Author Archives: Nikola

Ahead of his first show in Zagreb, we spoke with Steve Gunn about his recent residency in Latvia, the role of collaboration, and his ongoing search for a more open, intuitive approach to songwriting.

I’d love to start with your residency in Latvia, which seems central to Music for Writers: what drew you to doing a residency in the first place, and how did that experience shape the way you worked?
My desire to do a residency somewhere new came from wanting to immerse myself in a different landscape and see where that might take me musically. Latvia interested me right away, and it ended up becoming central to Music for Writers.
It was my first residency, based in Sabile, with access to a recording studio. I was excited to be in an environment that encouraged both focus and immersion in nature, and I wanted the music to directly reflect that experience. The structure of the residency aligned closely with what I had in mind, which led me to apply.
I experienced a full seasonal shift while I was there—lots of walking, reflection, and getting to know the culture and landscape. I’m very grateful to artist Ojars Feldbergs for creating that space within his sculpture park, Pedvale.

You’ve collaborated with a wide range of artists. Is there something collaboration has taught you that you couldn’t have learned working solo?
I think collaboration has taught me to listen more deeply and let go of certain fears around improvisation. There’s a kind of language exchange that happens in collaborative music, and being open to that can be rewarding in a myriad of ways. Of course, it depends on finding the right people.

What still excites your curiosity as a musician these days and are there any sounds or ideas you feel like you’re still chasing?
I’m always open to taking risks musically, even if it leads somewhere awkward—there’s usually something to learn from that. I’m not drawn to perfection or virtuosity, and being open has led to most of what I come up with. A lot of the time I end up in places musically that I didn’t intend, and that’s part of what keeps it engaging for me.

What’s the most useful mistake you’ve made in your career – something that changed the way you work or think about music?
One of the most useful mistakes I made was trying to meet external expectations with my music, and eventually learning to let that go. That mindset can be really draining. Letting things unfold more naturally changed a lot for me. At the same time, I try to stay grounded in simply playing every day and staying connected to the instrument—even if it’s not feeling right or pushing beyond any understanding.

You’ve mentioned wanting to keep your songs from becoming too personal, but at the same time, any kind of art involves exposing something of yourself. How do you navigate that tension? And has that boundary ever shifted for you over time?
My main interest in songwriting is reaching for something more universal, rather than focusing on my personal story. I don’t feel a strong need to center the “me/mine” in that way.
That boundary has shifted over time, and I’ve grown more comfortable working in abstraction—finding another way, or what some might call a “third way.” The songs are still reflective, of course, but I want to leave space for listeners to find their own meaning in them, without me being too fixed in the center. There is freedom in that.

When you look back at your records now, is there one that feels like a turning point for you – where something shifted?
I think Daylight Daylight feels like a turning point in my songwriting. I felt very open while making it, and working with James Elkington helped give the record a natural shape.
It didn’t feel rushed or forced, and I wasn’t overly focused on the outcome. Because of that, the final result felt almost surprising to me—like something new had emerged from that process.

Is there something specific that makes a room feel “right” for your kind of music, even if you’ve never been there before?
Connection is the most important thing. Listening is important too. I can usually sense whether I have the audience’s attention—it’s very palpable from the stage.
When that connection is there, I feel more comfortable letting go and seeing where the music leads.

Have you ever been in “our” part of Europe and what kind of show are you hoping to build for the night at Močvara?
It’ll be my first time, and I’m really looking forward to being there—I’ve wanted to visit for a long time.
For the show, I’ll be playing a mix of old and new songs, along with some more spontaneous elements. I’m hoping it all comes together in a way that connects with people. And I always really appreciate when people make the effort to come out and listen.

Razgovarala: Anita Ulovec (Volontiram u Močvari)

In a world shaped by conflict, technology, and shifting truths, Mary’s work blends music with sharp political and social reflection. In this interview, she reflects on art as both reaction and responsibility, the ideas influencing her work, and how global realities continue to shape her sound. Come check her out in concert — Wednesday 1.4.2026. 

