Biography

 

LONGITAL BIOGRAPHY / roll below for further details

Quote: „Longital is Slovak band with thoroughly striking glimpse of geniality. Creators of song images soaked in alternative, rock, folk, electronica, unique poetry and prodigious ways of experimenting. Music that pumps up with pyrotechnical energy just before gently invoking the state of levitation. Shina sings, plays bass guitar, and dances in the rain of feathers. Guitarist Daniel Salontay resembles a happy gin released from Aladin's lamp, pulling out unheard rhythms, sounds and noises from his instruments. Both Shina and Daniel often play their axes with bows. Along with the phenomenal drummer and piano player Marian Slavka, Longital are at their best as a power trio and present the recent album Divoko / Wildely “ (Jiri Moravcik, Colours of Ostrava CZ)

The band's name Longital is an old name of the hill above the Danube river in Bratislava Slovakia (currently known as Dlhé Diely), where the founding members Shina and Daniel reside and from where they have travelled all over the world. Since 2001 (for the first five years also under name Dlhé Diely ), Longital have been crossing borders both territorially and musically. Longital's path on the international scene is quite unique and relates to the creative process itself. The band achieves eclectic sound by strictly avoiding narrowly defined genres, but still echoing them in band's own creative way. Aligned with the background of the band members, their inspiration ranges from classical, through jazz and experimental music to songwriting and poetry. All of this is tastefully mixed to serve the main goal: building and delivering the songs and their message to listener's soul and body. The lyrics of love, freedom and nature are a piece of poetry written and sung exclusively in Slovak language. This distinction has strongly influenced the rhythm and melody of Longital's music, and paved the band's way to a number of international stages and festivals.

Longital's shows prove that music is a universal language and their songs have the power to break the barriers of languages and cultures; reaching the hearts and move the listeners. Longital has toured 12 countries in Europe, Canada and USA, received two invitations to SXSW festival Austin and to Canadian Music Week Toronto . Selected performances at European festivals include The Big Chill (UK), Pohoda (SK), Sziget (HU), Exit (SR), Colours (CZ), MaMA (FR), Europavox (FR), Gena (CH) and many more ... 

The band has released 12 albums on label Slnko Records (www.slnkorecords.sk), the band's own label which goes along the story of the band itself: over the years from the modest start in 2001 it has gained the satus of the foremost indie label in Slovakia.  album Divoko/Wildely was nominated for the Radio Head Award 2016. Longital has received numerous nominations and awards, including Radio Head Award (various nominations) and won the respected Main Award for Music by Tatrabanka Foundation.

Besides making records and touring, Longital’s cinematic style is featured in independent movies and contemporary theatre plays in Slovakia and Czech Republic.

Official web: http://www.longital.com 
Label Slnko Records, http://www.slnkorecords.sk/sr_artist.php?id=1
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/longital
Soundcloud http://soundcloud.com/longital/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/longital 

 

***** MORE DETAILS AND RESOURCES *****

Members of the band as of 2019
Shina – vocal, bass
Daniel Salontay - guitars, bow, vocals and samples
Marián Slávka – drums, keys (rejoined the band in 2014 after 13 year break)

History of Longital
Daniel Salontay and Shina formed the band in 2001. Before that Salontay, with a degree in mathematics, was also an active musician with background in jazz and blues, won an award of Slovak Jazz Society and in 1997 also the Jazz Studies scholarship at Tri-C College in Cleveland. After his return to Slovakia he continued with his previous jazz&blues collaborations and also co-founded the famous Slovak alternative band Neuropa. Salontay and Shina met in 1997 in the US. At that time, Shina was a graphic designer, but also a secret poet and a songwriter. From the US they returned to Slovakia as a couple and two years later they started to work together on their own music, which would later become the base repertoire for the band.

In early 2001 Daniel an Shina decided to set on the journey of full time musicians, recorded two albums, and named the band after the place where they live, the hill Dlhe Diely in Bratislava. This place is on the border of three Central European countries and it has been a natural crossroads of cultures, which influenced the band in their eclectic multi-genre approach.

Along with the first recordings Shina and Salontay launched their own music label Slnko Records, which had soon gained respect in the music community and business, and grew steadily to became today‘s foremost and the biggest independent label in Slovakia with over 150 releases and 40 artists (as of 2019).

