Vaiko Eplik (born 1 August 1981) is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Estonian pop-composer, producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist. Eplik was born in

Rapla Rapla (German: ''Rappel'') is a town in central Estonia, the capital of Rapla County and the centre of Rapla Parish. The oldest records date back to 1241 in the Danish Census Book, when it was said that it was a small village with 8 acres of ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, into a music-loving family. Eplik studied music at the Tallinn Music School, specialising in pop-jazz singing and also studied the guitar, which he now teaches. The

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

nominated Eplik for the

International Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year The International Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year award is a British Council and London Calling award program for young (aged 25 to 35) entrepreneurs in the music industry from the developing and transitional economies, launched in 2006, and la ...

award in 2008 in the following words: "Vaiko is a highly creative and engaging individual who is clearly passionate about music. He is obviously a highly influential figure in the Estonian industry. The judges appreciate his integrity and his thought-through artistic approach. He has defined his own business model that reflects his aspirations and expectations and that allows him to quietly champion a different approach." He has been part of several collectives: Claire's Birthday, Ruffus and Koer. In 2006, Eplik started his solo project under the name Eliit. He has released eight albums, regularly reaching the top of Estonian album charts. In 2014, he released two albums in close sequence, "Nõgesed" ("Nettles") and "Nelgid" ("Carnations"). He has emphasised his aspiration to "earn enough money to get by, and keep being intelligent and free to be creative with music." Eplik is a principled

independent artist Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...

, producing his music at home and releasing it under his

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

. In 2006 he commented on it in the following words:"Home-made music has no rival... From now on to in about five years time, record companies will be bankrupt." He also co-wrote and produced the songs for the debut album of the Estonian singer

Lenna Kuurmaa Lenna Kuurmaa (born 26 September 1985) is an Estonian singer-songwriter and actress.Edgar Valter Edgar Valter (21 September 1929, Tallinn – 4 March 2006, Tartu) was an Estonian graphic artist, caricaturist, writer and illustrator of children's books, with over 250 books to his name, through 55 years of activity (1950–2005). His most fa ...

and released in 2013.

Discography

Albums

* Vaiko Eplik ja Eliit – ''1'' (2006) * Vaiko Eplik ja Eliit – ''2 Aastaajad'' (2007) * Vaiko Eplik ja Eliit – ''3 Kosmoseodüsseia'' (2008) * Vaiko Eplik – ''Neljas'' (2009) * Vaiko Eplik & Kristjan Randalu – ''Kooskõla'' (2011) * Vaiko Eplik – ''V ehk tants klavessiini ümber'' (2011) * Vaiko Eplik – ''Varielu'' (2012) * Vaiko Eplik – ''Nõgesed'' (2014) * Vaiko Eplik – ''Nelgid'' (2014) * Vaiko Eplik – ''Kirevase'' (2016) * Vaiko Eplik – ''Uus karjäär uues linnas'' (2018) * Vaiko Eplik – ''Sireleis'' (2019) * Vaiko Eplik - ''Tilda Ja Tolmuingel'' (2020)

Collaborations

* Claire's Birthday – ''Venus'' (2000) * Claire's Birthday – ''City Loves'' (2001) * Claire's Birthday – ''Future Is Now'' (2003) *

Ruffus Ruffus was an indie rock band from Estonia that was originally known as Claire's Birthday. They represented their country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003. Members * Vaiko Eplik (vocals) was born in 1981 in Rapla, into a music-loving family ...

– ''Lessons in Pop'' (2005) * Koer – ''Pure'' (2004) *

Lenna Kuurmaa Lenna Kuurmaa (born 26 September 1985) is an Estonian singer-songwriter and actress.Vaiko Eplik
on Myspace * * – independent record label run by Vaiko Eplik {{DEFAULTSORT:Eplik, Vaiko 1981 births Living people Estonian rock guitarists Estonian rock singers Estonian songwriters Estonian record producers People from Rapla 21st-century Estonian male singers 21st-century guitarists Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2003 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Estonia Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class