by Ring Ring | 06.04.2023.
In addition to the current project Sounds of Europe, Ring Ring Association recently became a partner in another European project – EFFEA. Thanks to the latter one, the 27th Ring Ring festival will host a concert by Croatian artist Ivar Roban Križić and his international ensemble. The concert will be held at the Jewish Cultural Center in Belgrade on May 18, 2023.
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A large number of international projects have been realized in the last fifteen years with special programs of the European Union to support culture, cooperation and exchange. In the period from 2010 to 2016, our Association participated in two such projects (Phonart and Euterpe). Since last year, the Association has been a partner in the four-year project “Sounds of Europe”, and this year we also joined the EFFEA project.
Someone, obviously, understood very well how important culture is, and therefore, recently, new programs have been constantly being designed to support culture and the mobility of artists. One of such projects is EFFEA (European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists), designed to support young artists, but also cooperation between festivals.
The advantages of this program are its frequency, faster decision-making by the center in Brussels, smaller and more operational budgets, focus on one artist or group…
In the implementation of the EFFEA project, in this particular case, three European festivals, three prestigious manifestations when it comes to new music, electronics, electroacoustics and avant-garde jazz will collaborate: Music Biennale Zagreb (Croatia), then 180° – Laboratory for Innovative Art (Bulgaria). and our Ring Ring festival.
The idea of the partnership of this part of the EFFEA program is to support the project of the young Croatian composer and double bass player Ivar Roban Križić, called IRK Performing Reflection.
This thirty-two-year-old artist will present his project first in Croatia, in Zagreb (April 17), then in Serbia, in Belgrade (May 18) and finally in Bulgaria, in Sofia (July).
In Belgrade, this IRK Performing Reflection line-up will perform: Ivar Roban Križić (double bass), Nikola Vuković (trumpet), Bojan Krhlanko (drums, percussion, electronics) and Thomas Grill (electronics).
It is an international team, made up of musicians from Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia and Austria. The last-mentioned country, which regularly provides great support to artists, is also the meeting place for members of the IRK Performing Reflection project. Ivar Roban Križić himself is currently attending doctoral studies in Vienna, at the University of Music and Performing Arts.
In 2021, Ivar released his debut album “Sound” for “Cantus d.o.o.”, and the trumpet player Nikola Vuković also collaborates on the album. What could be extracted as the basic characteristic of Ivar’s artistic activity is sound and improvisation, even without that “and”.
“Both the musician-improviser and the listener should leave aside previously formed aesthetic judgments and institutionalized forms of knowledge in an attempt to reach a transient state of existence, an almost ritual connection with subconscious elements that open the way to improvised expression” – emphasizes Ivar – “In this sense, improvisation reveals openness to otherness, externalization and continuous self-transcendence. Through this process, we are in constant communication with ourselves, the tradition of our ancestors and the progress of our contemporaries. The sounds that arise as a result of these interactions fulfill a special need that goes beyond the purely musical: the sense of occasion and the ritual function associated with it are an attempt to create a microcosm”.
The performance of IRK Performing Reflection, at the 27th edition of the Ring Ring festival, will be held on May 18, 2023, at the Jewish Cultural Center, from 8 p.m. Information about tickets for this evening as well as for the entire festival will be available soon.
by Bojan Đorđević | 31.05.2022.
The twenty-sixth edition of the Ring Ring, Belgrade’s festival of new, avant-garde, experimental, improv and free jazz music, ended on May 26, 2022, at the Jewish Cultural Center. That evening, Phil Minton and Szilárd Mezei performed as did Echo Pointers quartet.
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It is an incredible feeling when the preparations for the twenty-sixth edition of Ring Ring Festival, just six months after the previous, jubilee edition, result not only in the expected good concerts but also in a fantastically dedicated, numerous audience and great atmosphere.
As previously, the 25th edition of the festival was postponed three times due to a pandemic and concert restrictions, and finally performed at the end of 2021, we were wondering if it makes sense for this year’s edition to be in the usual May term. But the dilemma did not last long.
As many times before, the desire to present innovative musicians and their sound creations to the audience nullifies any doubt. In the end, thanks to the support from various sides, we achieved another great festival, with ten concerts in five evenings. However, it is divided into two parts, between which three days have passed, but it is intense and surrounded by a real festival atmosphere.
