Awakenings

soft shell

from the album Awakenings published on LINE

CATALOG: LINE_138 

FORMAT: Digital 

EDITION: Open Edition 

RELEASE: April 2023 

all sounds recorded, edited, and composed by Manja Ristić 

video by Manja Ristić

mastering: La Plant Studio

for what they saw would hit them like a bolt

 

sound art series based on the poetry collection "Stories Untold"

this 21-minute long sound work is a forest tale about war, re-imagined from the perspective of the land that witnessed centuries of socio-cultural turmoil. tamed nature versus wilderness, contaminated versus protected land, the Iron Curtain belt saw some significant changes –– from being a brutal barrier between East and West strewn with mine fields, to becoming a highly protected European natural heritage.

the somewhat tense, suffocating and dark-sounding atmosphere of this piece reflects my feelings on possible relations between former and present conflicts, and alludes to the harsh consequences necro-politics of the past are imposing on contemporary society.

the stunning forest microbiome researched in this work is now part of the European Green Belt, formerly the Iron Curtain borderlands between Austria and Czech Republic.

credits

released September 14, 2023

sounds gathered during SHAPE+ musikprotokoll residency, July 2023, kindly hosted by Kulturzentrum – Garage Druzba, Harrachstal.

all sounds recorded, edited & composed by Manja Ristić
hydrophone built by Jez riley French
mastering La Plant Studio

Solidarity Fund · Hydro

In the wake of devastating floods that hit Slovenia in early August, many find themselves without homes and irreplaceable memories. With this project initiated and curated by Ida Hiršenfelder and Robertina Šebjanič, and produced in partnership with Kamizdat and participating artists we wish to lend a helping hand to these resilient people by curating an online audio compilation that features the generous contributions of artists who have donated their music to this cause. All financial contributions from the sale of the compilation will be sent to the flood relief fund of the Volunteer Fire Fighting Society, Črna na Koroškem. Our hearts go to those who depend on gestures of solidarity at the time of our planetary transformations.

released September 1, 2023

created by

AGF — beepblip (Ida Hiršenfelder) — Brandon LaBelle — Brane Zorman — Brgs — Bojana Šaljić P. — David Bilek — Dronišnica — Hugo Lioret — Irena Pivka — Kat Austen — Karmen Ponikvar — Kikiriki — Lena Ortega — Luka Prinčič — Manja Ristić — Mauricio Valdés San Emeterio — Miha Godec — mʊdʌki — OR poiesis — Robertina Šebjanič — Saša Spačal — Shekuza — Sujevera — Tao G. Vrhovec Sambolec — Toni Dimitrov — Zergon.

Robertina Šebjanič, Ida Hiršenfelder: curators, graphic design

Luka Prinčič; mastering

Luka T. Zagoričnik, Luka Prinčič; executive production, promotion

City of Ljubljana: financial support

cat.no: KAM067

Produced by Emanat

Released by Kamizdat

Framework afield

Featuturing > Eliane Radigue, PINKCOURTESYPHONE, Aleksandar Škorić, Verónica Cerrotta, Ned Milligan, Zhe Pechorin, 李劍鴻 Li Jianhong, 文智湧 Wen Zhiyong, 鄧博宇 Deng Boyu, and myself.

< Special thanks to Patrick Tubin McGinley >

producer's notes, and full playlist 

> Support Framework Radio!

Dobra voda – Manja Ristić & Aleksandar Lazar

26. jul – 06. avgust, 2023. godine
Galerija ULUS, Knez Mihajlova 37, Beograd
Radno vreme Galerije:
Ponedeljak – petak, od 12 do 19 časova
subota. od 10 do 14 časova
nedelja je neradna

Početkom godine Manja Ristić i Aleksandar Lazar počastvovani su Zlatnom nagradom za proširene medije Udruženja likovnih umetnika Srbije. Pod okriljem i uz svesrdnu podršku ULUS-a predstavljaju se novom postavkom pod nazivom "Dobra voda".

