I dedicate Desiderium Animae in loving memory of a dear friend and mentor Nataša Jovanović, professor of violoncello and chamber music from Belgrade, who left us too soon.

On October 31st I accidentally discovered Tunnel Grič in central Zagreb. It is 1 kilometer long WWII air-raid shelter, now a pedestrian tunnel recently reopened for the public after being sealed for decades. 

This is the integral field recording of my first encounter with the tunnel and its incredible acoustics, interacting with passers-by, examining its sonic properties, feeling its dense memory field, while walking up and down and holding the recorder in my hand. 

The recording is later enriched by minimal ambient interventions.

All rights reserved.

Desiderium Animae

On October 15th Art Radionica Lazareti Dubrovnik hosted the first improv encounter of Manja Ristić and Mark Vernon. 

Found sounds & tape loops, field recordings & objects, electromagnetic mics & hydrophones, cardboard box & wheelchair wheel, violin & balloon, toy drum & feedback - are only some of the means which they used for sculpting phantasmic sonic narratives in their attentive and dynamic musical exchange.

Manja Ristić & Mark Vernon Live At ARL Dubrovnik

You can build a loop cycle according to your own sensibilities.
Low or moderate listening volume.

composed by Manja Ristić

mastering LaPlant Studio Belgrade
laplantstudio.com

Dreams

the concrescence is a radio-omnibus that explores possible sound embodiments of automatic memory layering experienced in lucid dreaming and self-hypnosis.

compositional structure is driven by quasi-cinematic imaginary emerging from choreographies of listening deeply embedded in mnemosonic constructs – a self-generative textures of sound derived from spatial memory imprints – in this particular case I am also referring to a field recording practice that involves site-specific intervention or a choreographic improvisation.

the first piece is a triptych. it follows the abstract narrative of contrasting spaces, from the enchanted forest of the Ugljenica Bay on the island of Silba and gravel crumbling under the weight of the sea waves to the Mercurial electromagnetic noises (resampled NASA sounds) and the noises of the electrical grid of Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. the journey ends in Rokova 13, in Split, on the window overlooking the narrow street just off the Diocletian Palace.

window field recording from Rokova 13 is a juxtaposition of Luc Ferrari's infamous "Presque rien no. 1, le lever du jour au bord de la mer" (1970).

the second piece is a moody dwelling built around the sonic abundance of the island of Silba. fast shifting of the sonic sceneries imposes a prolonged psychological "accelerando", a memory flow placed in the curvature of a time-lapse and its shortened geometries. the provoked imaginarium is gradually becoming condensed and saturated, systematically transcending a subconscious discharge gently placed to stimulate the state of a multimodal dream processing.

concrescence I – originally commissioned by Cashmere Radio in the frame of MaerzMusik – Festival for Time Issues, Berlin 2022.

concrescence II – originally commissioned by SEA Silba Environment Art and Mavena exhibition platform NMG@PRAKTIKA, Split 2021/22. 

released April 25, 2022

all sounds performed and edited by Manja Ristić
manjaristic.blogspot.com

JrF hydrophone & contact mic used for capturing sounds
jezrileyfrench.co.uk

mastering LaPlant Studio, Belgrade
laplantstudio.com

concrescence I

Seis flores, 052022

Piece made looking at the largest Orthodox church in Bucharest.

Looking at the Biserica.

Esferas VI

Juan´s Dreams 3

Juan´s Dreams 6

Piece constructed from different timbres through a rhythmic cycle that is extended and reduced in different periods of time.

Looking at the Biserica.

Juan N