromka

 

For more info see artists and music programme schedule
 

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About Music Estonia
Music Estonia is a music industry development centre and export office in Estonia. Its main activities include providing a unified marketing platform for Estonian-based music businesses and musicians, representing them at international trade events, developing the international network and collaborations, organising seminars and workshops, and contributing to surveys in the field. Music Estonia is a member of EMEE and IAMIC, partners for Creative Europe projects. Through its Live Music Estonia branch, Music Estonia is also a member of Live DMA. More info

 

About Music Export Latvia

Music Export Latvia Office was founded in 2012 and has been expanding locally and internationally since then. Its main goals include supporting Latvian artists and producers and promoting the development of the Latvian music industry and export of music produced in Latvia; promoting and supporting the creation of competitive music records and increasing utilisation of Latvian music by educating Latvian performers and producers as well as educating members of Latvian music industry about the issues of music export and global trends; to officially represent Latvian music industry in Europe and international showcases, fairs and exhibitions; and to be the official Baltic, European and worldwide partner of cooperation in international projects of the music industry. More info

About Lithuanian Music Business Association

Lithuanian Music Business Association was established in 2015. It unites the most active management and event organisation companies from the music industry. The Association seeks to encourage and support cooperation between its members in order to achieve common goals in the fields of education, export and lobbying. Lithuanian music business association is a member of EMEE, a partner of ESNS Exchange and other European projects. More info


About MENT Ljubljana

MENT Ljubljana is one of the leading showcase festivals and music conferences in Central and Eastern Europe and the largest event of its kind in the region. It is an award-winning festival of music discoveries, facilitating, in symbiosis with the conference, the presentation of music performers from all over Europe in front of international music professionals and audiences. The music festival presents 77 artists from … countries across three days on 15 stages around Ljubljana.

Baltic moMENT’s artists’ and speakers’ media assets