Your music often carries political and social commentary: do you see art more as a responsibility or a reaction?
I think it’s a mixture of the two. Naturally, writing is a reaction to the world around us, but there is also an element of engaging with it, in hope to affect it, to connect, unite the like-minded.
With nearly every aspect of life affected by the wars sprawling and spreading from all the countries I am connected to, aggressive new forms of state propaganda and restrictions on expression, access to information, and to some extent even thinking itself in every country that I visit (with self inflicted censorship, fear, peer pressure) it is increasingly impossible to write about anything else.

What non-musical influences (books, philosophy, visual art) shape your ideas the most?
Let’s see.. in recent years I was captivated by the writing of Ray Kurzweil, whose views I also find unrealistically optimistic, yet very interesting – coming from the perspective of a very privileged man, disconnected from the reality of the majority of the world’s population.
He believes that humanity will prosper with every new technology, merge with it, become better with it. He’s one of the most prominent supporters of Transhumanism, an odd ideology, if not religion that many Silicon Valley men have adopted since. With megalomaniac power hungry visions of extending (their) human life, preserving their legacies. It’s pretty terrifying and fascinating. And the scary part is that it’s no longer science fiction. He also developed a very interesting theory of rights for incorporeal beings – for artificial entities to have legal rights similar to corporations – and all of this was imagined already over twenty years ago(!).
I find it hard to believe that those in power will allow for technology to be used to create a more fair, equal society, ATM it seems that most societies are heading towards less equality, and a wider gap between the super rich and the very poor, there’s just too many wealthy men who enjoy their special privileges and will do everything in their (big) power to prevent from losing these privileges
Then there’s Yanis Varuofakis’ Technofeudalism, which is a leftist analysis on recent advances on economy and power, from a slightly more socially conscious individual – who despite now being quite wealthy and powerful – comes from a socialist background. It’s particularly enjoyable to read in parallel with Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations – to see how societies’ economic structures evolved over the last 300 years. I’ve been reading that one for… 2 years now? Another 600 or so pages to go.

Looking at Approaching Singularity: Music for The End of Time, what does “the end of time” mean to you personally or culturally?
You can read it however you like. It could be a literal end of life in the way that Karl Jaspers’ The Future of Mankind described it (written leading to the cold war scare and its very real nuclear threat).
It seems that many of those currently in power leading some of the world’s most powerful military powers are truly selfish and couldn’t care less about human life, other than of the ones close to them, so that scare once again feels very real. But it is also about the rewriting of historical, cultural narratives, which seems to be happening on every level right now.
What is real? What can be believed anymore? This is a new dark era of lies and manipulation on a scale we’ve never seen before. And it’s easier than ever before for governments to control their narrative, rewrite uncomfortable facts out of history, and prosecute anyone who tries to challenge it. As someone who was born at the end of the Soviet era, I’m incredibly sensitive to that. Western forms of propaganda (including that of Israel, where I grew up) are so subtle that most of its population is unaware of how they’ve been systematically exposed to it, shaping unquestionable rightwing nationalistic, ethnicist loyalism.

Do you think audiences interpret your work differently depending on where you perform? Could you share an example?

Most certainly. Everyone’s background and experience, and hence the way they relate to the work is different – whether they come from a country with a traditionally repressive regime, or a succession of many. Or if they experienced strict, religious upbringing (the way I did). And then of course there is the question of how they relate to my personal background of criticism of my own states and nationalism. I find that the Irish and South Africans relate in very interesting ways to the palestinian-jewish conflict, through the lens of their own history of political oppression and violence based on inequality enforced by the government itself.
I’ve performed everywhere from the west: all over Europe, UK, North America, Australia and NZ to the east: China, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Turkey, and of course Russia and Israel where I lived as a child. It’s a pretty scary time to be living in.

You’ve worked largely outside mainstream systems: what have been the biggest advantages and challenges of that?
The biggest advantage is that I am in control of how I want to manage every aspect of my work, and while industry artists get hyped for a year, or a few if they’re lucky, I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years now full time for a living. I will keep doing it for as long as I am physically and mentally able to.
The biggest challenges are obvious – I get very little help and it takes absolutely everything to be able to do this.

