from island to island, limited vinyl edition

 

Weaving a transient web, a dreamatorium with its own agenda, thoroughly concerned about space—in—between, from island to island, is a subtle sonification of deep musicality, real and surreal journeys, and a giant Maelström hiding the unknown multiverse. Invitation for the descent is open, but whether those journeys are imaginary or not, one thing is certain—both Anja and Manja must take the ferry home.

„Though separated by the sea between Croatia and Norway, the two artists have developed an intimate musical dialogue working remotely. Both Lauvdal and Ristić are mothers, which has shaped their careers as they have adapted to balancing family responsibilities with their artistic passions. Inspired by the coastal landscapes that surround them, Lauvdal and Ristić exchange recordings, guiding one another into new realms of sonic possibilities.“ (Tatiana Heuman)

Music & Sound Design: Anja Lauvdal and Manja Ristić

Anja Lauvdal: Piano, pump organ, synthesisers

Manja Ristić: Pre-recorded tape — violin, field & hydrophone recordings, electronics, objects, found sounds

Recorded by Peter Rvrbjar

Mastering by Rupert Clervaux

Cover Image by Manja Ristić

Cover Design by Matej Vojtuš

Performed and recorded at NEXT Festival Bratislava 2023

Bratislava, A4

Released by NEXT Festival Records

℗ ATRAKT ART, 2025

Commissioned by A4, together with INA grm (FR) and KONTEJNER (HR) as part of New Perspectives for Action, a project by Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the European Union and supported using public funding by the Slovak Arts Council and Bratislava City Foundation.

Mašina ~ Sarajevo Theatre Showcase

Introducing THE MACHINE – STS 2025 / Play in the Showcase Programme

In this striking performance, Bojana Robinson explores the intimate relationship between body, care, and technology. The Machine examines connectivity through the lens of an oxygen concentrator used by the author’s daughter, questioning both its potential and its limits. The performance unfolds as a radical investigation of vulnerability, interdependence, and the boundaries of performative presence.

Author, choreographer, and performer: Bojana Robinson

Text and dramaturge: Dimitrije Kokanov

Scenographer and video artist: Dorian Šilec Petek

Music composer: Manja Ristić

Costume designer: Timotej Rosc

Lighting designer: Igor Remeta

Text translation: Polona Glavan

Actress (voice): Polona Juh

Choreographic dialogue: Kaja Lorenci

Photo: Matt Robinson

Production: Institute for Contemporary Art Practice and Theory 0.1

Sound of the Ether — workshop with Manja Ristić

Workshop “Sound of the Ether” is intended for young people aged 12 to 18!

The workshop will consist of 5 sessions between October 4 and 8 – combining discussions and practical work through which participants will be introduced to the basics of field and hydrophone recording, sound editing, and various applications of sound in contemporary multimedia culture.

The workshop will familiarise participants with a broad spectrum of sound disciplines through the idea of positioning sound as the main protagonist in experimental film, approached comprehensively via discursive engagement with the philosophy of listening, mnemonics of sound, and Sound Walk culture.

The “Sound of the Ether” workshop is part of the audience development project “Korčula Loves Film”, closely linked to the development of the event “Pansini Days” – a project that brings local and international audiences closer to the life and work of Mihovil Pansini, otorhinolaryngologist, researcher and theorist of spacioperception, and a major Croatian film experimenter.

In addition to the “Sound of the Ether” workshop, October and November will bring a rich programme of other workshops:

Introduction to Pansini for the youngest, led by Petra Belc

Photography workshop, led by Dea Botica

Film and literature, led by Sonja Leboš

All workshops in the “Korčula Loves Film” programme are free of charge! 

Come and experiment with us!

The workshops are part of the audience development programme “Korčula Loves Film,” supported by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, and organised in cooperation with the “Ivan Vidali” Library and the Korčula Cultural Centre.

The project is run by the Association for Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Research, with institutional support from the “Kultura Nova” Foundation.

Anja LAUVDAL & Manja RISTIĆ : From Island to Island FOCUS 2025

 

Documentary from INA Grm FOCUS series, April 2025, at Le CENTQUATRE-PARIS.

Interview and mix interview: Alexandre Bazin
Music intro: Diego Losa
Stage lighting: Nordine Zouad
Director: Jean-Baptiste Garcia

Transference, Marja Ahti / Manja Ristić

 

New collaborative album by Marja Ahti / Manja Ristić — Transference

CD + digital

1. Asymmetries

2. Low-flying Clouds

3. Grapefruit Section

4. Falling Mistral

5. Do They Worship Herons?

"Transference is a dialogue of sonic gestures and traces of visits to places and the spirit that occupies them. It unfolds as a map of subtle and drastic differences, a space where the contours of sound and silence merge, and where listening becomes a collaborative act of discovery and associative intuition.

Emerging across geographies, transference suggests the movement, transformation, and metabolization of energy between two practices and the ongoing metamorphosis of the sounding world as we observe it.” — Manja Ristić & Marja Ahti

Releases August 8, 2025

Marja Ahti: recordings, electronics, objects, piano, percussion, bass harmonica

Manja Ristić: recordings, electronics, objects, piano, violin, cello

Mastered by Taku Unami

Photos by Marja Ahti

Sculptures appearing in photos by Lujo Lozica

Design by Yuko Zama

Produced by Jon Abbey

Erstwhile 103

Field Recording, Location Sound and Ecoacoustics with Chris Watson, Alice Eldridge, Manja Ristić, David Toop and Jez Riley French

New workshop alert!

Field Recording, Location Sound and Ecoacoustics with Chris Watson, Alice Eldridge, Manja Ristić, David Toop, and Jez Riley French starts from September 10th.

The experience of sound is critical to our understanding of the world around us. This workshop will blend the diverse perspectives of five acclaimed artists, scientists, and theorists to explore the ideas, practices, benefits, and potentials of working with located sound, whether in artistic, environmental, or other contexts.

Please find more information and how to apply at CAMP's website

The interest is huge, but some spots should still open up on the waitlist. Please join us!

Wound Parallax and the Culture of Sensing

Wound Parallax and the Culture of Sensing is a curated playlist on the CIFRA platform. To start with, it is a 9-hour-long all-female selection, with 40 artworks and 20 artists.

