Donatas Bielkauskas/Donis was born in 1977 in Jurbarkas. In 2000 he graduated from Klaipėda University with a degree in Folk Music Studies, obtained a higher education and qualifications as a leader of a folk music ensemble, an instrument teacher (birbynė), a soloist, an orchestra and ensemble artist.
"Donis is a musical project conceived almost twenty years ago and still continued by multi-instrumentalist Donatas Bielkauskas. The musician uses authentic and modified Lithuanian folk and electronic instruments to create a sound described as "neofolk", "ambient" and "experimental". Donis' work pays special attention to authentic folklore, which he combines with the sound of contemporary music.
Donatas Bielkauskas is one of the brightest creators of today's post-folk tradition in Lithuania and the creative engines of this current, whose music uniquely combines old Baltic folklore and modern sound interpretations. Donatas is a creator for whom music is both craftsmanship and philosophy. It is possible to understand that music is a multifaceted sound, social, communicative phenomenon acting in different directions only by constantly experiencing that multiplicity. His extensive knowledge of instruments, rhythms, and musical styles allows him to create unique sound projects that include both electronic and pure ambient soundscapes, in which ethnic motifs interweave with industrial sound structures and natural sounds of nature and/or objects found on site. Basically, all of Donat's works invite you to multi-layered and multi-depth experiences, which define the creator's skill and attentiveness, or more precisely, his attention to the details that lie in the listener's consciousness. (Eglė Gelažiūtė-Pranevičienė)