O izložbi

Duboko uronjeni u morfologiju Jadranskog bioma, Manja Ristić i Aleksandar Lazar istražuju sinestetičke refleksije Antropocena. Taktilnost zvuka i njegove formativne – energetske odlike kao i kimatička – oblikovna priroda, početno su stanovište sagledavanja sinergije prirode i savremene civilizacije. Sistematizovana umetnička praksa potkrepljena promišljanjem politike zvučnog pejzaža objektivizuje se u mediju audio-vizuelne instalacije – uz pomoć videa, grafičke partiture, tonoskopa, fotografije, zvučnog rada i teksta. Mnemotopija, mnemopoetika i mnemosoničnost prostora prikazuju se kroz 4 celine čiji narativi prikazuju obim i posledice devastacije podmorja, ali i otvaraju novo polje projektovanja budućnosti ukorenjeno u interdisciplinarnoj sintezi koja zadire u kulturu sećanja, geoantropologiju pejzaža, sistemsku ekologiju, fiziku i politiku vibracije, artivizam i fenomenološke studije.

Dobra voda, act two

 

premiered at the Listening Biennial 2023 Belgrade, on July 20th, 2023 –– "Dobra voda, act two" is a continuation of exploring the sound material gathered at SEA Silba Environment Art residency (2021).

the compositional approach of act two moves the focus from holistic listening to the chosen locale toward the phenomenological positioning of oneself in relation to geomorphic bio-acoustics — re-imagined as micro-environment was (consciously) listening back.

little is discussed about field recording practice being an intrusion into the landscape; also, not much attention is given to Nature's intelligence and its system-based intercommunication, which undeniably has means of perceiving our presence.

this work is deeply inspired by the constant movement of the sea.

released July 20, 2023

all sounds recorded, edited, and composed by Manja Ristić
hydrophone made by Jez riley French
mastering by La Plant Studio
supported by SEA Silba Environment Art

15 Queastions interview Part II

 

the second part of the latest 15 Questions interview skillfully curated by Tobias Fischer. This conversation is focused on underwater noise pollution and its effects on marine life. A huge chunk of this conversation I am referring to the research paper THE IMPACT OF OCEAN NOISE POLLUTION

ON FISH AND INVERTEBRATES by Prof. Lindy Weilgart, Ph.D. from Oceancare & Dalhousie Univesity.

read the interview here

the conversation is also referring to my latest releases informed by the subject
> Kuda plovi ovaj brod? Where is this ship sailing?
> Štrada od Sigurate

SHAPE + 23/24

 

𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐄+ 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑/𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓 𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑

The European Union-funded SHAPE+ platform for innovative music and audiovisual art is announcing its 2023/2024 list of artists!
The artist selection places a number of audiovisual projects and sound artists alongside musical acts that range from club music and forward-thinking media art to experiments with traditional music, free improvisation, and spatial music. The second year of SHAPE+ will continue its focus on collaborative residencies and one-off performances simultaneously.

Štrada od Sigurate

 

this release is a window recording of Dubrovnik, and here is the story behind it.

--

Štrada od Sigurate

There is a little window in the attic of a Dalmatian villa from the early middle ages overlooking the dreamy cascade landscape of downtown Dubrovnik.

It's early June, 8 am. A melody of old Mediterranean terracotta roofs plunging into each other is nursing a soft morning light. The polyphony of ages embedded in the stone makes the town glow from its neutron core. No corners are mislaid, and the fortress is keeping us safe.

The window is slightly recessed, almost on the corner with Stradun, and a person with fine jumping skills could easily reach the roof of the church across the narrow street. It's Sunday, and the bells from the various towers across town are spilling their gongs.

I needed to sleep a bit more. But the grinding machinery of tourism has its own agenda. Savagely squeaking swallows and the morning congregations of seagulls sound like a pastorale compared to the town’s growling bowels. Air conditioning units, pumps, kitchen ventilation, garbage trucks, delivery vehicles, wheels, and trolleys of all sorts. I could not help but be fascinated by how a landscape of such beaming beauty can exist in this hideous soundscape.

In all of its ugliness, the soundscape of Dubrovnik still hides so much contemporaneity. The large ventilation unit drones are textural and multiphonic. Anarchy in the town’s electrical grid is constantly buzzing from nooks and crevices like some robo-brute. Sounds of the wagons for garbage collection, and the rivers of inbound and outbound suitcases are bouncing over the stone streets like a constant percussive development. I enjoyed it a lot.

But perhaps we should give it a second thought. The noise in which certain Mediterranean architectural marvels are soaked due to uncontrolled mass tourism is a “silent” killer. Of the environment, and of the local culture and dignity.

I stepped out of the building that morning, and straight in front of my nose on the neighbour’s door, there was a sign:

PLEASE KEEP SILENT.

