Lithuania’s DIISSC Orchestra, founded in 2008, is a group of five composers who perform with Soviet-era Venta synths. Group members include Jonas Jurkūnas, Antanas Jasenka, Vytautas V. Jurgutis, and Martynas Bialobžeski. The name is onomatopoeic—a skipping CD—in recognition of the principle sound-making machine used in their performances.
Based in Vilnius, DIISSC Orchestra was developed as a vehicle to present and remix the group’s own music, and that of other artists. It has since evolved into a platform to elaborate on their own compositions and those of renowned composers. The group also produces live videos, presents compositions using a variety of disc players, stopwatches, special graphic scores, low-tech devices, and, more recently and with increasing frequency, computers and other electronic instruments. The DIISSC Orchestra presents contemporary music as an “engaging sonic adventure”, eschewing predictability to embrace chance and unexpected outcomes in live performance.
DIISSC Orchestra has played all major Lithuanian festivals as well as Sound Exchange events across Eastern Europe. Their debut album titled D.O. was released via Clinical Archives in 2009. The release included pieces by five composers (Bialobžeskis' "CD in C(D)" for viola and electronics among them). It was recognised as the Best Electroacoustic Work of 2008 at the Lithuanian Composers’ Union Awards.
Their composition “Venta” (2012) is designed for an old electronic instrument. It is intended to show the potential of the Venta in the context of 21st century electronic music by using its acoustic tones as well as the instrument itself.