The duo became one of the most recognized Slovak bands not only in their homeland, but also in the Central Europe. When the band started to perform further in the West, they realized how difficult it was to pronounce and remember the old name Dlhé Diely for international and English speaking audience. Therefore in the year 2005, after 5 years of existence and 5 albums, they decided to change the band’s name to Longital, the historical name of the hill and the band’s residence. The following years, right at the advent of low-cost airlines, Daniel and Shina literally travelled the world with their guitars and the Lemur Jazz Mutant gear - a pioneering touchscreen instrument/controller used at the time by Bjork, Nine Inch Nails or Daft Punk. The shows spread to 12 Europeand countries, US and Canada with appearances at festivals SXSW Austin (in 2010 and 2012), The Big Chill Festival UK, Pohoda Festival SK, Sziget festival HU, EXIT Festival SR, Europavox FR and many others.

In 2014 the long lost drummer rejoined the band. Marian Slavka rejoined the band after 13 year break and became great addition to the sound, energy, stage presence and … humor of the band. After years of experimenting with electronics, Longital stripped their sound to something they call „sonic truth“. Their music springs from the heart with the use of hands, legs and amplified instruments only. As a result of this change, in 2015 the new album of the trio, entitled „A To Je Všetko? / Is That All?“, was recorded organically without edits and features best songs of Longital from the past decade and brought the band the nomination for Radio Head Award 2015:
Song Som Modre More / I am a Blue sea, footage from recording studio https://youtu.be/qDFLzs-CIc0
Song Na Horu a Dolu / Up and Down The Mountain, video  https://youtu.be/oEP81OUSb5E was created to support the environmental campaign for keeping 10% of Slovak wild territory intact. The campaign titled "Všetko pre nič / Everything For Nothing", started with modest goal of 5% territory of SLovakia and has grown since to the ambitious goal of 10%. Besides very active lobbying and legal protecion of the wild territory the initiative "Všetko pre nič / Everything For Nothing" also raises funds and enlarges precious territories by buying them out from the ownership of entrepreneurs and companies which violate their natural balance. Longital band is a long time supporter of the very successful and now also respected initiative.

Year 2015 was the year of collaborations with classical musicians. A special project Longital Suite featuring the band and a string quartet opened the Konvergencie Festival of chamber music. Recording of the enthusiastically received show was released on the live album „Longital Suita“ in 2016:
Longital Suita - A to je všetko / Is That All? - https://youtu.be/2-sIT3pSXq4
Longital Suita - Von Von / Outside - https://youtu.be/7ITvJNIq2S8

In autumn 2016 Longital have released the long awaited album with new material: Divoko/Wildly, with shift towards more expressive and electric sound, and themes related to unconditional freedom and love.
Title song Divoko / Wildly performed with symphonic orchestra at the ruins of the Devin Castle:
Longital & Orchestra - Divoko /Wildely - https://youtu.be/qQgFgJq-75c
The album received nomination for the Radio Head Award and the band toured with it extensively in Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland.

On September 20 2019 the band released new album Mauna inspired by three meanings of the somewhat exotic sounding word: inner silence (hindu), mountain (hawaiian), african moth of genus Geometridae with intricate geometrical patterns on wings. Longital regard the album as their most adventurous, colorful and elaborate piece with a number of guests and also symphonic orchestra in three tracks. The unintentional concept of the album and the title emerged when the band's singer and lyricist Shina browsed through her journal of dreams and poems and found out that in almost every of the selected texts contains the word silence. Other frequent reocurring themes include words and their ever changing meanings, communication and miscommunication and even blurred understanding, as summed up and depicted in the lyrics and the the hazed video of the pilot single Slová / Words:
Longital - Slová /Words - https://vimeo.com/360526494
Simultaneously, the musical material during the creation process beccame more and more pattern like, geometrical. And finally came unknown parallel with the meaning of moutain in the form of the very favorable review of the album by Prague's music journalist Petr Vizina who compared the album to the Hawaiian mountain/volcano Mauna Kea, known for being the highest mountain on the Earth, whilst most of its mass is hidden under the ocean's surface. 