Those who failed to reach the Jewish Cultural Center “Oneg Shabbat” and the Drugstore Club are sure to hear these days about what they missed. From the re-appearance (now double) of drummer Tony Buck in front of the Belgrade audience, in two different and great duos, to the world premiere of the Echo Pointers quartet, according to the age of its members of the youngest band at the festival.
When we started thinking about the program, the only sure thing was the trio Gordan – whose fresh debut album (“Down in the Meadow” / Morphine Records, 2021) set new boundaries in the fusion of alternative and traditional music – as well as the duo Phil Minton and Szilárd Mezei, planned for last year, but also cancelled before the 25th festival, for justified reasons.
But, as always, offers began to arrive that we could not refuse. The DDK trio (Jacques Demierre, Axel Dörner, Jonas Kocher) flew in like an ace at eleven. The proposal to host a local trio of Predrag Okiljević, Marko Čurčić and Aleksandar Škorić, in a special project Echo Pointers with Finnish saxophonist Adele Sauros, relied heavily on our concept of giving local musicians the opportunity to present their collaborations with foreign guests. Ever since Drugstore gave the idea that Rabih Beaini, the owner of the Morphine Records label (for which the album was released by Gordan), would perform the same night as Gordan, the skeleton of the 26th Ring Ring program was clear.
At that time, however, the budget of the festival was not yet known, but we have already contacted some of the desired performers, just in case, with a request to wait for the final decision. Some wanted to, but as the wait dragged on, they had to buy their tickets for a flight across the Atlantic and meet another audience there. And just then, about a month and a half before the festival, the great Canadian orchestra GGRIL (with which a performance was agreed in 2020, but, of course, could not be realized), with the message: “We are coming to Europe, count on us”. Our answer was: “Oops… And, money?”, to which GGRIL replied: “If there is, great, if not, we are definitely coming”.
We have already had such cases in the history of the festival… Musicians who create this, different music, have an approach that gives you new energy and easily accept them as your own – warm and professional. As the budget was confirmed only on April 29, the program was closed and announced only two weeks before the start of the festival. It seemed that we had too little time for promotion, but when everyone in the team does their job with so much enthusiasm, the result was seen on the first night of the festival.
The Jewish Cultural Center, which most of us still call Rex, had the atmosphere we remember from 10 years ago – radiant faces, crowds at the entrance, a line for buying tickets, chatting about the program, great performances … The audience and the media will write and talk about music and impressions …
From our point of view, it seemed unreal. The audience was extremely dedicated, the concerts were memorable, and the musicians were immensely satisfied. After a one-night trip to the Drugstore club, where the garden was opened with this part of the festival program, we returned to Jevrejska 16 on Saturday, again with the same schedule – acoustic band on the floor, next to the audience, and then more sounded and louder on stage.
The Quebec GGRIL (14 stress-free musicians despite a long European tour and constant unpacking and packing of complete equipment) was followed by The Fruitful Darkness. It was the return of the Italian saxophonist Gianni Gebbia in front of the Belgrade audience after 24 years, this time in a duo with the “inevitable” Tony Buck. An explosion of enthusiasm in the audience and enthusiastic comments in front of the JKC building rounded off this evening.
After a break of three days (let’s add that weather also served us), it couldn’t have started better. We first listened to one of the most important improvisers of our time, Joëlle Léandre and her double bass. It’s hot in the hall, but no one comes out – listening carefully has obviously become a recognizable feature of the Ring Ring audience, which is why Joëlle herself was delighted after the concert. She gladly joined in the conversations with the visitors, she sold out all the CDs, but she also returned to the hall when the concert of the Jasna Jovićević Quinary started.
This is another characteristic of these creative artists – the desire to hear others, to discover, to make contact. It is wonderful to see them in the audience and how before or after their own performance they follow the creation of their colleagues, known or unknown.
Jasna Jovićević presented, for the first time in the region, her quintet and music from the last two albums. Great gig.
On the last evening, there were a lot of FMU students in the audience, who attended the previous evenings in a slightly smaller number. Nataša Penezić, pianist and professor at the Piano Department, encouraged her students to come to the twenty-sixth edition of the Ring Ring and discover something new. We met their needs and allowed everyone to attend the concerts for free. Because it’s nice to have enthusiasm spread.
Last year’s agreed, but unrealized performance of vocal improvisation veteran Phil Minton and our improviser Szilárd Mezei once again nailed the audience to their chairs, even though it was even warmer in the hall.
