Remix of Identity 7

Metamedia Association is one of the few non-governmental organizations that has for many years recognized the value of the potential of encounters and dialogue between contemporary culture of artistic and authorial signatures and traditional culture. This interest is especially prominent in the project Remix of Identity, which creates these connections in a quality and praiseworthy way, moving through the areas of education, professional information, and final creative productions. Its special inspiration is found in various forms of Istrian two-part singing in narrow intervals, so for this edition the selection of such material resulted in combining these sounds/sequences/integral examples with electromagnetic sounds. The authors have found their motivation in selected titles offered by Noel Šuran, the mentor and the member of the expert jury for the selection of final titles for this edition, along with Tin Dožić and Milan Đurić. What is especially interesting is that in this creative process we come across various proposals that are exemplifying the possibility of adapting or changing the musical context of the original repertoire.

This is the case with “Šoferska je tuga pregolema,” a popular song by Milanče Radosavljević, which gained its popularity in the former Yugoslavia in the late 60’s, and was proposed here as the two-part singing in narrow intervals (the so-called “singing at thin and thick”) in the Istrian scale. Furthermore, the song “Dođi k meni draga” by Milan and Anđelo Milotić was rooted out of the same period, and became part of the repertoire that is considered traditional and with no known author, as well as more recent Šuran and Milotić’s “Moja vitura,” both offered in two-part singing, the so-called kanat. All of this is in fact an ideal source for a valid understanding of the life of tradition (intangible cultural heritage) in all of its dynamics, but also serves as a reminder that its very life implies creativity in space and time. This has also echoed the often concealed fact of knowing the origin of the song, or the authorship aspect, all because of the irrational, often romantic aspiration for reaching for a long-lasting tradition, the need to establish a certain identity and/or community identity. It also drew attention to the continuous creation of a new repertoire in the same musical-formal form and context, which is a prerequisite for “justifying” the continuity of tradition, and implies a two-part singing in narrow intervals of Istrian intangible cultural heritage.

In addition to the aforementioned songs, the traditional “Oj javore” and “Cviće mi polje pokrilo” received new sounds, also offered through the kanat of ‘’singing at thin and thick.’’ The authors of each of the works in this edition deserve congratulations, and the fact that they had a repertoire of non-tempered tonal system as a starting point, which they combined with recorded electromagnetic sounds, attests to their efforts. I wish to the Metamedia Association, its associates and future students best of luck in new challenges, and the inspiration to observe and reflect on the multiplicity and multi-layered nature of identity, in its many remixes.

— Nuša Hauser, musicologist and senior documentary curator
Centre for Intangible Culture of Istria of the Ethnographic Museum of Istria – Centro per la cultura immateriale dell’Istria del Museo Etnografico dell’Istria


Impressum

Editor Marino Jurcan
Music editor Marino Jurcan
Recording & digital processing Milan Đurić, Bruno Legović
Design Oleg Šuran
Text Nuša Hauser
Translation Marijeta Bradić
Proofreading Boris Vincek
Recorded and mixed in the Metamusic studio
Production and realization Udruga Metamedij

MTM CD 018-2022

THANKS to all of the participants and their mentors, to all of the friends, collaborators and those who helped us in the making of this musical publication.

THE PROJECT WAS CO-FINANCED by the Foundation “Kultura nova,” the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, the Istrian County, and the City of Pula.