Svetlana Maraš - Live performance 2019 - 2020 (2023)

«The nearly infinite improvisational potential in my performances is a result of tweaking the technology, using it in unpredictable ways, musically exploiting it, and maybe even misusing it.» - Svetlana Maraš

Composer, sound artist & musician Svetlana Maraš has spent years developing her unique setup for live performances. She builds her live sets as frameworks for exploration by emphasising the sculptural and improvisational potential, rather than reproducibility. The core of Maraš’ performative practice lies in the accessibility of all layers of what a ‘musical image’ at any given point consists of, and the gestural manipulation of these layers.

Using micro samples as a basis of her musical vocabulary, Maraš treats her live setup like an acoustic instrument. Using tablet controllers running a self-built Touch OSC interface, pedals and different pressure based interfaces, she manipulates and morphs the material with the mindset of a sculptor, while exposing herself to the audience and the room. Her focus lies with the musical form and the structure, while the shape of the sounds projected into the performance space define which turn she might take next.

Maraš explains: 'I am interested in how sounds fill up the room, how they spread, how near or far they are, how ‘big’ or ‘small’ they seem, how they morph and move'. With the set she played from 2019 to 2020, Maraš reached the apotheosis of her practice, regarding the handling and manipulation of micro samples and micro-collaging. -OUS is releasing a live recording of this set as a deep dive into the vast possibilities of live sound manipulation.

Svetlana Maraš is composer and artist active in the field of experimental music. Her work, which she presents internationally, encompasses variety of formats such as live performance, electro-acoustic composition, sound installations and works for the radio. She is the winner of the most prestigious Serbian composition prize «Mokranjac», awarded by the Serbian Composers’ Association. From 2016-2021, she was composer in residence and artistic director at Radio Belgrade’s Electronic studio, where she established numerous programs such as artistic residencies, educational courses and most notably, restoration of EMS Synthi 100. Currently, Maraš is Professor of Creative Music Technology and Co-head of Electronic Studio at Hochschule für Musik FHNW, Basel.