Manja Ristić - Purpurna vresišta

 

Released: May 2

The theme of this album from Serbo-Croatian artist Manja Ristić is just as haunting as the sounds themselves, if not more. Exploring the idea of tainted, scarred and otherwise defaced landscapes; Ristić takes us on an exploration told over two long-form tracks that feel much like long treks in and of themselves. There’s a superb utilization of various textures and sounds comprised seemingly of a vast array of field recordings that blend seamlessly with droning pads and other electronics. While there are two separate tracks, both feel much like multiple distinct scenes that slowly morph from one to the next, although there are some sonic elements that keep a certain kind of consistency with each track. 

For the first half, entitled “Vatra,” the atmosphere remains relatively light, opening up with the soft babbling of a stream and a steadily rising drone. While the sound shifts around rather frequently, the lightness remains the overarching theme, even as it moves the the clattering of the debris from these scarred landscapes. Bones, wood, and other natural materials clack about in conjunction with the remnants of human interference and destruction. The second half carries on in this aesthetic for the most part, but it somehow feels much heavier. It’s almost like there is a dark cloud hanging over every scene in this second piece, one that seems to become darker and more foreboding at certain points throughout. Especially about midway through when the drone grows deep and dark, rumbling through the desolate landscape with mechanical noises resembling the hiss of pneumatic machines. 

The album as a whole feels remarkable post-apocalyptic. Like something akin to the broken landscapes we would see in something like The Road or an even more miserable Mad Max. But even with this aesthetic, we can hear the soft sounds of the natural world alongside these scars on the land. Birds still chirping, water still flowing, and wind still blowing. It is rather poetic, subtly stating that no matter what destruction we wreak, nature will still find a way to recover itself.