Among selected artists are: 

Verónica Cerrotta, Cynthia Zaven, Concepcion Huerta, Maria Papadomanolaki, Nika Son, Biliana Voutchkova, Katharina Schmidt, Pak Yan Lau, Joana de Sá, Kate Carr, Alexandra Spence, Felicity Mangan, Katia Krow, Yulia Glukhova, Simina Oprescu, Tatiana Heuman, Marija Balubdžić, Kathrin Hunze, Lydia Kavina, and Manja Ristić.

Wound Parallax and the Culture of Sensing, curated by Manja Ristić

Symbolically, when we observe the environment, we encounter the complex issues of trauma dynamics that unravel in the duality of destruction versus healing, defined through a transformative force constantly seeking problem-solving mechanisms to achieve an equilibrium. These dynamics sought nothing but a permanent flow. But if we reduce the environment in its broader sense to regenerative evolutionary dynamics, we must abandon its potential algorithmic nature and the profound directions beyond human understanding of consciousness.

Conversely, transposing the flow of life to a multidimensional discourse provides us with a bit more “space”. It opens numerous possibilities for exploring deeper notions of connectivity, entanglements, and interrelatedness. It allows us to re-imagine multiple realities and bends the paradigm of “truth” as a central concept around which the highest postulates of known existence orbit. This is slippery, dangerous, and uncomfortable. Where is the point of equilibrium in this entropy of realities? Can the truth truly be polyphonic? Fortunately, the energy never lies. It can be reduced, weakened, agitated, or corrupted, but it still magically seems to “record” all its forms. The strength of overall evolution relies on this mysterious power of memory that is nowhere to be found, yet it is obvious that it exists. We still need to find the mantra to lead us across the void of oblivion, liberate us from the shackles of limited perception, and bring us closer to understanding the meaning of evolution.

Nature's intelligence appears to be deeply poetic, even when it is cruel and gruesome. It is responsive, adaptable, systematic, all-pervading, and self-regulating. Its mysterious “communication” skills entice us to explore biophilia within ourselves, inviting us to search for long-dormant neural circuits and extend our sensorial abilities into the environment. One of the fundamentals of modern physics states that the presence of mass causes spacetime to warp or bend. Countless curvatures define the very presence of a body, which is never at rest. The vibrational persistence of the all-pervading Nature and the inexorable patternization of frequency lock the body and spacetime in a definite correlation of unique trembling.

Is it incorrect to claim that everything is nested within its environment, which interacts with sensitive cell structures in the body? Is it incorrect to claim that the mind expands into the environment? Is it incorrect to claim that the trauma of the body extends into the environment and vice versa?

The curvature of spacetime is not easy to detect, but it is undeniably present. Can it be sensed? Does it have somewhat holographic spores? Do we interact through them? Is the infinite diversity conditioned by this extended body-mind-environment situation?

When bodies collide or fissures occur, energy transforms, spacetime’s curvatures saturate, and the mass could find itself on the brink of gravitational collapse. Strangely, in astronomy, a collapse sometimes brings equilibrium. The fissure, the wound, and the trauma can never be experienced twice in the same way. They permanently hold their unique imprint in the body as well as in their dedicated curvatures of spacetime.

Perhaps this is a good reason to establish a theory of wound parallax, and adhere to the culture of sensing, with ears placed all over our skin, with auric eyes wide-open, rooted in the energy of deep compassion and entanglement with each other, and the environment; sensing-listening with the means of our deepest intuition.

Sargassum aeterna

 

Rekem Records presents the new album by artist and researcher, Manja Ristić. A classically trained musician and composer whose work extends to dance, theatre and movie production, Ristić also focuses on interdisciplinary approaches to sound, field recording, and experimental radio arts. In the last decade, she has published sound art independently and through labels and publishing bodies such as LINE, mappa, Skupina, Unfathomless, tsss tapes, DASA tapes, and many more. In this most recent work she presents four ambient compositions, situated in what journalist Lujo Parežanin aptly describes as ‘listening-as-speculation’. Read the accompanying text here.

Liner notes:

On a serene Sunday dawn in mid-April, I quietly slipped into the space of KONTEJNER, the Zagreb-based curatorial collective. Inside, people were mostly lying on the floor—some wrapped in blankets, some peacefully asleep—survivors of the closing night of the 2025 Zagreb Music Biennale. Those who were awake were transfixed by the exquisitely delicate performance of Manja Ristić, who stood over a desk scattered with her characteristic array of instruments and objects: various percussion tools, a violin, a transistor radio, a pair of hydrophones...

Titled Awakenings, the performance encapsulated not only the musical but also the fundamental artistic and ethical essence of Manja’s work: a rigorous yet playful approach to sound and texture, a deep attentiveness to the natural environment, and a gentleness and emotional clarity in her relationship with both her material and her audience. For those familiar with Manja, it was a reminder that a gesture of care is present in everything she does—making it no surprise that people would entrust her not only with their full attention but also with their dreams. It is in keeping with this caring nature that ecology has become a central theme running through nearly all of Manja’s recent work. Living on an island—especially one as vulnerable to touristification as Korčula, where she has been based in recent years—undoubtedly feeds her environmental imagination.

As an artist working at the intersection of sound and environment, Manja places greater emphasis on how she positions herself as a listening subject than on the technical aspects of field recording. On Sargassum aeterna, her captivating new album released by the Greek label Rekem Records, she takes this notion of listening-as-registering a step further—transforming it into listening-as-speculation.

Sargassum aeterna is a programmatic four-track album framed by a fantastical narrative set in a dystopian future—the year 2221—where today’s social and ecological contradictions have reached their most extreme conclusions. Within this future world, we witness catastrophes largely of human making: disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field, a global war (North vs. South), destructive ocean mining, and the suspension of human rights. Amid the gloom, however, there are sanctuaries: the Scottish Isle of Arran, “home to the child-God Luka” (presumably depicted on the album cover), and the island of Mljet in the Adriatic, just southwest of Korčula, where “coralligenous species flourish, alongside insects, small mammals, and the few remaining traces of marine life.”

Manja renders this imagined world into sound with her signature subtlety and clarity, though her compositions are never one-dimensional. There is anxiety, but also tranquility; trepidation, but also melancholia. The sonic palette is deliberately sparse: field recordings that capture both the intensity and desolation of life by the sea, instrumental drones, and the ever-present hydrophones. The dramaturgy is mostly static, creating a suspended feeling—a sense of ominous stillness.

