Jack of all trades, master of many. Radio founder, one half of Dresden with Ivan Smagghe, producer, label runner, restauranteur.... Super passionate and committed to the musical cause, Manfredas is a busy man doing good things, so it made sense to catch up on what he’s been up to recently….

First some location and movement information, where are you at the moment and what are you working on?

I am home in Vilnius, just got back from London where I was for a few days. A second home if there is one. It’s also where I play the most these days. Dresden at Corsica Studios last Friday was possibly our best yet.

Went to a couple of favourite and some new places to eat too, as food gradually became work. Usually it’s just being a little bit more involved in the kitchen than others on the team. Cooking on a rare occasion this Friday with my friend for the big crew of Radio Vilnius residents, as we will be celebrating our 4th birthday. So at the moment, working on a list of ideas for a menu that could cheer up a hundred-something people. Probably a day today with none or very little music work, though usually it’s the opposite on Tuesdays.

Looking back to how you got started in music, tell me about your relationship with radio, what were you listening to growing up, and the story behind Radio Vilnius?

It’s 30 years since I’ve been doing this or that with radio. Got there because of Rap, but started to hang out all the time, especially at nights when you could go through things that don’t get played in daytime. Lines blurred quickly. Music piracy was booming, so suddenly there was so much more available to us physically. Mostly some non-existent pirate compilations with euro-beat, but you gotta start somewhere. It wasn’t a very cool radio, but some music was there, I was allowed to be there all the time, developing my taste. It’s also the place where I started gluing some sounds myself.

It’s a long story, and I think I did every radio job possible on many different stations and was presenting most of the time, which I never liked much. I was most comfortable being a music programmer, which was making playlists for other shows, also making radio jingles in the studios. That’s my comfort zone, and I still do something similar. Whenever I have time I add things to a nightly playlist of Radio Vilnius and sometimes it’s as little as that, but I am happy to be doing my favourite thing.

I guess at the core of Radio Vilnius for me is my personal trip, but I would like to think that everyone who’s involved has their own. Plus, sometimes we all get together and do very nice things.

Sticking with Vilnius and that history, Opium has quite the reputation, what makes it so special?

Quality needs time to grow and it’s very much about people who stay enthusiastic about it rain or shine. There were a lot of cats with good taste in house music since the ’90s – fighting the good fight. This feels like a good place to thank Vidis, who has just left the club after programming it for 15 years. It’s the end of an era, but a needed one.

It’s important to sometimes stop and start over, or just move on to something else for everyone. Also, now Vilnius has Gallery1986 and the energy of Opium has shifted there, and the team has really leveled it up even more with the new joint. Maybe they are fewer, but if you get a good party in Vilnius, it’s still like nothing else.

In terms of your trip to here, where did the name Manfredas come from?

It came from the book Count of Monte Cristo – it is my actual name. I started playing dance music on the radio first, where I was channeling my Lithuanian Pete Tong on Friday nights for a few years. Had to use my actual name on national radio, so when I moved to playing at the clubs, it was easier just to stick with it.

Were you into clubbing before you became a DJ?

For a very long time it was plain work. I was playing at four different bars and clubs (not great ones) every week, always driving back home myself. Switching gears had very much to do with losing my sobriety, which came pretty late – when I was 24 or so. Much better music came along too.

What were the formative experiences when you saw a DJ in a club and thought ‘yeah - that’s how to do it’?

Seeing 2MANYDJS for the first time was big, seeing Optimo or just hearing their mixes was also something that clicked right away. Before getting into partying and all that, it was the technical skill to mix different things that piqued me. I also have a funny memory of Mr. C rocking my world when he grabbed a mic to do a verse of Destination Eschaton in Club Gravity in Vilnius. We had a strong progressive house party that I feel has much to do with how I play. Seeing Ivan Smagghe at the same club for the first time in the early 2000s – the sound and level of character he brought to our town stuck with many and had a massive impact on where we went musically. Listening to Danny Daze or Craig Richards is always a masterclass.

Was there a moment or experience that took you from being a DJ to a producer?

I learned the basics by making radio jingles and did loads of commercial audio work. Artistic ambition came only when DJing got more serious, which was much later, and honestly it’s only recently that making music started to feel natural and easy-coming.

I’ve read some pretty spicy descriptions of your music, cold wave, neo trance…usually with the word chug added for good measure. How would you describe your style?

I can relate to the literal meanings of “chug” and “trance,” not the styles. Chug for me was what Andrew played and my precious memories of us playing a few times together. I very rarely pick anything from what is called trance music either, but I am after the feeling for sure. Trying my best to work on a longer form of music.

The tracks you’ve released are very diverse in their sound and feel, can you tell me a bit about your influences? Do you have a process or is it more freeform?

All of my own music that is released was kind of made around the same time, it’s just that it got scattered over ten years. It’s mostly about me figuring out how to make actual music, trying out different things. Remixes were frustrating and not necessarily good. First tracks I made with a very clear idea for Kill The DJ to release it, as it was a label I loved – and that’s what kind of happened. I was also listening to a lot of Residents at the time, maybe some aesthetics can be traced.

Last few years were a lot about Santaka, a collaborative project with Marijus Aleksa and many other musicians, which is happening in a slightly different universe, always challenging my understanding of music’s form. It loosened up many things for me and in some way has also influenced the way I DJ now.

How do you approach a long DJ set? What is key to think about, for you?

Good gig loves preparation, so it is mostly about finding enough time to collect as much new music as possible so I won’t get bored playing for 12 hours. I only do a bit of thinking on openings and closings – the middle takes care of itself if you have the tunes and nice people.

Dresden has built a very strong reputation. How did you meet Ivan? And what drove you to start the party?

Ivan is loved in Vilnius since the early 2000s and he knows how to give some love back. He was very supportive when I started to play outside Vilnius. Dresden is quite young in the world, but we’re in the professional loop for a long time and got closer over the years. Our musical language stood the time too.

Looking at your diary you’ve got a fairly diverse and packed agenda this year. Clubs like Corsica studios to festivals including Wildwood and Love International. Do you approach them differently?

Not really, it’s still all up to finding enough time to keep my music fresh. Scenarios are few anyway.

What else is coming up in 2025 for you?

Lots of focus has been consumed by "all the other work", but it is important to do other things on the side and I try to treat everything I do as creative work. Though I’ve been squeezing more studio time lately – maybe finally making music that I actually play at the clubs myself. Santaka live album is on the way, we will be playing our first live show in Japan this summer – that’s a dream.

Manfredas is playing the Tryouts Takeover at Wildwood this June.