Jauno Jāņu orķestris

Jauno Jāņu Orķestris (JJO) is a contemporary folk music group from Latvia. Founded around  2011, its roots can be traced back to the rock band Dzelzs Vilks, which in the 1990s played heavy  metal music but later developed into a unique Latvian rock music phenomenon that often incor porated folk songs into its repertoire. JJO emerged from this experience as a group that express es the adventures it encounters in folk songs in a pulsating indie and folk rock style. 

The driving force behind the group is songwriter, vocalist, guitarist and mandolinist Juris  Kaukulis, who has also been actively involved in theatre and film music, frequently collaborating  with Kaspars Tobis, a music producer and experienced composer of electronic music who syn thesises electronic and rhythmic layers for JJO. With roots in Latvian dance traditions, Ieva  Mūrniece complements the group’s sound with her violin and voice. 

JJO’s debut album, Kālabad (2013), presented a playful and dynamic approach to folk  songs. It was followed in 2018 by Ieviņa, an album of songs about relationships, people and  everyday life. That same year, the group recorded the soundtrack for the animated film Saule brauca debesīs (The Sun Rode into the Sky), which is dominated by mythological and symbolic  imagery. JJO’s latest album, Deju dziesmas (2024), includes arrangements of Latvian folk songs  as well as original compositions by Kaukulis that have been used by choreographers of stage  dances. 

JJO performs regularly in Latvia and abroad, continuing to explore how the old and the  new can coexist in one unified sound – without sentimentality, but with respect and imagination. 

Juris Kaukulis – voice, guitar 

Ieva Mūrniece – voice, violin 

Valērijs Cīrulis – voice, mandolin 

Kaspars Tobis – synthesisers 

Andris Veinbergs – double bass 

Artis Orubs – percussion

Photo: Ginta Zīverte