--
released June 18, 2023
all rights reserved

two mixtapes

1. Premiered at Trans Balkan Express Radio Festival, curated by Žarko Komar aka Feloneezy, as a part of the Mediterranean Futures series on @movement_athens

Field recording gestures and in-situ interventions are gently placed into immersive ambient & drone explorations, while the musical narrative develops around extensive hydrophone recording of the terrigenous sediments and various aquascapes of the Adriatic’s littoral zones. Some of the locations where recordings were taken are the island of Korčula and its surrounding archipelago (islands of Badija & Vrnik), the island of Silba, Neretva River, Dubrovnik old town, and the island of Vis.

2. Premiered at ZEZ Festival 2023

The mixtape includes excerpts from the releases:
water memory – mnemosonic topographies of the Adriatic
Kuda plovi ovaj brod? Where is this ship sailing?
Awakenings LINE_138
and more...

All sounds recorded, edited, and composed by Manja Ristić
Contributing artist Mark Vernon
Artwork by Manja Ristić – a tactile score for found instrument Experiment IV-II, Remixed excerpt from the gravure print no. 3 / 5
Mastering La Plant Studio

license

15 Questions

 

I had the privilege to be interviewed by Tobias Fischer for 15 Questions, this time more specific talk on sound & listening, my practice & experiences, particularities & interests.

Read the interview here

tailless tarantella lifted its head

 

this collection is embodied by the poem: tailless tarantella lifted its head, and it is followed by the collection of black & white photographs taken on the island of Korčula.

--

it was the day when the balloon disappeared into the wall
it was the day when the dog bit you while you were helpless
tailless tarantella lifted its head
toward the crackling chorus
of pine cones blooming

tags, tags, hundreds of tags
and desire to observe cracks
it was the day when the wisdom leaked
it was the day when witches fell sick
again, when wonders went pale
lingering away
in aimless whiteness

I didn’t become anyone great

--  

released May 15, 2023

part of the series Stories Untold
sound, text & images by Manja Ristić
cover art by Manja Ristić
mastering by La Plant Studio
produced by ELL Studio 2023

Best Natural Sound Shortlist

Sound of the Year Awards Best Natural Sound Shortlist

Awakenings

 

>>> LINE_138

'Awakenings' is the first album on LINE by violinist, sound artist, poet, curator, and researcher, Manja Ristić. Her work incorporates extensive field recordings, acoustic instruments, and unexpected found objects. 

RIYL: Chris Watson, Félicia Atkinson, Norman W. Long, Simon Whetham and Tomoko Hojo & Rahel Kraft.

awakenings are my ears underwater.
awakenings are sand, pebbles, and rocks pushed by the waves in constant motion.
awakenings emerge from the dissipating whirls.
awakenings are language so mellifluous it out-voices the sizzling currents.
awakenings listen to the space through other spaces.
awakenings are reversed feedbacks of coiled thoughts.
awakenings are worlds of ruthless and bewitched nature.
awakenings are endless topographies surrounded by a body of water in constant motion.
awakenings are where you will find me, talking to the sniffing rocks, growling waves, sleeping vineyard crickets, and plucking trapped air from broken and abandoned instruments.
awakenings are infinity squeezed between atoms.
awakenings are the mind’s nocturnal quirks.
awakenings are silent intrusions into the landscape.
the spherical geometry of the awakenings moves awkwardly, like a transparent velum woven of thin and uneven fabric, coating the fidelity of the bluff recollections.
awakenings are the legacy of withstanding.

TRACKLIST:

1. soft shell (03:05)
2. on the outskirts of time (03:50)
3. dissipating whirls (05:12)
4. within the cave, dreams (04:14)
5. I’m plucking trapped air (07:41)
6. thin and uneven (04:50)
7. in bluff recollections (04:50)
8. coiled thoughts (02:40)

recording locations: Korčula town, abandoned ex-Yugoslav military compound on the island of Korčula, ancient quarry on the island of Vrnik, the village of Račišće, Lumbarda ancient aquatorium, sound pollution of the water traffic in the Pelješac-peninsula channel, Ražnjić lighthouse; a musical playground in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade. instruments used: JrF hydrophone & contact mic; violin, various abandoned pianos, toy synth found in the garbage, various objects.

all sounds recorded, edited, and composed by Manja Ristić
contributing artists on track 8: Mark Vernon, Ivana Grahovac
cover art: Manja Ristić / Richard Chartier
mastering: La Plant Studio, Belgrade

Kuda plovi ovaj brod? Where is this ship sailing?