During the break, but also after the second concert (Echo Pointers), in front of the entrance to the building, enthusiastic musicians debated, who played at the festival this or previous years, and with them the audience… It is difficult to accept that the festival is over and we should go home.
The festival was organized by the Ring Ring Association from Belgrade, with the help of the Music Information Centre of Serbia.
by Marija Vitas | 05.05.2022.
The leading regional festival of new and improvised music, Ring Ring – which was declared the Festival of Regional Importance for 2021 a few days ago, according to the selection of the magazine “Muzika Klasika” – awaits us in its regular May term. The 26th Ring Ring will be held in Belgrade, at the Jewish Cultural Center and the Drugstore Club, from May 19 to 26, 2022.
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When the first Ring Ring festival began at the Rex Cultural Center on May 23, 1996, we could only hope that the festival would last for more than a quarter of a century. The list of over 350 concerts held over the past 26 years could be labeled as: “Who’s Who in Innovative Music”. Fortunately, the list of artists and art projects shows a tendency towards infinity, so the organizers of the Ring Ring festival easily draw inspiration and energy to design a quality program every year.
This year, the program includes 5 concert evenings, with the participation of musicians from 12 countries and it’s gonna happen only 6 months after the jubilee, 25th edition of the festival, held at an unusual time in November due to the situation with the pandemic at the time. Last year, the festival returned to where its life began – in Jevrejska 16, in the former Rex, today’s Jewish Cultural Center “Oneg Shabbat”, but it was also held at the Drugstore club. Both locations will also host the 26th edition of the Ring Ring.
This year, the focus is also on cooperation between local and foreign artists. The Gordan trio consists of Berlin musicians Guido Möbius and Andy Stecher and Serbian singer Svetlana Spajić. Their last year’s debut album “Down in the Meadow” has already found a place on several world music charts. The owner of “Morphine Records”, which released the album, Rabih Beaini will perform the same evening as a DJ (formerly artistic name: DJ Morphosis). That whole night will be enriched by several local DJs’ sets by the morning, in the popular Drugstore club.
The performances of Phil Minton and Szilard Mezei, as well as the Echo Pointers quartet, at the Ring Ring are part of their premiere, May tours, which ends right with performances at the final evening of the Ring Ring festival.
The quintet of composer and multi-instrumentalist Jasna Jovićević, that consists of well-known local musicians, is also a local trump card. Jasna delighted the audience with her trio at the “Belgrade Jazz Festival”, 2021, and this will be an opportunity to present a new, five-member band to the Belgrade audience.
Among the main stars of this year’s festival is Joëlle Léandre, the leading French and world double bass player in the field of avant-garde and improvised music. Although she has been performing for almost half a century, Joëlle is still extremely popular at festivals around the world. She performed at the Ring Ring only in the festival’s introductory event, in 2009, as a musician in the play “Sho-Bo-Gen-Zo” by Jozsef Nadj.
Another music veteran at the 26th Ring Ring is the already mentioned English singer Phil Minton, also a good acquaintance of the Belgrade audience.
Drummer Tony Buck (member of the trio The Necks) is coming to Belgrade again, but this time as a member of two duos – one with guitarist Andy Moore (The Ex) and the other with Italian saxophonist Gianni Gebbia.
The spectacle at the 26th Ring Ring will certainly feature a concert by the fourteen-member band GGRIL from Montreal.
The festival will be opened by the DDK Trio (Jacques Demierre / Axel Dörner / Jonas Kocher), and will be closed by the Echo Pointers quartet, in which three of our young musicians from Novi Sad will be joined by Adele Sauros from Finland.
The festival was supported by: Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, Goethe Institute in Belgrade, Austrian Cultural Forum Belgrade, Pro Helvetia, Cantons of Geneva and Bern, City of Bill / Bien, Canadian Arts Council, Quebec Arts and Literature Council, Embassy of Finland in Belgrade, Jewish Cultural Center “Oneg Shabbat”, Drugstore, RadioAparat and škart.
The festival is organized by the Ring Ring Association from Belgrade, with the help of the Music Information Centre of Serbia.