What advice would you give emerging artists who want to stay independent today?
Don’t listen to anyone, unless they are encouraging. You can use every bit of support you can get – but be aware that most of them will not be encouraging, they’ll look for ways to make you feel small, and unimportant.
If you choose to follow this path, know that it doesn’t get easier, it will always be hard, but it’s everything, it’s absolutely everything, and it’s worth every bit of it.

Have there been collaborations that surprised you in terms of the final outcome?
Every collaboration is a surprise, from its very nature. You are not in control of what others bring into it, that’s precisely what makes collaborations interesting, it forces everyone to get out of their comfort zones.

How do you decide who to collaborate with: what makes someone the “right” artistic match for you?
I reach out to artists I find interesting. There’s no rules to it, I find the ways that some use words, technology or ideas interesting. It’s encouraging to reach out when I know it’s also someone who is familiar and likes my work. There’s always an element of risk, they might turn you down, or it might not work out in the end, and everyone might end up disappointed. But that’s all part of it, it’s about keep trying despite the outcome.

Razgovarala: Anita Ulovec (Volontiram u Močvari)

Koncert Black Dahlije i Iv/An-a održati će se 30.3.2026., a u ovom razgovoru sama Black Dahlija reći će nam pokoju o svom procesu, inspiracijama, težnjama… 

Za početak, možeš li ukratko predstaviti sebe i svijet Black Dahlije onima koji se prvi put susreću s tvojim radom?
Ja sam Black Dahlia i ja sam sve ono što vam je nedostajalo.

Tvoj najnoviji projekt, konceptualni album The Imposter, opisan je kao djelo koje se razvija poput nadrealne kazališne predstave, spajajući glazbu, performans i pripovijedanje. Koja je bila početna iskra ili inspiracija za ovaj album?
Moj život.

Kada razmišljaš o protagonistu albuma The Imposter, koje si emocionalne ili filozofske teme htjela istražiti kroz putovanje tog lika?
Istinu svega.

Pišeš, produciraš, aranžiraš i izvodiš vlastiti materijal. Kako usklađuješ te različite kreativne uloge i kako to utječe na način na koji oblikuješ svoje nastupe uživo?
Ne postoji ravnoteža. To je neprestani vrtlog kreativnih struja. Kaos. Noćna mora. Sjajna zabava. Možemo živjeti u fantaziji… Moja je stvarnost oduvijek bila stalna fantazija.

Tvoj se rad često opisuje kao brisanje granica između kazališta, nadrealnog spektakla i glazbe. Koliko ti je važan vizualni ili izvedbeni izraz kada svoju glazbu predstavljaš uživo?
Sve mi je važno.

Kao umjetnica koja crpi iz art popa, eksperimentalnih zvučnih svjetova i performansa, postoje li određeni utjecaji (glazbeni, vizualni ili konceptualni) kojima se uvijek iznova vraćaš?
Imam svoja tajna mjesta na koja odlazim… ali nikada se ne želim vraćati nečemu što sam već napravila. Uvijek gledam naprijed. Treba mi promjena. Ja sam tragačica. Neprestano sanjarim i razmišljam o novim stvarima… nikada nećete moći predvidjeti što ću sljedeće učiniti.

Svaki grad i publika reagiraju drugačije. Čemu se najviše veseliš uoči nastupa u Zagrebu u Močvari i pripremaš li nešto posebno za taj koncert?
Budući da nikada prije nisam nastupala u Zagrebu, zaista se tome jako veselim. Vrlo sam zahvalna na prilici… hvala vam. Sam nastup The Imposter prilično je poseban… to je priča o Imposteru. To je jedini način da u stvarnom vremenu doživite cijelu priču. Ne mogu uvijek predvidjeti što bi Imposter mogao učiniti na pozornici… zato ćete morati doći i doživjeti to.

Gledajući unaprijed, postoje li novi smjerovi ili ideje koji te uzbuđuju i koje bi  voljela istražiti u budućem radu, bilo glazbeno, kazališno ili konceptualno?
Život je kazalište, a kazalište je život. Promatrajte pozornicu i vidjet ćete svjetlo…

Razgovarala: Martina Glumac (Volontiram u Močvari)

On je talentiran, samosvjestan, zreo i stiže ravno iz Beograda. Dzipsii uoči koncerta u četvrtak 12.3.2026. — danas, sutra i mrvicu intimno. Više u nastavku.