Kuda plovi ovaj brod? Where is this ship sailing? is a sound work built from hydrophone recordings of underwater sound pollution. The recordings were taken over the span of 2 years in the historical town of Korčula and its immediate surroundings.

This 40–minute long radio adaptation / sound installation is an unsettling journey revealing the dystopian realm of Adriatic noise contamination, due to increased water traffic and the insatiable urge for the expansion of industry and tourism. The work consciously exposes a disturbing marine reality in which an inexhaustible amount of mechanical sources are literally grinding the underwater soundscape.

With the help of JrF custom–made hydrophones, the idea of sounding the “invisible killer” is put forward to convey the level of stress imposed on the living habitat. Involving an abundance of endemic marine flora and fauna, with a number of rare and threatened species found along the Adriatic's eastern coast.

full essay at >>> independent.academia.edu/ManjaRistic

All sounds recorded, edited & composed by Manja Ristić
Text by Manja Ristić
Mastering by La Plant Studio
Archive images — courtesy of a private archive

--

Special thanks to Vinka Damjanović, Mark Vernon, Goran Simonoski

ELL Studio 2023 – All Rights Reserved

FLORILEGIO

I wrote an article for FLORILEGIO NETWORK OF FEM人LE MUSICIANS

MANJA RISTIĆ: INFINITE FRAGILITIES DISSIPATE IN THE DEAFNESS OF OUR LISTENING
EDITION: VILINSKI GRADOVI

text & images about one of the most magical places on the island of Korčula where I like to record and observe soundscapes.

the article is giving hints on the "water memory – mnemosonic topographies of the Adriatic" booklet which you can pre-order on my Bandcamp page. also, a brief mention about how I perceive JrF equipment, in particular hydrophones – my chosen instruments for the extensive underwater recording.

you can read it >>> here <<<

"Sonic Ontology of Negligence" at Sežana Botanical Gardens, Ljubljana

2-channel sound installation / 6 Mar – 31 May 2023
Sežana Botanical Gardens

project catalogue

In the process of conceptualizing Sonic Ontology of Negligence, Manja Ristić resided in places that were heavily exploited and forever changed by the human urge to build, comprising thousand-years-old quarries as well as present-day mega-structures, abandoned as a result of corruption and consumerist socio-political turmoil. The nucleus of the compositional structure is devoted to the abandoned construction building site of the Stožice mega-structure, while layers of mnemopoetic sonic imprints are derived from old lime-stone quarries from the island of Korčula in South Dalmatia, such are Glogovac, Lenga, Defora, and Vrnik, but also abandoned mineral mines and lime pits from Fruška gora in Vojvodina, North Serbia, and other sites such is the military compound placed in the middle of the Avala forest in the suburbs of Belgrade. The poetical accent is given to the dynamics and textures of waters and aquatic micro spaces, which are building the formative/reproductive environments in the process of re-establishing biodiversities.

more about the project >>> link 1

more about the project >>> link 2

water memory – mnemosonic topographies of the Adriatic

long-form audio installation / artistic research  / booklet in English & Croatian – containing aural photography, theoretical discourse on the culture of listening, and more...

water memory –

an attempt to sonify human negligence transformed by Nature’s intelligence. 

choreographies of listening deeply embedded in mnemosonic constructs – self-generative sound textures derived from spatial memory imprints. 

a field recording practice that involves gestures and site-specific intervention. 

poetic appropriation of the memory of a place through observing the intrinsic interrelatedness of the ecological traits and the soundscape. 

rediscovering aquascapes – observing water as a primordial formative environment. 

sensing the sonic simulacrum. systematic observation of geoanthropology.  

the memory of the world as a petri dish. 

conceptual listening.

water memory is a musical journey through the subtle relations of sound and aquatic habitats on the island of Korčula and its surrounding archipelago. from the heart of an ancient town to the island’s deepest wilderness, water memory contains a wide array of aquatic and sub-aquatic imprints captured with extended field recording techniques and gently placed in an emotionally charged 50-minute-long ambient composition.

the phenomenology of listening begins with non-obvious relations between the soundscape and the place. and if the places are deeply submerged in layers of geoanthropology it is inevitable to observe its topographies through constant reshaping, the unfathomable history of exploitation, and the systematic struggle of Nature to preserve itself.