Tickets for the 26th Ring Ring can be purchased from Saturday, May 7, on the website and tickets.rs stores, as well as at the Jewish Cultural Center and the Drugstore Club during the festival. The ticket price is 500 dinars per night, and a set of tickets costs 2,100 dinars. A special note refers to the evening at the Drugstore Club. Namely, buying a ticket for this evening at the price of 500 dinars, requires coming to the very beginning of the evening (concert of Gordan), with the possibility of attending all further events, because that ticket is valid for an all-night party. If you miss that first concert, you have to pay 300 dinars more at the entrance to Drugstore, because the price for the concert of Rabiah Beaini and the subsequent performances of local DJs is 800 dinars.
by Ring Ring | 25.12.2021.
On the occasion of the jubilee of the prestigious Belgrade Ring Ring Festival, the record company Multimedia Music has released a representative compilation album “Ring Ring, 25 years – local artists”.
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At the end of last year, the oldest existing domestic festival of alternative music, Ring Ring, presented its twenty-fifth edition to a loyal audience. This also marked the 25th anniversary of the festival, during which more than 300 concerts of artists from all continents were held.
However, the festival has always been a place where local artists had the opportunity to show their creativity, current projects, collaborations with musicians from around the world. The list of local artists who performed at the festival is quite large, so that this compilation album, which marks the jubilee, could not contain even a tenth of what the festival presented to the audience at concerts in Belgrade.
When the idea of organizing a festival of alternative music was born in 1996, at this same time of year, it took less time to realize than it took to prepare the disc that marks the jubilee. According to Bojan Đorđević, the founder and artistic director of the festival – one of the most difficult tasks was to “pack” so many important performances, unusual projects, world premieres in less than 80 minutes.
There are 12 compositions on the album. Among them is a recording from the first concert, held on May 22, 1996, which featured Erne Kiralj, Chris Cutler and Stevan Kovac Tikmajer, but also a composition by Tijana Stankovic and Ana Kravanje, performed at the latest, 25th festival, November 28, 2021.
CD “Ring Ring, 25 years – local artists” open the recording of the concert of Novi Sad pianist Marina Dzukljev and Hungarian percussionist Aron Porteleki, which was the world premiere. The album features several more recordings of projects performed at the festival for the first time. Two of them refer to the international projects of the singer Svetlana Spajić: Metamorphic Orchestra, as well as the cooperation with the world-famous avant-garde orchestra Zeitkratzer.
Of the local jazz creators, the album features the most prolific and most prominent artist, Silard Mezei, as well as the groups Fish in Oil and Dragon’s Fuel.
Members of the Zrenjanin duo Blank Disc were presented with their composition, but also as part of the large international project Šalter Ensemble. The Neuroleptic Trio from Subotica offered a part of their concert performance at the festival, and the live recording is the premiere performance of the composition by Svetlana Maras, played by Branko Dzinovic and Aleksandar Latkovic in the Belgrade Philharmonic Hall.
Compilation “Ring Ring, 25 years – local artists” give an excellent cross-section of exciting local scene and after more than two decades (in the late nineties B92 released three compilations of music from festivals held in ’96, ’97 and ’99) returns music from festivals to local CDs shops.
The album was released thanks to the support of the Fund for Cultural Giving at SOKOJ. It is available at all Multimedia Music stores, online, as well as on all relevant music platforms.
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🔗 A detailed insight into the CD “Ring Ring, 25 years – Local artists”
🔗 CD “Ring Ring, 25 years – Local artists” (YouTube Music)
by Bojan Đorđević | 07.12.2021.
The jubilee, 25th Ring Ring, Belgrade’s festival of new, avant-garde, experimental, improv and free jazz music, ended on December 3, 2021 in Studio 6 of Radio Belgrade. The Berlin trio Der Lange Schatten performed that evening.
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So much delay and uncertainty preceded the jubilee Ring Ring, which has made us fulfilled, proud, delighted for 25 years … But we finally welcomed the beginning of the festival, and then those ten festival days flew by like a moment …
A lot of things crossed – this year’s edition of the festival started where the Ring Ring began in 1996 – at Jewish 16, formerly REX, now the “Oneg Shabbat” Jewish Cultural Center, recently opened. The feeling is still magical, the space radiates, the audience and the musicians were thrilled with the opportunity to perform there again.
Members of the domestic Ensemble Studio6 and the Austrian Szene Instrumental feat. Irina Karamarković had this important task: to conquer the stage, coordinate rehearsals and draw the audience into their music worlds.
