Astrowind

"Sound designer from Latvia Kriipis Tulo creates an amazing, deeply emotional and romantic music with help of vintage analog synthesizers and open-reel tape recorder. Astrowind might be a slightly ridiculous band name, especially if you consider the fact this Latvian guy play lush ambient music on vintage synthesizers. But nevertheless, it’s a good name. An accurate name, at least. Because there is a feel of acroamatic escapism, there are these huge chords of hissing analogue synthesizers and you can even find this special kind of Slavonian melancholia (or Baltic, respectively) people use to rave about. Astrowind bring up a lot of references in their beautiful and, well, obsolete music". (Sven Swift)

Expert sound designer and controllerist has been featured as a key figure of the Latvian electronic music scene for producing some of the most essential experimental electronic, ambient and techno music of the past years. Formerly known as Bongo in the middle of 90's in times of famous Riga dance-punk Yaputhma Sound System. Started improvisation on the old soviet synthesizers and effects in 1996. In 1997 was founded Ayahuasca ambient music project. In 1996-2001 he had common projects with several Latvian musicians and sound designers: Ugis Vitinsh, Alexandroid, Spinners, New Plates etc. In 2001 was founded Oloolo - electroacoustic music project and analogue electronics sound lab. As Kriipis Tulo was involved in such experimental electronic music events as Jazz Giants: Past/Present Riga (2001), Watercolors 2002, Sound Forest - festival of avant-garde music and video art (2003-2005) and also Pan Sonic (2002), Yoshio Machida (2003) and Phill Niblock (2004) live performances. In collaboration with Voldemars Johansons he worked for an audio installation "Gaismas pils", inspired by the project of the New National Library of Latvia of the same name and presented it on the Architectural biennial NEXT (Venice) and KIMAF 2002 (Kiev). In 2002 completed an EP entitled Ujuja (in Estonian means “swimming”). In 2005 as sound producer worked on a short film "Alise" (Director Asnate Ribena). In 2004-2005 actively took a part in organisation of ‘MikroStraava’ – the series of post-ambient and microwaves music mini-festivals in Riga.
At October 2004 participated @ MOKS Media Art Symposium in Estonia. In autumn 2005 collaborating with the most popular Latvian painter Ritums Ivanovs for video installation "Exposed Paintings" with original music as a soundtrack. Video installation was presented during the Ritums Ivanovs exhibition "Exposed" at Art gallery "Riga Gallery", November 2005 In 2006 founded Astrowind project and presented new soundtrack to the “Dreamers” – a new exhibition of Ritums Ivanovs in spring 2008 presented at Art gallery "Riga Gallery". In the spring 2009 Mahi Bukimi has left the Astrowind project by his own wish.
Astrowind released several significant albums which declared forward-loocking style – paleopsychedelic ambient. Essential Astrowind’s album “Kaidanovsky” published in Italy in 2012.
During 2007 - 2012 a few Astrowind's albums and tracks were published by Musica Excentrica, Silent Flow, ElectroSound, Resting Bell, Just Not Normal, Universal Human Underground, Fluttery Records, My Outer Space, Greytone record labels.
"Astrowind Project got the harmonies and the sound to become one of the most interesting Baltic acts to emerge from a scene rich of innovative musicians (Muschraum, Joel Tammik, Selffish, to name just the most obvious)". (Sven Swift).