in its mnemosonic specifics, water memory exposes the concept of listening to environmental sound and the particularities of the island’s systems ecology – interactions and transactions within and between biological and ecological systems especially concerned with the way the functioning of those are influenced by human interventions.

the music in this work is built around recordings of sound pollution below and above the water surface (due to increased water traffic, sand pumps used for “more ecological” beach filling, sounds of the sea bed covered with artificial gravel, over-betonisation of the lime-stone coast); derelict archaeological sites, abandoned ex-Yugoslavian military sites, abandoned quarries spanning from Neolithic to Medieval times, some of which were still operating until the mid 20th century.

with such a dense “memory field” to be observed both the author and the listeners are exposed to a dizzying amount of content that alludes to relations between the sociology of time and the politics of soundscape as a possible interdisciplinary framework for a better understanding of the memory of place.

--

sound, text, images: Manja Ristić
editor: Sonja Leboš
sound mastering: La Plant Studio
design: Nevena Vasiljević
proofreading: Mark Vernon
production, publishing, distribution: ELL Studio 2023
artistic research in collaboration with the UIII / AIIR

water memory is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia

Orest Smovzh reconceptualizing "Violin Revelaed" notation system

Orest Smovzh reconceptualizing "Violin Revelaed_Alternative Guide to Violin's Sonic Life" notation system – cards for composing.

February, 18th, 2023. Kharkiv, Ukraine. 

Art Area – a platform for new performance projects.

Golden award for extended media - The Association of Fine Artists of Serbia

Umetnički žiri Sekcije proširenih medija u sastavu: Dunja Trutin, Branko Milisković i Katarina DJ Urosevic, jednoglasno dodeljuje Zlatnu nagradu za prošireni medi, umetnicima Aleksandru Lazaru i Manji Ristić za audio-vizuelni rad „Patient Love“.

OBRAZLOŽENJE ŽIRIJA /// UDRUŽENJE LIKOVNIH UMETNIKA SRBIJE - ULUS, ZA UMETNIČKI SAVET

Izuzetno se radujemo što dodeljujemo ovu, jedinstvenu, nagradu koja ima za cilj ne samo da pohvali dosadašnja dostignuća umetnika, već i da ih osnaži u daljoj karijeri da ostanu posvećeni svom radu i svojoj umetničkoj ideji. Umetnici kao autentični predstavnici svoje generacije sem prepoznatog kvaliteta rada “Patient Love” nam nude raznobojnu kolaboraciju iz koje je proizašao ovaj veoma intrigantan audio vizuelni kolaž, koji nam pokazuje izvanredno tehnološko poznavanje dubljih struktura zvuka, animacije, kompozicije, montaže, dizajna.

I sam suptilni naziv rada “Strpljiva ljubav” nastao iz aspekta da se poveže umetnost i psihologija, zvuk i slika, je uz ovaj specifičan eponim dobio novo značenje prevodioca umetničkog istraživanja u naučno i obrnuto.

 

Prožimanje sfera umetničkog, naučnog i digitalnog istraživanja i upravo onoga što je brižno, nežno, pozitivno, magično, otvoreno prema svetu i prirodnim procesima kao ljubav, dalo je višeznačnu odvažnost ovom komadu, koji odiše harmonijom i poetikom kroz virtuoznu slojevitost u svim svojim segmetima.

glasovi / voices

glasovi / voices

would you be so kind and abandon for a glimpse an unbending definition of the world to the living and the non–living? look at all the objects around you, and observe how they are embedded in space, by gravity and density. unravel them from their meaning, speculate about their consistency. think about their history and other spaces they were once part of. then, give them a voice. and I don’t mean just a sound that they would produce if they fell or were dismantled. remember the moment they became a part of your life. induce them with memory. define them with everything which is non–obvious about them. feed them with time, and moments and interactions piling up in fractal eddies. is there a glimpse of spirit in those objects? can they be spiritualised? is anything artificially made truly dead? is there anything living truly infinite? listen through the solids, and allow the boundaries to disappear.

dedicated to Mark Vernon for his 50th birthday.

released January 27, 2023

all sounds recorded and edited by Manja Ristić
hydrophone by JrF
mastering La Plant Studio

>>> featured on Bandcamp Daily: The Best Field Recordings on Bandcamp: February 2023