Sargassum aeterna is distinctly uncanny. It employs the technique of estranging familiar sounds to evoke a soundscape of a future that may have already begun to bleed into our present. The signs are unmistakable: the ecological crisis, the disregard for human life in the Mediterranean and along Europe’s borders, looming imperial wars, genocides committed with impunity, the steady rise of fascism.

Only the child-God can save us—him, and the unconditional gentleness of Manja’s music.

Lujo Parežanin

--

Releases June 5, 2025

All sounds recorded & composed by Manja Ristić

Field & hydrophone recording locations: Nazaré, Portugal; Isle of Arran, Scotland; Islands of Mijet & Vrnik, Croatia; Popina, Serbia 

Instruments: violin, EMS Synthi 100, Atlantic shells & found sounds

Hydrophone & contact mic made by Jez riley French

Mastering by Goran Simonoski / La Plant Studio

Cover image by Marko Paunović

Liner notes by Lujo Parežanin

Layout by Kostis Kilymis

Accompanying text by Manja Ristić

INA GRM Focus, "From island to island" on Radio France

Performance “From island to island” by Anja Lauvdal & Manja Ristić, April 25th at Le CENTQUATRE-PARIS, INA GRM Focus series in podcast The Experimental by François Bonnet, on Radio France.

"By deploying its Acousmonium, a multi-channel sound system with impressive capabilities, the INA Musical Research Group offers concerts that open onto unique sound universes through a bold selection of works and artists from multiple horizons, each exploring, in their own way, the qualities of sound and the emotions they produce."

“From island to island” Commissioned by A4 (SK), in collaboration with INA GRM and Kontejner (HR) as part of New Perspectives for Action, a Re-Imagine Europe project, co-financed by the European Union and supported by public funding from the Arts Council of Slovakia and the Bratislava City Foundation.

Weaving an ephemeral web, invoking a dreamatorium with its own logic, deeply concerned with the spaces in between, From island to island is a subtle sonification of profound musicality, of real and surreal journeys, and of a gigantic maelstrom hiding the unknown multiverse. The invitation to descend is open, but whether these journeys are real or surreal, one thing is certain: Anja and Manja must both take the ferry home.

Ask your Body! — Bruits de fond guest Manja Ristić

Grateful for the invitation and pleased to share this mixtape made for "Bruits de fond" radio show by wabi-sabi tapes on CAMP Radio

Ask your Body!

The politics of sound intertwine with the politics of space, memory, and bodies—deeply immersed in a transforming environment. In celebration of the latest release by Manja Ristić, Purpurna Vresišta, published in early May by Wabi-Sabi Tapes, this mix introduces the voices of artists existing on the edges of global society. From these margins, they share their unique experiences of contemporary civilization’s Anthropocenic entropy.

From Morocco to Patagonia, Australia to Slovakia, Argentina to South Africa, Mexico, Iran, China, Japan, California, Russia, Italy, Scotland, Portugal, and the Balkans—this eclectic journey through space and time serves as a reminder that, in an era of greed, deception, and manipulation, drawing the boundaries of societal existence and acting from them is the only moral contemporary perspective.

Full tracklist

Ahmed Essyad – Moroccan Electroacoustic Music 1972-74 – 07 Sultane (1973) part IV

Alan Lamb – Archival Recordings, Primal Image – Beauty – 02 Beauty

Manja Ristić – Purpurna vresišta – 02 Olovo

Lawrence English – Themes and Atmospheres for Adam Curtis's Russia 1985–1999 TraumaZone – 05 Atmosphere IV

Bosque Vacío – Cantera Oriente – 02 Subacuática

Fangyi Liu – dian qi xia 電氣夏 – 02 aan3 zau3 晏晝

Aiko Takahashi – The Grass Harp – 03 Vases À Iris

SENSA – Drone Day 2023 – 21 MNTANA.WEXHWELE – !Habesi Roots

VITTORIO GUINDANI – Strame – 11 Strame 11

Lucie Vítková – Cave Acoustics – 04 Inside the Ritual

Sylvia Hinz & Andrew Leslie Hooker – METAL – 01 METAL

Concepcion Huerta – El Sol de los Muertos – 05 Los Ecos de las Voces del Silencio

Manja Ristić – Purpurna vresišta – 01 Vatra

Chapter Music – CH187DD Yirinda – Yunma (Sleep)

WILLIAM BASINSKI & RICHARD CHARTIER – Something From The Pink House – 01 Something From The Pink House

Luzunimawa – Luzunimawa – 01 Luzunimawa

francisco lópez – WIND – Patagonia, environmental sound matter from Patagonia – 01 Wind Patagonia

Ehsan Saboohi – Piano Works Vol. I, Symphony No. 1 (version for two pianos) – 01 Movement I

Simon McCorry – shadows

Pheobe riley Law & Jez riley French – ringtone project volume #1 – Matsudo ringtones – 07 sakaiwa

Purpurna vresišta

Published by Wabi-Sabi Tapes, Saint Étienne, France

Cassette + Digital Album

Pro-dubbed clear tape in transparent case with folded J-Card. Edition of 50

"Imagine an undefined web spun from innumerable holograms, each flickering in a polyphony of resonance. These holograms reflect one another through translucent membranes, sharing a common illumination source but claiming their distinct cymatics. Both tight and ethereal, autonomous yet interconnected, defined yet open to interpretation, and hidden in plain sight — the web behaves like an algorithmic field through which one might begin to sense the subtle depth of a space steeped in memory and sound.

Purpurna vresišta delves into the trauma imprinted on landscapes, examining this concept through extended listening techniques, field recordings, and soundscape compositions. The album observes and records abandoned industrial sites on the fringes of Barreiro, Portugal, along the Tagus River, as well as the microenvironments of the Great Lake on the island of Mljet, Croatia, and the tropical forests of Thailand.

The toxic, derelict post-industrial landscapes of Barreiro, scarred by years of metallurgy and production of chemicals, present a surreal sight. These areas, now barren and desolate, maintain an unexpected sensitivity and remain in open contact with the river. Over decades of neglect and decay, resilient microenvironments have emerged, hosting a diverse array of flora that gradually detoxify the land, one micromillimeter at a time.

