From the tranquil charm of Sigulda to the boundless openness of the human spirit, Latvian artist muunroo is crafting music that feels like weather—subtle, immersive, and deeply emotional. With the release of “Summer Rain” on June 9, 2025, muunroo offers a refreshing sonic experience that captures the blissful melancholy of a rainy afternoon in the heat of summer.
Led by multi-talented composer and performer Gatis Sturnieks, muunroo is not just a project—it’s a philosophy. Each track begins as an improvisation, raw and untouched, before eventually blossoming into a fully realized song. In this interview, we dive into the heart of “Summer Rain,” the creative process behind it, and the evolving identity of muunroo’s music.
We sat down with muunroo to explore the process behind “Summer Rain,” the philosophy behind spontaneous composition, and what lies ahead for this deeply personal and evolving project.
Interview with muunroo
Gatis: It was a warm summer day, and it was raining very heavily. My home studio is on the top floor, and raindrops were drumming on the skylights. That’s what created the mood in which this piece came to life. I’m currently working on the lyrics and studio recording for the song “Summer Rain.”
Gatis: Well, I should clarify a bit here. All previously published muunroo project tracks (Late Road, Fireplace, Sunset, Expanse, Unspoken Words, Reflections) and “Summer Rain” are musical sketches that later evolve into full songs. These are melodies and harmonies born in the moment, which I play and record without any prior preparation. No editing in the studio. They are heard exactly as they were played. And then, from these sketches/improvisations, full songs are created. With lyrics, with arrangements, the song structure is expanded, and additional elements and themes are added. What has emerged from these and upcoming sketches will be heard in just a few weeks when I start releasing the first muunroo songs in their full song format.
Gatis: Thanks for the kind words about Sigulda, but my hometown is Riga. I moved to Sigulda in 2008. At that time, I hadn’t returned to music yet, but it was clear to me as a person that I preferred life outside a big city with its fast pace and commotion. It tires me out. That’s why I chose Sigulda, as it’s only 50km from Riga, the capital of Latvia, with all its opportunities and events. Sigulda is called the “Switzerland of Latvia,” and in a way, it is. The nature here is fantastic both in summer and winter, with walking trails, ski slopes, and the Gauja valley. All around is the Gauja National Park with untouched nature and landscapes. In recent years, before returning to music, while playing the piano and composing, I often found myself thinking about nature, about the world, and about themes that had not been my focus before. Of course, the nature and environment here have largely influenced that. This will certainly be audible in the songs as well.
Gatis: By “naturally,” I mean spontaneously. That’s precisely how my music is born – naturally and spontaneously. I don’t try to “force” something “to sound right” or try to find variations to achieve that. It just happens. In that sense, I guess I’m lucky, and it comes easily to me. Of course, there are bands that lock themselves in the studio for a month and deliberately try to create hits, doing jam sessions, people spending a lot of time, energy, and resources to achieve a result, etc. But everyone has their own approach and their own path; we are all different, and that’s valuable.
Gatis: This is just one of many moods in the muunroo project; there are various moods, and all of them will be heard. Of course, only a few such musical sketches are created and published, while almost all of the finished studio material doesn’t even go through this sketch-improvisation publishing phase and will be heard as a finished result – song singles and music videos.
6. Gatis Sturnieks and muunroo. What’s your role in muunroo?
Gatis: I’ll clarify a bit here again. Actually, I am muunroo myself – muunroo is my music project where I realize my ideas both as a composer and performer, and by inviting various musicians from different parts of the world. The project is entirely self-produced by me; all the music, lyrics, and upcoming music videos in the project are mine. Only individual musicians are invited. Some are already saying that “muunroo” would even be a better stage name for me than “GatiS” and it seems I’ll have to agree soon 😊.
Gatis: I suppose it’s the same as what I already said about deliberately forcing myself to compose, when I mentioned locking myself in the studio and creating hits. That’s not how it is for me. Life has so many things, situations, relationships, events, conclusions, experiences… If you can remember these things, then they are significant to you, and if you are a composer, you will be able to transform these themes into music without any special “struggle.” However, if these events have slipped by or you don’t remember them, then they are not significant in your life. And then that’s tough – meaning a creative person’s life has few truly significant things and impressions, and then you have to struggle to invent them and create music. But as I said, we are all different, and everyone has their own path and results.
Gatis: Let’s keep that unanswered until the single is released. Perhaps I’ll just describe the “Summer Rain” song like this: the feeling when a refreshing rain starts falling on a hot summer day, and you enjoy it. That’s the mood. 😊
Gatis: If we’re talking about the sound of the published muunroo tracks, then currently, in this “warm-up” phase, I’m still using the opportunity to experiment with the concept of how muunroo songs should sound and observing listener reactions to understand my audience. It seems that the direction and nuances are understood. Time to work.
Gatis: I definitely don’t want to get ahead of myself with any news, but currently, there’s really intensive work happening with the music, studio material, and music videos. This summer, I need to release several song singles and music videos. We’re talking with several potential collaboration partners about future collaboration on the muunroo project development and publishing in both Europe and America. Honestly, I haven’t thought about live performances, but a private studio concert video recording could be feasible. By the way, thanks for the good idea! 😊 I’ll try to make that happen by the end of the year.
As “Summer Rain” continues to resonate with listeners around the world, muunroo is only beginning to share the depth and diversity of their sonic universe. What began with the tap of raindrops on a skylight has opened the door to a broader emotional journey—one we’ll be following closely as new chapters unfold. Keep your ears open and your soul ready. The storm may be gentle, but it’s rich with meaning.
