About Auļi

Auļi is a Latvian bagpipe and drum music band founded in 2003, which over more than twenty years has become one of the most recognisable Latvian ethnic music ensembles both in Latvia and abroad. At the band's core is the powerful sound of bagpipes and drums, where ancient musical traditions meet a modern aesthetic of composition, arrangement and sound.

Although historical evidence of bagpipe playing in Latvia dates back to the 15th century, relatively few recordings of traditional bagpipe music have survived in folklore archives. That is why, from the very beginning, Auļi chose not only to reconstruct ancient musical traditions but also to create entirely new music, drawing inspiration from Latvian folklore, nature and seasonal traditions.

The band's members have described their musical style as "ethno-trance" — an energetic, rhythmically hypnotic sound in which the continuous drone of the bagpipes merges with multi-layered drum rhythms. Auļi's music also carries influences from rock, world music and other contemporary genres.

Over the course of its activity, Auļi has released 12 studio albums and performed in more than 1000 concerts in Latvia and abroad. The band's repertoire includes both original compositions and arrangements of folk melodies, and a significant part of Auļi's music has been written by the band's own members — Kaspars Bārbals, Mārtiņš Miļevskis and Edgars Kārklis.

Auļi regularly collaborates with musicians of various genres and countries, folklore groups, choirs, orchestras, and pop and rock music performers. In international collaboration, the band particularly stands out with the project "Voices of Ancestors", in which the sound of traditional Latvian music meets various vocal traditions from around the world.

Auļi's concerts are known for their energy, powerful live sound and ability to adapt to a wide variety of concert formats — from large summer festival stages to concert halls and themed stage productions. The band's music is at once firmly rooted in Latvia's cultural heritage and open to modern musical ideas, which is why it appeals to both traditional music enthusiasts and audiences of world and contemporary music.