Further south in the Adriatic, an island lake connected with the sea shelters unique and endangered coralligenous structures. Despite legal protections, these structures suffer from water traffic noise pollution, plastic waste from increased tourism, and the rising sea temperatures caused by uncontrolled industrial, medical, chemical, and communal waste.

On the other side of the world, Thailand's tropical forests have endured decades of similar impacts from mass tourism, and inadequate management of electronic, industrial, and toxic waste. The country is a major contributor, of up to 60% of plastic pollution in oceans. Thailand's 23 coastal provinces dump an estimated one million tonnes of garbage into the sea each year.

What do these soundscapes have to tell us? Do they speak of the profound resilience? By listening to these landscapes, would we begin to understand the depth of their struggle?"

Manja Ristić

--

Manja Ristić is a Serbo-Croatian violinist, sound artist, published poet, curator, and researcher.

In her work, she resonates deeply with the environments she observes and translates the human activity that weaves through them. The composer uses field recordings to capture snapshots of time and space, evoking inherent memory hidden in their subtle layers and non-obvious details. The raw sonic material she obtains allows the listener to perceive the sensory experience from a distance, even evoking echoes of their own lived experiences. The power of Manja Ristić’s music lies in its ability to transform that sensory connection into a shared reality.

For "Purpurna vresišta", the artist builds musical bridges between biomes in Portugal, Thailand, and Croatia. Beneath the jolts and chirps of the natural world, a long drone runs through both pieces, seemingly urging the elements to follow its gravitational pull. Acting as a thread between a shimmering jungle and algae that erupt in hushed bursts, this drone continually evolves across both compositions, offering two contingent perspectives. The first reflects the dull weight of human activity, which — even in untouched nature — scarifies landscapes through the overexploitation of life. The second highlights the astonishing adaptability of plant and animal species striving to transcend a relentless race toward progress with destructive consequences.

These transformed environments embody a kind of “optimism of the will” in line with Gramsci’s revolutionary maxim. He defined this optimism as “not needing to hope in order to act, nor to succeed in order to persevere, but […] laughing in battle, above suffering, doubt, the whispers of oblivion—because its ardent life is the denial of death.” Through her music and commitment, Manja Ristić instills this hope, and through these reflections and their deeply resonant impact, she equips us with the means to act.

--

Released May 2, 2025

Recorded, edited, and composed by Manja Ristić

Artwork by Mona Chancogne

Mastering: Goran Simonoski (La Plant Studio) / Adrien Lambert

Printed at toner toner, screen printing workshop at Grrrnd Zero, Vaulx-en-Velin, FR

Duplicated by RoHS Prod in Seichamps, FR

Field recording of popping algae made by Joana Guerra.

Field recordings of bat swarms and various tropical cicadas made by Mark Vernon.

Instruments used include violin, EMS Synthi 100, and JrF hydrophones.

Locations include abandoned industrial sites and the River Tagus in Barreiro, Portugal; Great Lake on the island of Mljet, Croatia; and various locations around Thailand.

Sounds in Portugal were gathered as part of OUT.RA Shape + Residency 2024

Prekrasna

ph by Nina Đurđević

Performance of the monodrama PREKSRASNA, skillfully produced by Četveroruka

"Prekrasna" is based on the story of Baba Yaga, and the development of the female psyche. Young actress Melody Martišković narratively steps into the folk tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful" to express a deeply intimate and dramatic experience.

Performance: Melody Martišković 

Direction and dramaturgy: Marina Petković Liker

Dramaturgy: Maja Sviben

Set design and costume: Ana Paulić 

Composition and sound design: Manja Ristić

Live sound editing: Luka Gamulin

PREKRASNA

April, 16th at 20h CET

Studio Chekhov, Gajeva 10, Zagreb

Book your tickets at cetveroruka@gmail.com

US premiere of The Tempest of Neptun

“The Tempest of Neptun” set for North American Premiere at Full Frame Festival

The acclaimed documentary The Tempest of Neptun, directed by Katarina Stanković, will have its U.S. premiere on April 4 at the prestigious Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.

With breathtaking cinematography and a richly textured soundscape, The Tempest of Neptun transports viewers to the stunning island of Vis. Through intimate storytelling, the film explores the community’s response to global changes, touching on themes of identity, cultural heritage, and environmental preservation.

A visually and sonically stunning documentary, The Tempest of Neptun offers a poetic yet urgent conversation about the balance between progress and preservation. The film has already been recognized with the Audience Award for Best Film at the 22nd Liburnia Film Festival.

The Tempest of Neptun is a Serbian-Croatian-Polish co-production (2024, 64 minutes).

🎥 The Tempest of Neptun – Film Crew

🔹 Director: Katarina Stanković

🔹 Cinematographers: Grazyna Sowa, Nemanja Jovanov

🔹 Additional Cinematographers: Srđan Stojiljković, Petra Murić, Danko Vučinović

🔹 Sound Recording: Tonči Tafra

🔹 Editing Consultant: Dragan von Petrović

🔹 Sound Design & Audio post-production: Miloš Drobnjaković, Ivan Uzelac, Aleksa Prljević

🔹 Color Correction: Nikola Marinković, Relja Simić

🔹 Music: Tasos Stamou, Manja Ristić, Compagnie du Hanneton (James Thierrée, Mathias Durand, Moritz Federlein)

🔹 Co-Producers: Magdalena Petrović, Tatjana Božić, Wacław Mączyński

🔹 Associate Producers: Igor Simić, Ivan Vujović, Marko Milošević

🔹 Art Installation: Hannah Kl

🔹 Teaser: Đurđa Stanković

Live at Beton Kino

On Friday, March 28th, I had the pleasure of performing a concert at Beton Kino, part of the Novi Šum program organized by MKC Split. The exceptional production and the warm, welcoming audience made this experience truly special.

During the performance, I debuted two new pieces: "ghosts remixed" and "genesis." The recording of the set is 35 minutes long, featuring a snippet of "ghosts" and the entirety of "genesis."

Organization: MKC Split, Program Novi Šum 2025
Production: Luka Barbić
Sound design: Eugen Jeličić
Cover photo: Miroslav Lelas
All sounds recorded, composed, edited, and performed by Manja Ristić
Tape mastering Goran Simonoski / Studio La Plant

Contemporary dance piece "Mašina"

Bojana Robinson: Mašina (Machine)

Cankarjev dom, Ljubaljana

April 3rd & 4th, Theatre Duša Počkaj, 20h CET
Duration: 60 minutes

The Machine project is a duet between Bojana, a choreographer and dancer, and a breathing machine that her daughter occasionally uses. Although the device is present due to the child's health condition, the author explores her personal relationship to the technological device that directly and indirectly affects the author's life.

