With most members hailing from countries other than Lithuania, it is tricky to classify Merope as a Lithuanian band. However, as its music is largely centred around the singing and kanklės Lithuanian Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė, the collective is a prime example of Lithuanian folk influences finding a firm place in the worldwide ocean of experimental world sounds. Merope’s unique atmospheric aesthetic weaves together elements of electronic, ambient, indie and traditional music into a soundscape that is at once local and universal. It represents a very contemporary understanding of the shared roots of all musical creation, and promotes a pursuit of transcultural unity that escapes narrow-minded cultural seclusion.
Their fourth album Salos, released on the Belgian Stroom label in 2021, is an otherworldly sonic archipelago of Lithuanian folk songs woven into original compositions.
