Antis is a Lithuanian postmodernist rock band that’s been around since 1984. The name literally translates as “duck,” but in Lithuanian it also refers to… fake news!—or more accurately, “a false mass media sensation,” as the band puts it. This had a lot of resonance when the band first formed, at the end of the Soviet […]

Dagö is an Estonian folk/ethno band. They formed in 1998 and have been active on and off to the present day, though their main popularity and success came in the early 2000s. The band’s name is taken from the historic (German/Swedish) name for Hiiumaa, an island off the northwest coast of Estonia. The founding members were Lauri Saatpalu […]

Windward Land (Tuulepealne maa) is an Estonian television miniseries that tells the story of some of the most dramatic years in Estonia’s history. Its 12 episodes, each about an hour long, aired in 2008. A 13th episode aired in 2013. The series takes place from World War One through World War Two, encompassing Estonia’s war […]

Aija Andrejeva is a popular contemporary Latvian singer. Also known by her stage name, Aisha, she is mostly a pop singer, and most of her music is in Latvian. According to her website, “Aija has been called a little bomb—her energy, cheerfulness and lightness of spirit on the stage hypnotizes and literally takes everybody’s breath […]

Laikykites Ten (Hold On There) is a Lithuanian comedic talk show that began in 2016. It’s also something of an experiment in Lithuanian television-making: it exists only on YouTube and is crowdfunded through Patreon, where it has more than 4,800 patrons. Despite its unorthodox production, it’s becoming quite popular. It airs on the YouTube channel […]

Alina Orlova (real name Alina Orlovskaja, Алина Орловская) is a Lithuanian singer-songwriter in the folk genre. Her unusual, ethereal voice and rich instrumentation backed up by piano have led to her well-deserved popularity in Lithuania. She sings in Lithuanian, Russian (her heritage is part Polish, part Russian), and English. She’s also sometimes considered a daina singer—daina is […]

November (the word is the same in Estonian and English) is an Estonian art film that was released in February 2017. Mystical, strange, and beautiful, it may represent a new direction in Estonian filmmaking, an industry that has often been dominated by films about Estonia’s many occupations. November is based on the novel Rehepapp by contemporary Estonian […]

Trad.Attack! is one of Estonia’s most popular contemporary bands. Blending folk, rock, and traditional Estonian melodies, they’ve toured the world, expanding the reach of Estonian music. According to their website, “Trad.Attack! has really turned the Estonian music scene upside down by bringing traditional music to the big stages, building a modern world around its archaic […]