The author questions the nature of the machine, how it becomes the subject of the performance itself, and how to embody the relationship between the machine and the human.

"The machine is a mediator. The machine is a source of fear and discomfort, but also a source of security and freedom. The machine evokes emotions and demands them." Dimitrije Kokanov

Author, choreographer and performer: Bojana Robinson
Text and dramaturge: Dimitrije Kokanov
Scenographer and video artist: Dorian Šilec Petek
Music composer: Manja Ristić
Costume designer: Timotej Rosc
Lighting designer: Igor Remeta
Text translation: Polona Glavan
Actress (voice): Polona Juh
Choreographic dialogue: Kaja Lorenci
Photo: Matt Robinson

Production: Institute for Contemporary Art Practice and Theory 0.1
Co-production: Cankarjev dom
Co-organization: Society of Arts and Culture 47, Vrhnika, DUM - Society of Artists, Ljubljana, Society for Cultural Production and Affirmation of Artistic Processes NAGIB, Maribor
With financial support: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and City of Ljubljana

Radio series in four episodes, on HRT3

Radio series: Music and Vice Versa in Four Episodes on Croatian National Radio Third Program

The series presents a collection of works by sound artist Manja Ristić (b. 1979), who lives and works on the island of Korčula. She selected the works for this occasion and accompanied them with notes.

March 7 — Genesis — 22.30 CET

The first episode features her recent work published at the end of January 2025. "Genesis" is inspired by the subtle relationships between sound and space, the phenomenology of sound, and contemporary research on communication systems in nature and ecology. In addition to the violin and EMS Synthi 100, the artist uses field recordings from Montreal, Portugal, the islands of Vrnik, Mljet, and Silba, various locations in Thailand, Lake Miraflores near the Panama Canal, and the slopes of Avala near Belgrade.

March 14 — Dew — 22.30 CET

The second episode presents the album "Dew" (Rosa), released in November 2024 by the Polish label Okla Records. The album features two compositions that evoke the artist's memories of formative days, accompanied by an autobiographical discourse on her first experience of emigration in Vienna. The author conveys the experience of integrating forgetfulness and emotions, which are only released when confronting space (the platform at the station in Vienna).

March 21 — Calypso's Dream — 22.30 CET

The third episode features excerpts from the collaborative work of Manja Ristić and Mark Vernon, "Calipso's Dream" - an album released in September 2024. The album presents a collection of soundscapes shaped by the subtle sound morphologies of the microenvironments of the island of Mljet, conceptual-narrative counterpoints to the well-known Homeric epic "Odyssey." In this work, Calypso's dream, the archetypal mystery, is revealed through the author's perspective on the goddess Calypso.

March 28 — Mixtape — 22.30 CET

The fourth and final episode in the series gathers fragments from four collaborative works in a specially prepared mixtape. Manja Ristić collaborates with Czech artist Tomáš Šenkyřík (Melancholia), in a Trio with Joana Guerra and Veronica Cerrotta (Salt Landscapes), with Patrick Tubin McGinley aka murmur (The Scaffold), and finally, a joint exploration of the Adriatic soundscapes with Slovenian artist Robertina Šebjanič (Hidden Adriatic).

Prepared by editor Iva Lovrec Štefanović.

Compilation: Umwelt Vol.1

 

Contributing artists: A_Phan, Abby Lee Tee, Chra, Daphne X, Die Kunstvolle Abnuetzung, Elizaveta Trukhanova, Jakob Schauer, Kobermann, Lobau Listening Comprehensions, Manja Ristić, Marie Vermont, Marie-Andrée Pellerin & Stanisław Welbel, Mélia Roger & Grégoire Chauvot, mʊdʌki, Nicolussi, Nina Jukić, Rahel Kraft, Sanna Lu Una, Simon Engl, Steffi Baron-Neuhuber, the concept horse, yruu, Johannes Piller.

»Umwelt Vol. 1« encompasses a wide span of seasons, places, times of day and aggregate states. Chirping birds are disrupted by jet fighter trainings while kids play in the nearby playground. The wind of the Moroccan dessert excites harmonicas while thousands of fleas devour a jellyfish at a French beach. Recordings were captured on Austrian land, Scottish rivers and at the Croatian sea at 3 a.m., just a blink before somebody got woken up by a bird in the early rites of spring.

Coined at the beginning of the 20th century, the term Umwelt carries an additional meaning to the widely known German translation signifying environment or certain surroundings in a spatial context. Umwelt further describes the sensory reality of living species as subjects within their own limited perception – assuming it to be general as most creatures besides human beings are not able to deliberately become aware of their Umwelt let alone transcend it.

The 23 contributions to the compilation »Umwelt Vol. 1« seek to break down this protective wall of senses to surpass structuralist boundaries by discerning diverse realities from a human perspective emphatically widened to a multitude of different sensory and imagined realities. In opposition to the humanocentric view of the world and its complex ecosystems »Umwelt Vol. 1« is an effort to unlearn habits of thought, attempting to divert the focus by scoping in on raw and mostly unedited Field Recordings to center different species' Umwelts and how they are determined, ignored, and disrupted by humanity.

- S. Nicolussi

Released February 26, 2025

»Umwelt Vol. 1« was curated and compiled by S. Nicolussi & J. Piller. 

Mastered by J. Piller / Kobermann.

Real time pro-dubbed to tape by S. Nicolussi.

Tape cover and artwork design by Alessia Celentano.

Released by A.T.C. Records in 2025.

Music Biennale Zagreb

ph Matej Grgić

13 / 04 / Sunday / 05:30 – 07:00

Awakenings: Manja Ristić

For those still floating between waking and dreaming... on the last morning of the Biennale, Manja Ristić will set up a space for relaxation & release – a concert at dawn.

Manja’s work can be experienced as a form of “sound diary”, a place where she records landscapes and inner processes employing abstract sound narratives. She is based on the island of Korčula in the Adriatic, where she explores the different sounds “under and above the sea”. In the layered architecture of her field recordings, natural environments figure as starting points for subtle improvisations. Sound, in this context, becomes “a medium for connecting with the world, a research platform, a mirror of micro-evolution,” reflecting the traces that space leaves in her soundscapes.