Postoji li neka tuđa pjesma koju potajno voliš i zašto?
Prilično besramno slušam muziku, moj jedini guilty pleasure su muškarci, ali se ni oko njih nešto ne osećam krivim, da budem iskren.

Koji je najneobičniji prostor u kojem si nastupao?
Ako se klub Mystic računa, onda Mystic.

Koliko te Balkan oblikovao kao izvođača, a koliko pokušavaš pobjeći od regionalnih etiketa? Misliš li da izvođači iz regije moraju “prevesti” sebe zapadnoj publici?
Dosta me je oblikovao kao izvođača, oblikuje me i dan danas. Ja sam u svojoj suštini Balkanac, zato sam ovako i srčan. Ne pokušavam da pobegnem od balkanske etikete jer ja i jesam artist s Balkana. Dobra muzika transenduje vreme, prostor i jezik.

U nekim ranijim intervjuima, spominju se tvoji počeci na sceni, čime si se sve bavio kroz školovanje, neki utjecaji itd. Kakvi su tvoji planovi ili želje za budućnost, ideje, ciljevi?
Od malena sam u plesnoj školi, trenirao sam sve do sredine srednje škole. Tokom srednje škole sam počeo da radim mjuzikle, dok sam paralelno išao u bolnicu na praksu jer sam završavao srednju medicinsku školu. Sve što danas znam je zbog pozorišta i sale za ples, i sve više i više se to pokazuje kroz moj rad.
Moj jedini plan je da omogućim sebi što više prostora za muziku – želim da imam bogat katalog jednog dana, da obiđem svet svojom muzikom, i osvojim ga.

Jesi li ikada ozbiljno razmišljao da odustaneš od pjevanja i što te zadržalo da ipak nastaviš? (I dobro je što jesi!)
Jesam, više puta. Jedino što me i dan danas drži da nastavim jeste činjenica da ne želim ništa drugo da radim u životu. Ja moram da uspem u muzici, jer nemam drugi izbor. 

Postoji li nešto što bi najradije zabranio u glazbenoj industriji?
AI i pritisak na izvodjače da budu lepi. Ja nisam ovde da budem lep već da pevam. I još jednom –  AI.

Što te više privlači: mainstream ili margina?
Nijedno, ja želim da trajem, što duže i da li će mi za to više odgovarati mainstream ili margina to će vreme pokazati, I guess.

Kad bi mogao otići bilo gdje samo da stvoriš novu pjesmu ili ostvariš neku suradnju, gdje bi to bilo i zašto?
Gde god da se nalaze Darkchild ili Mark Ronson tu bih otišao. Ako moram da navedem neko mesto, otišao bih u Švedsku da odradim jedan album s njihovim pretalentovanim producentima.

Kako trenuci u intimnom prostoru kao što je Močvara utječu na tebe kao izvođača?
Svaka prilika da ja nastupam bilo gde utiče dosta na mene, dajte mi jedan ćošak i mikrofon i ja ću imati sve što mi treba da napravim show. Možda je čak i bolje svaki put kad je manje i intimnije, postane ekskluzivno nenamerno.

Kad sviraš izvan “domaćeg terena’”, primijetiš li da se nešto u tvom odnosu prema vlastitoj glazbi pomiče – ili ostaje isto?
Dobijem nekako poriv da pokidam jače sve pesme kada ih pevam preko, ne znam zbog čega, ali imam taj neki trip da uvek moram da budem on my A-game kad se radi u nekoj drugoj državi.

Iz tvog iskustva, što se dogodi s izvođačem kad izađe iz konteksta u kojem je nastao?
Iz mog iskustva izvođač uvek mora da izađe iz konteksta u kojem je nastao. Prosto je neophodno ukoliko želi da napravi sebi prostora za evoluciju. Moj posao donekle i jeste da se nakon jednog perioda udaljim od onoga što sam napravio, zahvalim se, srušim ga do temelja i krenem ispočetka.

Razgovarala: Anita Ulovec (Volontiram u Močvari)