Antis is a

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

postmodernist Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

Name

Literally, "antis" means "

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

" in Lithuanian, but is also a colloquial term, a short for "newspaper duck", which in several European languages means a false newspaper report, a canard. 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 ''Tiesa'' (English: ''truth'') was the official daily newspaper in the Lithuanian SSR. Established in 1917, the newspaper soon became the official voice of the Communist Party of Lithuania. After the Lithuanian victory in the Lithuanian–Soviet ...

''" ("Truth", a calque of the official Soviet communist newspaper ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...

''), the name alluded to the biased reporting and truth-bending in

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

media. The cover of the band's 1987 album displays the name "Antis" assembled from cut-out letters of ''Tiesas logo, with a matching N added. According to Kaušpėdas, contrary to popular belief, "Antis" was not originally intended to read as "Anti-S" in order to stand for "Anti-Soviet" . However, upon first hearing the name being interpreted in this way, he found it appropriate and did not object.

History

Establishment

In 1986, in the last days of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, there was an

alternative music Alternative music may refer to the following types of music: *Independent music *Alternative rock *Alternative pop *Alternative R&B *Neo soul, sometimes known as alternative soul *Alternative reggaeton *Alternative hip hop *Alternative dance *Alter ...

explosion in Lithuania. Before then, all "western low-quality music" was officially forbidden, with lists of proscribed bands including

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

and

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

. 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 Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

. The band's performance was such a success that word of it spread all over Lithuania. Antis was a politically motivated band that played proscribed music in several styles, including

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

. They also wrote their own songs with jaunty horns and witty ironic lyrics. In January 1986, a

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the term ...

from

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

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 Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

and at similar events.

Gaining popularity

At the ''Lituanica ’86'' festival Antis's performance overshadowed those of the headline

Russian rock Russian rock music originated in the Soviet Union in the 1960s based on the influence of Western rock music and bard songs, and was developed by both amateur bands and official VIA. The "golden age" of Russian rock was during the 1980s (es ...

stars

Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

and

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...

. 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 Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Algirdas Kaušpėdas designed a dramatic live show with painted faces, besuited musicians, motorbikes, and spaceship models on stage. The band made three

video clips A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to promote the sale of mu ...

, which were later used in the 1986

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

''Kažkas Atsitiko'' (''Something Happened''). Kaušpėdas' lyrics were sharply critical of the Soviet regime; an appealing stance for many people during

Perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...

. Personnel changes improved the band's musicianship and their music became more sophisticated. Early Antis was heavily influenced by

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

. One of their biggest hits was a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of a

Men at Work Men at Work are an Australian rock band that was formed in Melbourne, 1979. They were best known for breakthrough hits such as " Down Under", " Who Can It Be Now?", " Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and ...

song. Later Sniegius added sounds derived from the work of

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

. At the end of 1986 Antis recorded their eponymous debut album at Melodya's

studio. The self-titled LP was released in 1987 and became one of the best-sold records in Lithuania. Their second album was recorded in 1988 in the CCS studio in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. The band planned to release this independently but Melodya objected and the ensuing litigation delayed release by a year. The last recording session took place in a Vilnius studio in 1988. Those songs with some selected numbers from the Warsaw session appeared as ''Anties Dovanėlė'' (''Antis's Present'') in 1989.

Disbanding

Antis gave their final tours in the second half of 1989 and early 1990 including appearances at festivals in Italy, Austria, Germany, France and USA, where they participated at the NY New Music Seminar and played at the

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

. In 1990 Algirdas Kaušpėdas quit music for politics and then returned to architecture. The rest of the band continued rehearsing and composing, and auditioned some new vocalists but Pablo proved to have been the heart of the band, so they broke up. Some members left the music business and others joined other projects. Kaušpėdas manages a design company and is still an important figure in Lithuanian music and culture.

Aftermath

In 1994 Zona/BMK released two Antis microcassettes. The EP ''Bjaurioji Antis'' (''Ugly Antis'') included the earliest amateur recordings from Kaunas, before the arrival of the horns. ''Retas Paukštis'' (''Rare Bird'') contained all the songs that had not been released on the Melodya albums. The final album, ''Geriausios Dainos'', was a "best of" compilation, released on CD and MC formats by Zona/BMK in May 1995. Algirdas Kaušpėdas formed the ''Antis Orchestra'' briefly in 1996 using past members and session musicians to recreate the Antis sound for three open-air concerts as part of the Lithuanian Rock March. Most of the original members also reformed briefly in 2003 to promote the release by Zona of most Antis recordings on four CDs (''Kažkas atsitiko'', ''Antis'', ''Ša!'' and ''Dovanėlė'') and a box-set ''Visa Antis''. The band was a subject of

Giedrė Žickytė Giedrė Žickytė (born June 30, 1980) is a Lithuanian film director, producer, documentary film maker.
Goethe Institu ...