Manja captures the ephemeral moments in space and time, creating “an archive of disappearances and an archive of emergencies... a phantasmagorical gallery”, a place that encourages introspective listening through intertwined narratives of nature, space, and internal conditions.

Program collaboration - KONTEJNER and MaMa Multimedia Institute

ghosts remixed

"ghosts, coming out of the hell of the past to sublimate it. A therapeutic work." 

Salima Bouaraour, PAN M 360

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One year after the premiere of the work "ghosts," I am delighted to share a remixed version, which served as the context for my performance at Akousma — International Festival of Immersive Digital Music in Montreal, in October 2024. 

The work is enriched with recordings that captivated my imagination over the past year and will mutate through different compositional settings in some of my forthcoming releases.

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ghosts (2024) 20’

How do we approach a landscape of severe devastation and dense history of warfare?

In the performance "ghosts," I use obsolete instruments: a modular synthesizer EMS Synthi 100, a discarded wheelchair wheel salvaged from the Adriatic Sea, and a piano fallen into disuse that belonged to the Austrian conceptualist, filmmaker, improviser, photographer, environmentalist, and writer Karl Katzinger, aka John Tylo (October 1953 – April 2021).

Alongside these elements of the past and their rediscovered voices, I incorporate processed hydrophone and field recordings, the treatment of found objects, electromagnetic fields, crystals, limestone pebbles, Atlantic shells, Aleppo pine cones, different chemical compounds, and extended techniques improvisation on a 200-year-old violin. I appropriate these elements through the discourse of critical tourism, environmental issues, and a culture of memory. Specifically, I focus on listening to the inherent memories of places with a dense historical imprint of ecological devastation and warfare—in the South Adriatic, on the Atlantic coast, and in the Czech-Austrian borderlands, formerly part of the Iron Curtain belt.

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Review of the Montreal performance 

Released February 17, 2025

All sounds performed, recorded, composed & edited by Manja Ristić

except for Adriatic dolphins *hydrophone recording by Robertina Šebjanič

The cover image of the micro and macro plastic of the Atlantic Ocean was taken in Nazaré Portugal, in April 2024.

Hydrophone used for an underwater recording made by Jez riley French

Mastering by Goran Simonoski / La Plant Studio

framework: afield

This edition of Framework Radio has been produced in Croatia by regular contributor Manja Ristić. Please note: this mix, beginning in the 47th minute, features a near-silent field recording. It was made during the recent student protests in Belgrade and is a snippet of 100,000 people observing a 15-minute moment of silence for the victims of the Novi Sad train station tragedy. Please do not adjust your sound. 

Producer’s notes:

Something old and something new, for the robust beginning of 2025.

Having spent two months deeply involved in activism, contributing as much as I could to the student-led protests in Serbia urging for sociocultural reform in a society submerged in the corruptive politics of the autocratic ruling party, my perception of societal dynamics has shifted significantly. Citizen action and civil disobedience have been systematically suppressed by multinational corporate greed and crony capitalist governments, but once awakened, they seem unstoppable. The beginning of 2025 is pushing the Western hemisphere to rethink its core values and confront the darkest pathologies lurking within.

This mix features sounds from people I admire deeply, and soundscapes I consider sentient. It starts with the beavers of Upper Austria working around their creek lodge, and it ends with 100,000 people protesting in Belgrade, including a snippet of a 15-minute silence for the victims of the Novi Sad train station tragedy.

The ritual of bonding that will change the world.

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Tracklist [artist – album – track]

Abby Lee Tee – At The Beaver Lodge I – 02 Sleet
Jez riley French – Sleeping for Company #2 (radio extract 2)
Natasha Barrett – Reconfiguring the Landscape – 02 Speaking Spaces 2 – Surfaces from Graz
WILLIAM BASINSKI + RICHARD CHARTIER – Aurora Terminalis – 02 Aurora Terminalis (excerpt 2)
francisco lópez – Silent Trains – Korea – 04 Osong to Jeonju
Manja Ristić – hydrophone recording – pond in the middle of nowhere on The Isle of Arran
Alex Briand & Eyden Zhao – Scinár – 04 Sakaki
Fletina – Serrof – 01 Boiling Room
Wadada Leo Smith – Masnavi – A Sonic Meditation and Reflections on Light
Jez riley French – Sleeping for Company #1 (radio extract)
Manja Ristić – The Sea of Sorrow
VA – Arlo’s Sounds of Norfolk – 10 Dark Sines – View From The Tower Mountain in the Rain
florconvenas – Donde hundimos nuestros nombres – 01 Para detonar
Ahmed Essyad – Moroccan Electroacoustic Music 1972-74 – 02 Toubkal (1972) part II
Igor Stangliczky – 猫舌 – 01 Orange Opening
Manja Ristić – Student Protest December 22nd – Slavija Square, Belgrade

genesis

 

In its fifth year, the traditional January 27th release spirals around Mark Vernon’s birthday. Interestingly, the "year one" occurred just a few weeks before we began communicating. As with many occasions, we can wonder whether it was precognition or coincidence.

Luckily, the 21st century is exciting for its exponential progress in theoretical science, researching those "hard questions" –– the origin of consciousness, memory, the fabric of space, interconnectedness, synchronicity, telepathy, the origin of life, and the nature of gravity and dark energy, and as some of the most progressive thinkers on the planet suggest –– it seems that we are well-soaked in a Sonic Universe that organizes and underlies everything!

Happy birthday to the sound wizard Mark Vernon!