Albums of Longital  published on label Slnko Records www.slnkorecords.sk

Core albums: * Výprava/Voyage (2006) * Gloria (2008) * Teraz (2010) * A to je všetko?/ Is That All? (2015) * Longital Suita (2016) * Divoko/Wildly (2016) * Mauna (2019)

Specials and project albums: * Eclipse (2006 Theatre soundtrack, download only) * Revoyaged (2009, remix album) * Long Live (2010, live album, download only) * Bubliny v betóne (2013, theatre soundtrack)

Previous releases under name Dlhé Diely: In the years 2001-2005 before renaming the band to Longital, Daniel Salontay and Shina released albums under band name Dlhé Diely * September (2001) * Šinadisk (2001) * Tu (2002) * Shina In Virgo (2002) * Svetadiely (2004)

Awards and nominations
2006 - Ableton Remix contest - „Top ten“ award for remix of Coldcut’s “Everything Is Under Control”. The contest was curated by Matt Black, Member of Coldcut and the founder of the UK label Ninja Tune
2008 - Radio Head Awards - nomination album of the year - album Gloria 
2010 - Tatrabanka Foundation Award - Winner - Main Award for Music by Tatrabanka Foundation
2016 - Radio Head Awards - Nomination album of the year - album Divoko/Wildly
2017 - Radio Head Awards - Nominantion for song of the year - Spokojná a sýta/Content and sated

Tours and festivals 
Longital has gained a reputation of most travelled and export ready band from Slovakia. So far the band has toured 12 European countries and US. In March 2010 Longital entered the US indie scene from the most desirable point, when the band was showcased at the South by Southewest festival in Austin (SXSW). Three performances at the festival and short tour of the US. The duo returned to America in 2012 for another short tour with performances at SXSW and CMW Toronto. In the summer of 2014 Longital extensively toured Ukraine just before the start of Euro Maidan protests and theconsecutive revolution started. After the tour somewhat exhausted band/duo cancelled the planned shows in Asia (Indonesia, China, Japan) and decided to recharge and start preparing new material for studio album. Since 2014 Longital took on the board the third member on drums and kept on touring in central Europe.

Selected appearances at festivals
US - SXSW Austin (2010, 2012) / CAN - CMW Toronto (2012) UK - The Big Chill (2005), Small Nations Festival (2008) SK - Pohoda (2001-2008, 2012, 2016) IE - International Guitar festival Clonakilty (2006) HU - Sziget Festival (2014), Fishing on Orfű (2012), Mediawave Gyor (2005), Regionconference Budapest (2008) SR - EXIT Festival Novi Sad (2011) CZ - United Islands of Prague (2004, 2006, 2009), Colours of Ostrava (2004, 2006, 2008, 2016) D – Nacht der Schonheit Berlin (Piranha prod. 2007) CH – Gena Festival, Geneve (2008) FR - Les Oreilles en Pointe Unieux (2006), Europavox Vichy (2007), Mimi Marseille (2007), Electro choc Bourgon (2008), Gare aux Oreilles Coustellet (2008), Musiques Innovatrices St.Etienne (2008), Les Nuits Europeennes Strasbourg (2008), Le printemps de Bourges (2009)

Selected club gigs
UK - London (Cargo, Spitz, The Big Chill Bar) / IE - Cork (Cyprus Avenue), Clonakilty (Debarra) / CZ - Prague (Palac Akropolis, Delta, Lucerna music bar) / FIN - Turku (Koulu) / RU - Moscow (OGI), St.Petersburg (Platforma) / HU - Budapest (Trafo, Take5), Gyor (Romer Haz) / PL - Krakow (Lokator, Re, Gwarek), Warszawa (Jazzgot, plan Be, Stodola), Poznan (Eskulap,Blue Note, Meskal), Lodz (Jazga), Wroclaw (Sala Radio)/ AT – Wien (Ost-klub, Wuk), Salzburg (Rockhouse), Graz (Orpheum), Linz (Posthof) / D - Berlin (Kulturforum) / FR – Marseille (Le Balthazar), Grenoble (La Bobine), Paris (Les Trois Baudets)

Longital shared stage with longtime friends Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (The Swell Season), The Frames, Emiliana Torrini, Moloko, The Ruby Suns, Tujiko Noriko, Lali Puna, Claire DiTerzi, Aaron, Narrow Terence, Xploding plastix, Medeski-Martin-Wood, Ralph Myerz, The Levelers, Susanne and the Magic Orchestra, Nina Hynes, Hidden Orchestra, Wojciech Waglewski Tours 2002-2012 : US, Canada, UK, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Ireland, Russia, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Ukraine.

Wrote about Longital
"I saw them in Budapest. Amazing duo... I've got two of the CDs. Excellent." Gerald Seligman, Womex director 2009
„Strange in its originality and beautiful in its profundity, this is music like you have never heard before... ” Eddie Cooney in five star review of the album "Teraz" for R2 Magazine UK, 2011
„Samples of melting icebergs and bowed guitars are enveloped by beautiful duets between the man and woman behind the band.” Rock Paper Scissors, US

More Longital press reviews and press kit: http://www.rockpaperscissors.biz/go/longital