Dragoș Rusu: field recordings, effects, mouth harps; editing, mixing, production. 

Bogdana Dima: piano.


The family Gryllidae contains the subfamilies and genera which entomologists now term true crickets. Having long, whip-like antennae, they belong to the Orthopteran suborder Ensifera, which has been greatly reduced in the last 100 years.

Sounds of Cicadas

“AL.Ehtifal Project” Improvisation Ensemble

Ariadna Iliescu: Piano
Bogdana Dima: Accordion
Victor Sandu: Cello
Dragoș Rusu: Percussion, jaw harp, field recordings
Mohamad Zatari: Oud, Percussion

The idea behind the group lies in the concept of free improvisation that promotes no hierarchy, where each musician is supporting the other, offering a collective sound relief/terrain with a rich range and timber.

The creations of the AL.Ehtifal Project are a constant attempt to challenge the established intellectual norms of music, to explore the multidimensional spatiality and materiality of
sound and to bring music into the realm of the sensorial and affect.

Sound thoughts flow simultaneously.

Impro Ensemble - Session Mansarda Ioan Bianu

Gaza sets us free

01 يا طالعين الجبل_ (Ya talaen al jabal (mix

https://www.instagram.com/alehtifalproject/

AL.Ehtifal Project Electroacoustic Live at TON 16 Apr 24

w Șervețele Umede

*text: Kideckel, David A. 2010. 'România Postsocialistă. Munca, trupul și cultura clasei muncitoare'. Polirom

Romania Postsocialistă

Probleme

Sonic Research In Apuseni Mountains - field recordings

sit and listen (queer imigrant desire)

For this episode of A Reader’s Catalogue, a circle of friends read—outdoors and imperfectly—Haytham El-Wardany’s essay “Labour of Listening” (2024) and poems from Zaina Alsous’s collection A Theory of Birds (2019).
With deepest thanks to Noor and Paige for the reading suggestions, and to the readers: Christina, Clementine, Paige, Steph, Tom, and Tres.
Free Palestine.


A Reader’s Catalogue • Labour of Listening w/ Dust Breeding (08.06.2025)

The first in a monthly(ish) series from the Shatkavalka label featuring field recordings and rare folklore. Expect reel-to-reel tapes, wax cylinders, cassettes, vinyl records, and other sonic treasures captured during ethnographic expeditions and researches — from the early 1900s to today.

In this first episode, you’ll hear archival recordings from expeditions in the Belarusian Palessie region (in the south of the country), traditional Romanian wedding songs from Transylvania, folk songs from the Soviet Far East, and Turkish folklore. The idea was to create a kind of sonic collage of traditional music — connecting these sounds through emotion and atmosphere, rather than historical or cultural context.

Compiled by Anton Anishchanka (@3_a.Anton)
Artwork: Ihar Yukhnevich (@dj_deaigner)
Tracks: 3, 7 Yuliya Litvinava (@iuliialitvinava) and Raman Yarash
 


Shatkavalka

Improviser & sonic storyteller from Aleppo, Syria, currently based in Bucharest, Romania.

My work is dedicated to decolonizing sound and challenging Western perspectives on non-Western music scenes, with a clear political stance against white supremacy. 

I studied classical and contemporary composition at the National University of Music Bucharest (2021), mentored by Mihaela Vosganian. 

Recently, I’ve been active with the AL.Ehtifal Project, a flexible body of musicians from different backgrounds who come together to create layered soundscapes through improvisation.

Impro Ensemble - Session Mansarda Ioan Bianu

Mohamad Zatari محمد زعتري

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