's 2011 documentary .

Resurrection

After 17 years of silence (the last album having been released in 1990), the band released ''Ančių dainos'' (''Songs of Ducks'') on 16 December 2007. Initial album sales beat the expectations and became best-selling album by Antis. The band played their official farewell concert on July 5, 2016 at

Trakai Island Castle Trakai Island Castle () is an island castle located in Trakai, Lithuania, on an island in Lake Galvė. The construction of the stone castle was begun in the 14th century by Kęstutis, and around 1409 major works were completed by his son Vyta ...

, followed by another performance the next day at Raudondvaris Castle, ending the story of Antis where it had begun.Antis farewell concert at Raudondvario dvaras
/ref>

Members

Algirdas Kaušpėdas Algirdas Kaušpėdas (born 12 August 1953, in Vilnius, Lithuania) is a Lithuanian rock musician, the leader of Lithuanian rock group Antis, an architect, and one of the Sąjūdis initiators. His wife Vilija Ulozaitė is also an architect. Bi ...

* Petras Ubartas * Vaclovas Augustinas (keyboards, vocal) (born 1959) played in '' Saules laikrodis'' before joining ''Antis''. Since 1992 he has been chief conductor and

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

of the Vilnius Municipality Choir '' Jauna muzika''. * Linas Buda (Drummer) (born 1962 in Kaunas) played in ''Roko laboratorija'' before joining ''Antis''. In 1988 he joined the jazz quartet '' Sasnauskas''. * Gintautas Rakauskas (bass, guitar) (born 1958 in Kaunas) founder of '' Saules laikrodis'' played in ''Roko laboratorija'' before joining ''Antis''. * Chupem Antis

Discography

*''Antis'' (1987; LP ''Melodija''; remastered CD 2003 ''Zona''. The first official album which reached a huge success.Re-released in 2003) *''Anties Dovanėlė'' (1989; LP ''Melodija''; remastered CD 2003 ''Zona'') *Geriausios Dainos (1995; CD,MC ''Zona''; remastered CD 2006 ''Zona''. The compilation of the best and never released before songs. The first Antis album in CD format ) *Ša! (2003; CD ''Zona''. This was an album which contained the remastered records from 1988–89 years) *Kažkas Atsitiko (2003; CD ''Zona''.The earliest band records from the approx. period of 1985-86 released in remastered sound) *''Visa Antis'' (2003; 4CD Box-set.''Zona''. The compilation that includes all the previously recorded material re-released in remastered sound) *Antis Gyva (2005; DVD ''Zona''. The first Antis DVD; it contains the full show recorded in 2003) *''Ančių Dainos'' (2007; CD ''MP3 Shownet''. The first new studio album after Antis disbanded in 1990) *Rugpjūčio 33 (2009; DVD ''MP3''. Live concert, recorded in 2008) *''Zuikis Pleibojus'' (2009; CD ''MP3''.The second album from the new Antis musical period. It contains the songs from the so-called musical utopia under the same title) *''Baisiai džiugu'' (2013; CD ''MP3''. The latest and probably the last studio album. The singles from this album reached a great success) *''2XDuck!'' (2013; CD+DVD ''MP3''. The live album recorded in 2013. Contains the full show that represented a new album ''Baisiai Džiugu'' released in the same years) *Zombiai, Atrieda atidunda! (2015; CD+DVD ''MP3''. The live album dedicated to the band's 30 years anniversary tour. Technically the best Lithuanian music DVD) *Geriausios Dainos 2 (2016; CD+DVD ''MP3''. The compilation of the best songs from the second active band's period which lasted from 2007 to 2016. Also contains the video from the last concert, recorded in July, 2016)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antis Musical groups established in 1986 Lithuanian rock music groups 1986 establishments in the Soviet Union Soviet rock music groups Lithuanian post-punk music groups