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[start quote] In this chapter, we postulate an integral concept of information processing in the universe, on the basis of a new biophysical principle, coined the generalized music (GM)-scale of EMF frequencies. Meta-analyses of current biomedical literature revealed the presence of a distinct pattern of discrete EMF frequency bands in a wide range of animate and non-animate systems. The underlying algorithm of harmonic solitonic waves provided a novel conceptual interface between living and non-living systems being of relevance for the areas of brain research as well as biological evolution. We hold that nature is guided by resonating quantum entities related to quantum vacuum fluctuations of an imminent zero-point energy (ZPE) field, also regarded as a superfluid quantum space (SQS). Since the whole human organism, including the brain is embedded in this dynamic energy field, a pilot wave guided supervenience of brain function is conceived. Conversely, the brain may write discrete informational states into the ZPE field as individual memory traces. Both information fluxes may be related to a holofractal memory workspace, associated with, but not reducible to the brain, that operates as a scale-invariant mental attribute of reality. Our concept, therefore, addresses the earlier postulated “hard problem” in consciousness studies. The proposed field-receptive workspace, integrates past and (anticipated) future events and may explain overall ultra-rapid brain responses as well as the origin of qualia. Information processing in the brain is shown to be largely facilitated by propagation of hydronium (proton/water) ions in aqueous compartments. The hydronium ions move freely within a hexagonally organized H2O lattice, providing a superconductive integral brain antenna for receiving solitonic wave information according to the Schrödinger wave equation. The latter quantum process enables an ultra-rapid soliton/biophoton flux that may orchestrate overall brain binding and the creation of coherent conscious states. In a cosmological context, we envision a scale-invariant information processing, operating through a toroidal/wormhole operator at the interface of our 4D world and acoustic phase space. We submit that the resulting meta-language is instrumental in a partially guided evolution and the creation of first life. The central message provided here describes intrinsic cosmic connectivity that is mirrored in the human brain. This implies that sentience exists on infinite scales, on the basis of an electromagnetic signature of the universe which reveals a musical master code. [end quote]

Abstract from the paper “8. Biophysics of Consciousness: A Scale-Invariant Acoustic Information Code of a Superfluid Quantum Space Guides the Mental Attribute of the Universe”

Authors: Dirk K. F. Meijer, Igor Jerman, Alexey V. Melkikh, Valeriy I. Sbitnev

Published in: Rhythmic Oscillations in Proteins to Human Cognition

Publisher: Springer Singapore

--

Released January 27, 2025

Recorded, edited, and composed by Manja Ristić.

Field recording of popping algae made by Joana Guerra in Barreiro, Portugal.

Field recordings of bat swarms, various cicadas, and an underwater reef made by Mark Vernon in various locations in Thailand.

Instruments used include violin, EMS Synthi 100, JrF hydrophones, and JrF contact mics.

Locations include Montreal, Canada; Nazare and Barreiro, Portugal; Isle of Arran, Scotland; the islands of Vrnik, Mljet, and Silba, Croatia; Harrachstal, Austria; various locations around Thailand; Lago Miraflores, Panama; and Avala Mountain, Serbia.

--

Mastering: Goran Simonoski / La Plant Studio

Cover image: Žarka Radoja, the dunes of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil

Cover art: Manja Ristić

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For Mark

NOVI ŠUM at MKC Split

MKC Split is launching a new platform for sound explorations.

Novi Šum 2025 brings a fresh wave of alternative and electronic music to the cultural offer of the city! This concert program is designed to connect a new generation of performers and audiences through innovative, experimental, and unconventional music. The mission of the program is to create lasting cultural value through concerts, workshops, and collaborations with guest artists, creating space for research and dialogue on the future of sound. This year we will host renowned and upcoming musicians who push the boundaries of sound expression. 

Guest performers: 

CURA I DEČKO — an electronic duo that creates powerful live performances on synthesizers and sequencers, with a distinctive blend of progressive house and electronic sound. 

TONOTA — an innovative producer who combines ambient electronics, hip hop, and pop, with a rich experience of collaborations on the regional and international scene. 

Toni Starešinić — the creative force behind the bands Chui and Mangroove, award-winning composer and producer. 

Kali Kamo — an explosive spoken dub manifesto that, through improvisation and experimental rhythms, forces the audience to dance and reflect. 

Manja Ristić — violinist, sound artist, and researcher who experiments with electroacoustic music and environmental sounds. 

Ivan Grobensky — an author who intertwines tradition with modern sound, bringing unusual musical expressions through his projects. 

Leo Beslać — multi-instrumentalist and composer known for his eclectic mix of pop, jazz, and experimental music. 

INNER CHILD — an interdisciplinary artist who combines whale songs with electronic music, creating an unparalleled sound experience. 

Roj Osa — The New Band Of Brothers Synkauz and Marc Quarantotto, bringing a unique combination of electronics and acoustics to the experimental soundscape. 

Workshop program: In addition to concerts, each artist will also hold a workshop for young musicians and enthusiasts. Workshop topics include the technical part of the performance, work with electronic instruments, music production, and the author's work. 

Participation in the workshops is free and the number of participants is limited. 

Applications are received at the e-mail address: luka.barbic@mkcsplit.hr 

Join us in exploring new sounds and musical boundaries!

Meandri

We are thrilled to present the premiere of "Meandri" — a collaborative radiophonic composition by Mark Vernon and myself, on Radio Belgrade 3. This piece is the outcome of our residency at the Electronic Studio, where we worked on the legendary EMS Synthi 100.

Saturday, 21.12.2024, tune in at 22:20 CET on Channel 3

Many thanks to the most wonderful editor Ksenija Stevanović for this opportunity!

Happy Solstice and may the light prevail.

About the work "Meandri" read in the announcement 

As the artists say, “Meandri” is a collaborative radiophonic composition that emerged from live mixing during a four-day residency at the Electronic Studio, using various materials collected in Belgrade. It represents a diverse approach to the complex analogue system of the EMS Synthi 100. The material they collected is varied — from experiments and explorations of drone and ambient sequences to processed field recordings and intuitive patch-making in the here and now, akin to playing 'four hands' on the EMS Synthi 100. The complex, meditative landscapes resulting from these sessions reflect their relationship with analogue sound, as well as the application of different listening techniques.

Before us is a composition that unfolds spontaneously and fluidly, revealing all the magic of captured and released moments. This is a kind of lucid dreaming about Belgrade, a small étude on the art of 'memory in sound,' where each recorded material is both an archival entry and an urgent need to capture and transform something that would otherwise escape. Above all, the composition “Meandri” by Mark Vernon and Manja Ristić is a poetic image of the highest order, in sound, which we can surrender to through listening and our own internal metamorphosis. What remains and what disappears are captured in the magic of the sound play.

Editor Ksenija Stevanović

 

MULTIPHONIES 24-25 at INA GRM

Save the date!