The next concert was already at the second concert venue to which the festival is related – Studio 6 of Radio Belgrade. It was the first world premiere this year and the performance of the Dutch-American cellist Francis-Marie Uiti, the Austrian pianist Elizabeth Harnik and our harpist Milana Zaric. In the same building, just on the other side, shortly before the concert, an exhibition of photographs “Objectively From Šestica” of the Ring Ring’s permanent companion was opened, as well as concert events in Studio 6 – the famous, tireless el gvojos.
The weekend was reserved for a new space – Drugstore, a club with an enviable reputation, seemingly far from the center and certainly new to many regular festival-goers. Albert Márkos replaced Phil Minton at the last minute, whose arrival was postponed to May 2022.
The free improvisation of this Hungarian cellist with violist Szilard Mezei was a meeting of old friends, who read and follow each other in a sound journey without sound system. And after them, the Akosh S. Trio used their magic to make us forget the cold. Total jazz!
Laurent Bigot has already performed at the festival, 2016, and this time he brought a new set of sound “toys”, only now they were bottles, cans, balloons, stripes … Fun and excitement for 50 people; he could no longer even fit in the small hall of the club. In the big hall, the hosts, the duo Thark, had their concert premiere. They, as well as the band that closed that evening, were greeted by many more people. And the evening was concluded by Kim Myhr and his seven-member band You ǀ Me.
Four guitarists and three drummers perform Myhr’s music, in fact two long compositions, which slowly develop, turn and return to silence. Discipline and freedom.
The last evening in the Drugstore club (December 28), with a new pair of concert excitement, was opened by Ana Kravanja and Tijana Stanković. Two women, two voices and two violins improvise, playing and singing in unison, even when moving around the audience in wide circles, far from each other. It was almost time for this to be a completely Slovenian evening, because apart from Ana, and with the exception of Tijana, some of the most important actors of the local impromptu scene performed. This male duo consisted of percussionist Zlatko Kaučič and double bassist Tomaž Grom. Exciting, innovative, different, as it has already become the standard of the festival.
The return to the Jewish Cultural Center (December 29) brought a too short but interesting performance by the Polish accordionist Zbigniew Hojnacki, and then a brilliant performance by the Berlin trio Jane in Ether. After Magda Mayas (piano), Biljana Vuckova (violin, voice) and Miako Klein (records) finished their performance, long applause and admiration said two things – that the audience was delighted with the concert but also happy to return to this concert space. .
The Berlin scene, so important and rich, has had interesting representatives at the festival for several years. This year, even two performances. After a break of three days, just to breathe the air after Jane in Ether and other excitements, Der Lange Schatten concluded the festival on December 3 with a great performance in Studio 6 of Radio Belgrade. This trio is a true representative of the Berlin scene – musically exciting and all from different countries, and related to Berlin.
After the 25th edition, with seven concert evenings in ten days and one exhibition, the next Ring Ring festival is scheduled for a somewhat shorter period, from 19 to 22 May 2021.
by Ring Ring | 24.11.2021.
Instead of the Szilard Mezei and Phil Minton duo, on the third evening of the 25th Ring Ring Festival, on Friday, November 26, Szilard Mezei will be joined by Albert Márkos.
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During a pandemic, many things become uncertain, and last-minute changes are quite possible. Unfortunately, such a sudden change happened to the Ring Ring festival, whose 25th, jubilee edition began on Tuesday, November 23, with the performance of the Ensemble Studio6.
English singer Phil Minton, who was supposed to perform with Szilard Mezei on Friday, November 26, at the Drugstore club, was prevented from travelling because he suddenly had to spend ten days in isolation. Namely, Phil’s daughter, with whom the artist was in close contact last weekend, fell ill with a disease caused by the covid-19 virus.
This is a common procedure, and we want Phil Minton for his daughter to recover quickly, but also for the infection to bypass him, considering how old he is (80).
Phil expressed great regret that he will not be able to perform at this year’s festival, but we immediately agreed with him and Szilard on their joint, premiere performance at the next, 26th Ring Ring festival, planned for May 2022.
But so that our loyal audience would not be completely deprived of one exceptional concert this year, we have already agreed that Szilard Mezei, on Friday, November 26, before Akosh S. Trio, will perform with the Hungarian cellist Albert Márkos. This evening will start with their performance, at 8 pm.
Tickets can be purchased through the tickets.rs website or before the concert at the entrance to the Drugstore club.
