Gatis Sturnieks, stage name GatiS.
Composer & music producer.
Born in 1976 in Latvia, Riga.
He began improvising on the
piano at the age of 4, often using kitchen bowls and pots for rhythm
improvisations. His mother was an actress at the Latvian Youth Theatre,
allowing to spend much of his childhood both in the audience and behind the
scenes, experiencing the theater world.
Starting in 1980, he was part
of Latvia's popular children's vocal ensemble Knīpas un knauķi. In 1982,
he began studies at Emīls Dārziņš Music School, training under piano teacher
Līvija Kalniņa and Professor Teofils Biķis, who was head of the Piano
department at the Latvian Conservatory/Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music.
Concurrently, he studied composition under the guidance of teacher and composer
Imants Zemzaris and through self-teaching. Since 1983, he began composing his
own songs, instrumental pieces, song lyrics, and poems. He participated in and
won various piano competitions and festivals.
In school, he spent his breaks
playing Depeche Mode and other popular bands' compositions on the piano
with classmates. Later, he studied architecture and business management.
At 16, in 1992, he co-founded
the band Decembris with his music school classmates, though he only
occasionally performed with them. Inspired by Depeche Mode, they entered
the 1993 Latvian music survey Mikrofona aptauja with the song Es un
Tu, composed by him.
During the same period, he
experimented with various musical genres. Together with a childhood friend, he
created the piece Dresden, included in the 1994 Latvian underground
music compilation Eau De Cologne 94, released by Tornis in CC
format.
In 1994, he debuted as a solo
artist with the single Dīvaina nakts, which was included in the Mikrofona
rokaptauja '94 compilation. That year, he also partnered with singer Dina,
former vocalist of the girl band Šķembas, to form the group Duets
DIVI, which became one of the commercially successful Latvian pop groups of
the 1990s.
In 1995, Duets DIVI
released their debut album Spēle, which became Latvia's best-selling pop
album. The same year, he also co-produced Decembris debut album Dejas
ritmā, featuring his song Es un Tu. Later in 1995, he released his
debut solo album Vienatnē. In 1996, the Duets DIVI released their
second album Atkal kopā, and his instrumental album Putnu dārzs,
inspired by the works of Robert Miles, was also released. He produced Dina's
solo album Sapņi, and in 1996 he recorded a musical poetry cycle, Tālā dārza
putns, with original songs for Latvian State Radio and Television.
Duets DIVI continued
with further releases, including Dejas ar vēju in 1997, and a Best Of
album in 1998. From 1994 to 1998, Duets DIVI was very active, performing
in numerous concerts and events.
Between 1995 and 1999 he
produced more than ten music albums released in CC and CD formats.
In 1999, he created the
18-part radio play adaptation of Trygve Gulbransen's Beyond Sing the Woods
for Latvian State Radio, which became a very popular program aired repeatedly
over the years.
In 2000, he ended his active
participation in Duets DIVI and other music projects of the time,
shifting his focus to business development while continuing to create music in
the background.
A successful collaboration
developed with Sigulda People's Theater, leading to music for the plays
Galma gleznotājs (2015) and Vajadzīgs melis (2016).
From 2000 to 2024, he built an
extensive library of songs, lyrics, instrumental compositions, and musical
sketches that remained unpublished until 2024. Inspired by global and personal
events, he decided to return to the music industry to finally bring these
untold musical stories to life
In 2024, he founded the independent record label Green Amber Music to support the realization of his music projects and adopted the stage name - GatiS. He is actively working on several new music ventures, including a solo album slated for release in 2025, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter in his career.