On April 25th, 2025, as part of the MULTIPHONIES 24-25 program at the renowned INA GRM in Paris, Manja Ristić and Anja Lauvdal will present an electro-acoustic performance titled "From Island to Island," specially designed for an immersive setup.

Be there!

 

Prekrasna

“Prekrasna” is a mono-drama based on the story of Baba Yaga. Young actress Melody Martišković narratively enters the folk tale “Vasilisa the Beautiful” to express a deeply intimate and dramatic experience.

Premiere: December 12 and 13, 2024, at 9 PM 

Venue: Studio EXIT, Gundulićeva 37/1, Zagreb

Production: Četveroruka

Performance: Melody Martišković 

Direction and dramaturgy: Marina Petković Liker 

Dramaturgy: Maja Sviben 

Scenography and costume: Ana Paulić 

Composition and sound design: Manja Ristić 

Sound editing: Luka Gamulin

By analyzing the story of Vasilisa the Beautiful and then drawing from her own experiences, reflections, and archetypal dreams, which serve as subtext and internal content, the performer delves deep into the issues faced by a young woman. The inner conflicts, obstacles, and doubts she encounters are the main motivators for engaging with this text and story, which only confirms that this turmoil and challenges have existed for ages. Observing the girls and women around her and conversing with them, the performer realizes she is not the only one who shares this problem. Becoming aware of the context in which we live and view the world through the lens of the current political and cultural situation, she understands that this performance already has its context and framework.

FRAGMENTATION: LAYERING OF TIME AND SPACE

        

Gallery of Contemporary Art Pančevo

Opening: 2 December 2024, at 7 p.m.

Artists: Igor Bošnjak (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Anica Vučetić, diSTRUKTURA, Aleksandar Lazar and Manja Ristić, Nemanja Nikolić, Marija Ćalić (Serbia), Michael Coldwell (Great Britain).

Artists Selector and Curator: Nina Todorović, PhD in Arts

Program organizer and Gallery Director: Ivana Markez Filipović

The FRAGMENTATION: LAYERING OF TIME AND SPACE exhibition aims to bring together artists around the issue of transformations related to memory and the immediate environment, what memory is today, and how we position ourselves concerning memory in social contexts and within the framework of urban settings. The relationships between concepts, such as analogue-digital, presence-absence, true-false, history-present, and establishment-denial of the system are indispensable... The concept of time nowadays has a special meaning, because no matter what we do, we have less and less time available. By speeding up, we gain productivity, but we lose the segment of thinking and thorough analysis of the situations from multiple perspectives. The measure of understanding reality becomes/remains a combination of zeros and ones. The phenomena resulting from all this can be complicated and confusing.

Glitch, as a software error, gains visibility through art and thus becomes not only a new aesthetic field but also a conceptual category. Glitch can be viewed and understood more broadly; it spreads its influence in different narratives, re-examines the past, redefines the present, and pervades static and moving images. In other words: did something happen, how did it happen, how is it recorded and is it recorded/remembered at all?

Thanks to databases and the influence of artificial intelligence in everyday life, there is growing attention to how certain data is read and understood. This is why fractures, anomalies, deviations, and fragmentations become significant because, through different artistic practices, we arrive at the visualization and context of the eternally dominant question of where we are and what we are in our environment. Are we establishing a new dynamic structure and potentially new social values? Do we need to understand the software or is it the vision that drives us to explore further and shape the world as it is or as it should be? These are all questions that we want to point out or explain through the FRAGMENTATION project and recent artistic productions across various artistic media.

Synaptic Reveries

Manja Ristić and Mario Kolarić have collaborated numerous times in the field of experimental audio-visual arts, including performative interventions, exhibition works, and digital releases. Their new collaboration is symbolically inspired by the synaptic space — a scientific model of synapse function where "communication" between two neurons occurs, a space for information exchange essential for most subsequent functions of the nervous system. Ultimately, the context of their work relies on the concept of the Greek philosopher Epicurus, who extensively studied the state of ataraxia — a state of lucid calmness. This complex ancient philosophical concept has various interpretations, and "Synaptic Reveries" aligns with those that bring mental-emotional balance and support sensory ecologies opposing the cacophony of everyday life, informational saturation, and the commercialization of human perception and attention.

What happens in the synaptic space and how does it function?

"During a chemical synapse, the neuron transmitting the information (presynaptic) releases a substance, in this case, a neurotransmitter, through the synaptic knob, releasing it into the synaptic space, also known as the synaptic cleft. Following this, the postsynaptic neuron, equipped with specific receptors for each neurotransmitter, receives the information through dendrites. The electron microscope has revealed that the communication between neurons does not involve direct contact but rather occurs in a space where neurotransmitters are released. Each neurotransmitter has different effects that further influence the functioning of the nervous system.”

Manja and Mario's creative approach meets in synesthetic minimalism — her spontaneous need to "sound" his drawings and his deep dedication to the resonant nature of the image. Observing Mario's works, Manja perceives them without hesitation as graphic and/or abstract scores; listening to Manja's music, Mario effortlessly creates illustrations. Their collaborative work "Synaptic Reveries" aims to create an audio-visual piece that generates a sensory experience, counteracting robust auditory and visual saturation of contemporary lifestyle. Additionally, it addresses the potential of audio-visual installations in working with neurodivergent and sensory-sensitive individuals and explores the sensorial qualities of minimalism in inter-media artistic practice.

"Synaptic Reveries" contribute to the anxious discourse about the Anthropocene, highlighting the importance of sensorial and spatial ecology and questioning what inter-species interaction—and even further, human-technological interactivity based on daily artificial intelligence use—brings to the "space" of exchange, and more importantly, what it leaves behind.

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Mario Kolarić is a visual artist, born in 1984 in Belgrade, who grew up in Osijek and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb in 2010. He has been a member of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists in Zagreb since 2010. Since 2022, he has been a member of La Maison des Artistes, France. He works in the field of drawing, objects, and installations, examining the relationship to the image, written record, and time. He has had ten solo and several group exhibitions in the Balkans and Europe. He currently lives and works in Paris, France.

Manja Ristić and Mario Kolarić have been collaborating since 2019.

All sounds recorded & composed by Manja Ristić

All visual content by Mario Kolarić

Text by Manja Ristić

Mastering by Goran Simonoski / La Plant Studio

The project is supported by the Dubrovnik-Neretva County Department of Education, Culture, and Sports.