What's Juke Train all about?
There’s a lot of YouTube channels out there. Especially those dedicated to music. From Balcony TV, to All Saints Sessions, to Sofar, and many more. Music channels are growing like mushrooms everywhere. There's an audience hungry for authentic non-scripted musical performances. In the light of these facts we wouldn’t blame you if you think Juke Train is another case of: “everybody else is doing it, so why don’t we?” Because, you would be completely right. That’s exactly what Juke Train is.
So why trains? Well, it turns out that other backdrops like cars, balconies, living rooms, and even elevators were already taken, so we were basically left with trains.
We gathered a nice team of talented friends (which we affectionately called the Juke Train’s Navvies*). They are the people building the foundations on which this train runs. They are photographers, videographers, recordists, musicians and other creators with great passion for music.
We are attempting to express ourselves through the lens of Juke Train and during the process, present you with the wonderful talent of artists from around the world. Many of these artists are completely unknown to you. We encourage you to listen and explore new musical frontiers; you might find some great surprises along the way.
Although Juke Train is based in Lithuania, a small country on the South corner of Northern Europe, we’ve received musicians visiting from all corners of the world. We’ve hosted musicians from places as far as the US, Chile, Mongolia, the Faroe Islands, Mali and Senegal,
Since the introduction of Juke Train, pianos have started to populate the areas at train stations around the country, train depots and other railway spaces have been opened up to hold public events and, musical concerts at train stations are now a common occurrence. Juke Train’s musical culture is permeating aspects of public life that we never saw coming.
Today, despite the long hiatus introduced by COVID-19, Juke Train keeps on running and we can’t wait to get started to film again.
We hope that in the future Juke Train will contribute in making railway travel more pleasurable and fun than ever for everyone.
For all of you out there following us, Thank you. All of this is for you.
.- Gabriel
The Juke Train's Navvies
Jay Svarplys - Jay is the living force behing Good Music Live (GM Gyvai) a show production company responsible for most of World Music concerts taking place in the Baltic States. He is also founder of One Root Music, a record label behind talented bands like Solo & Indre, Griot Blues, Nomads Roots, Bani Hill Band, Malituanie, among other World Music acts.
Gabriel Orentas - The co-founder of Juke Train spends most of his time procrastinating and composing music. He wasted most of his youth in the Latin American rock scene with a band called “Los Gusanos”. He later moved to Europe where he met Jay, got hooked into the World Music scene, and managed to continue his career as a multi-tasking procrastinator. Hallelujah!
Giedrius Dagys - Photographer and filmmaker extraordinaire, Giedrius is the man behind most (if not all) of Estas Tonne’s music videos. When he’s not filming in Europe, Giedrius spends good part of the year photographying the exotic paradises of the South East Asian islands.
Gintas Berzinskas - Gintas is an amazing photographer with a substantial collection of life stories to go with. From amber hunting on the Baltic Sea to driving Limo‘s for the rich and famous in the USA, the artist in Gintas has seen a lot. He‘s soon to release his first documentary film “Plaukikas” (The Swimmer).
Gediminas Bartuška - If you are looking for stunning concert photographs, Gediminas is your man. He is the founder of Onstage.lt as well as a photographer for many important journals and newspapers in the country.
Dora Plataunaitė - I will be the first to say that Dora’s filmmaking talent has been underrated for way too long. She has a great eye for the quirky and extravagant, and yet, she can present it in a simple way audiences can digest.
Vytenis Jurevičius - Live music photographer and big Metal fan, Vytenis has been instrumental in shooting some of the best videos in Juke Train, including Eivor’s, Banda Magda’s and Mad Meg’s. Vytenis continues to shoot concerts around the country all year around.
Edita Anglickaitė - Edita is art and art is Edita. She is one of those foot soldiers keeping the flames of talent alive through their work in foundations and museums everywhere. Edita is currently at the Curonian Spit History Museum in Nida, Lithuania.
Viktorija Jakučionytė - Although Viktorija is no longer active in Juke Train's roster, we cannot end without mentioning her great contribution to our cause. She has that rare talent of being able to communicate with both, artists and music executives in their own respective languages. As Manager, PR, and A&R, Viktorija has boasted a successful career as communicator in press and audio visual media.
Other Incognizant Associates - To all of those who in one way or another found themselves dragged into this project goes a heartfelt apology and our eternal gratitude.
- hop-on@juketrain.com
- YouTube
- JukeTrain Channel