Mario & Vidis > Changed

Silence Music

Cementing a year that saw a string of sublime stellar releases from Mario & Vidis, the dynamic force give house music a new accessible heartbeat with their album ‘Changed’, set for release this winter.

Mario & Vidis title their debut artist album after their Future Classic anthem, ‘Changed’, an apt advocate to the new age slow house sound they have mastered and unmask themselves as purveyors of a hive of activity in their Lithuanian home. Spanning two discs and twenty tracks they cover much musical terrain, striding through epic soundscapes, hypnotic pop melodies, wandering into pure soul and running away with the finesse of raw house music on the second disc.

‘Changed’ opens with the atmosphere heavy ‘Introducing to you’, lightly tickling the senses. Before delving into the vocal delights of Kathy Diamond for ‘In My System’, a collaboration that came about after Vidis brought England’s disco queen to play in Lithuania. The record for which Mario & Vidis made their name, ‘Changed’, was co-written by Ernesto after the duo admired his earlier inspiring releases. Two cuts feature from number one Lithuanian female act, singer-songwriter Jazzu, who creates apparitions within her ethereal and buoyant vocal in ‘I´ll Be Gone’ and the ensueing, ‘Who’s Shot the Silence?’. Jazzu is Lithuania’s embodiment of Goldfrapp or Roisin Murphy and a true cult figure in the region. Other contributions from Lithuanian homegrown artists Vytautas Sondeckis and Giedre illustrate a diverse spectrum and heavy collection of local talent. Now electronic music dominates Western Europe, its eastern counterpart is flourishing and taking the music in new directions.

Disc two treks into their electronic heart, showcasing a collection of deep, dubby dancefloor cuts. The rolling grooves of ‘You Are Here’, and epic synths of ‘Test’ appear amidst reedits of the prior material. The result is an engulfing journey that personifies a broody older sibling from the first disc. Each of their releases is complimented by stunning video spectacles. Their ‘Who’s Shot the Silence?’ video was blogged by Kanye West and ‘I´ll Be Gone’ came top of the chart on MTV Baltic Top 20 for half a year and is the most blogged Lithuanian music video to date.

The unique partnership between Mario (Marijus "Mario" Adomaitis) & Vidmantas "Vidis" Cepkauskas formed in 2007 in their Lithuanian base, where they remain. Their first production effort, a remix for Atjazz and Robert Owens was quickly picked up for support by Gilles Peterson and Pete Tong. Since this they have garnered countless fans, among them the likes of Jazzanova, Atjazz, Laurent Garnier, Toby Tobias, Pete Herbert, and many more. Mario & Vidis’ sonic assault has enamoured many top international labels of late, such as Japan’s Endless Flight, Australia’s Future Classic, and Germany’s Best Works.

Vidis is a master of reinvention with a flair for creating depth and finesse. His Silence project embodies a local radio show, an international label and booking agency that supports much local talent, as well as internationally renowned events of various scales that have brought the likes of Daniel Wang, Ame, Dixon, Jazzanova, Prins Thomas, and many others to the Lithuanian market for the first time. Vidis showcased live sets from Caribou, Architecture In Helsinki, and Junior Boys to those who thought they’ve seen and heard it all and is now creating a new band format for Mario & Vidis to tour the festival circuit in 2012.

Marijus Adomaitis AKA Mario or Mario Basanov has been carving his name into the underground circuit gracefully through stunning releases on key disco imprints, Needwant, Under The Shade and Future Classic. Whispers of his scope and versatility as a secret studio weapon are gaining pace. Lithuanian pop stars knock at his door when they need an original and polished record to be made and local dance heroes turn to him when they are seeking a new dancefloor destroyer. Mario has collaborated with many living legends such as Bugge Wesseltoft, Lars Danielsson, Nils Petter Molvaer or Eivind Aarset in various live and studio projects. But not until his partnership with Vidis has his musical direction been so on point and multifaceted. Unable to label, it embodies the finesse of house, disco, broken beat, new jazz and shows these terms as names not boundaries.