Hi! You recently released ‘Ashgrey Butterfly’ and it’s brilliant. For anyone who’s yet to hear it, how would you describe the track?
Hi, thank you! I think ‘Ashgrey Butterfly’ is a quite peculiar and complex song. On one hand, it evokes a bit of Disney kind of feeling, particularly in the twinkly orchestration, as well as the musical-theatre-esque singing style I used. However, there is also a bit of that 90s teen-witchy Charmed vibe, like the psychedelic synth textures I interweaved throughout the production. Some might even recognise my nods to Enya in the track’s grandiose touches.
Fundamentally though, being dedicated to all misfits like myself, the song is a symbol of nonconformity. In this sense, I utilised neo-symbolism of an ironically vibrant and whimsical fairyland in order to depict a very personal struggle of mine with social burnout, loneliness and depression – all of which are prevalent in modern adolescence and young adulthood. On this lyrical level, perhaps my metaphorical juxtaposition between the grey butterfly and colour-obsessed bees is somewhat Dickinson-esque. Since I am an avid admirer of her ever-questioning poetic spaces of solitude, it’s no wonder the poet’s similar nature motifs, combined with tones of melancholy, influenced this song.
With this much complexity, I’ve arranged three different practical performance versions for Ashgrey Butterfly. First, there is the contemporary classical variant with oboe and string quartet, then the acapella version for six vocals, and finally, the indie band version – each highlights a unique aspect of the track.
Where did you record it?
While we filmed the classical live version of Ashgrey Butterfly at the beautiful Botanical garden Jevremovac in Belgrade, as well as the two other versions at two different studios, the original, cinematic version of the song was basically crafted in the modest home studio environment of my room. And it’s really interesting to think that such a small, confined indoor space could actually end up as a birth place for this experimental-sounding grandiose track. To achieve this, alongside the recorded keyboard and vocals, I’ve utilised an unlikely combination of orchestral and synth libraries in the production. This allowed me to discover peculiar textures. For example, the orchestral string doit effect in Spitfire’s Albion I and col legno tratto in the Albion V Tundra. Or speaking of more synth-y sound mixtures, there were similarly exciting elements I discovered in Piano Colours by Native Instruments for instance. Ultimately, this eccentric combination of sampled libraries really granted me freedom to paint a distinctly atmospheric fairyland ambience, far surpassing the limitations of my home recording setting.
Are you planning to make it part of a larger release, such as an EP or album?
Yeah, absolutely. I plan to unite this track with four future songs and two previously released, in order to complete my first EP (7 songs in total). In general, the way I plan to treat my EPs is like books of emblems. Back in the Renaissance art/early modern period (c. 1500-1750), emblem books were one of the primary vehicles of cultural knowledge, capable of imaginatively expressing highly complex ideas in compact, yet also uniquely compelling ways. Being a combination of text and visual imagery, the form of emblems usually consisted of a brief motto in Latin, an enigmatic picture, and an epigram. For example, one of my favourite emblems is a figure of boy with wings on one hand and a rock in the other, which creatively tackles the issue of how poverty may prevent the advancement of even the best of abilities and talents.
Aspiring to this olden form, I treat my songs and its animated music videos (created by the award-winning artist Mihajlo Dragaš) as emblems, being like these contemporary audiovisual updates to the past emblem genre. For example, my first meta-song ‘A Hint of Pink’ is like an emblem that uses the imagery of a pink moon. in combination with wolf-like howls in the music, to illustrate an artist’s struggle and intoxication in the process of creation, hoping to reach that mesmerising quality that will spur otherworldly beauties. Similarly, my second single ‘Wandering’ is like a noir emblem, with its tale about love and revenge allegorically depicting obsessive/abusive relationships. Finally, my current single ‘Ashgrey Butterfly’ uses the idea of an ashen fairy surrounded by buzzing colours to emblematically describe social burnout. So, yeah, a few more songs and hopefully my first Book of Emblems EP will be ready next year. Fingers crossed!
I’m very interested in how you started your adventure with music, and did you know from the beginning that this is what you wanted to do?
Interestingly, though I’d been doing music training my whole life since an early age (including harmony, counterpoint and composition lessons, along with violin, piano and guitar classes), when it came to my uni studies, I decided to opt in for drama and film, enrolling in the joint honours BA degree at the University of Kent, UK. This is mainly due to my other interests, since I also studied classical oil-painting, acting and dancing, so I thought drama and film really united all my diverse involvements together. At that time, I was paricularly crazed with physical theatre and acting, so I was auditioning for theatre MAs prior to Covid. However, a long story short, in March 2020, during the initial lockdown, I had a very traumatic police mishandling upon my arrival from the UK back to Serbia. Together with a month-long self-isolation period, it really broke me as a person, as I suffered from complex PTSD. It’s then I re-discovered the power of music in helping us transcend our given circumstances. That’s when my multi-genre songwriting efforts provided me inspiration to dream about different realms, storyworlds and characters.
Along these lines, producing music served as a remedy to re-claim my shattered identity, resulting in my punny witchy alias ‘Realma’. After that, I started collaborating with the award-winning animator Mihajlo Dragaš, as well as the artist Milica Staletović, who have supplied the visual identity to my growing audiovisual project and its disparate song realms. So, despite the dark roots, I couldn’t be happier with the empowering path that my music-making journey has taken me on. And I hope it’s something the audience draws from my songs too.
Your music interweaves so many different styles and sounds. If you could collaborate with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
Since my music is essentially very orchestral and cinematic in nature, it is my dream to collaborate with a film orchestra. Although I’ve already arranged my songs for small ensembles in my live videos, there is quite nothing like the orchestra’s fullness in its rich sonic depth and textural palette, which in my opinion, could powerfully embody the grandiose, abstract spaces of my music and bring them to life in unique ways. Until then, I don’t think my works will ever be truly translated, nor complete, in real performance. However, if we’re talking about specific artists, it would be a true achievement if one day I get to collaborate with the likes of St. Vincent, Mitski, Goldfrapp and/or other similarly eccentric artists, whom I greatly value for their nonconforming artistic zeal.
What’s been your favorite musical experience to date?
Hmm… It’s really tough to choose, so I’ll quickly list three that have been quite defining for me. One of them are Chinese puppetry shadow plays, which I’ve watched frequently in my early childhood. I remember always being mesmerized by how the simple traditional music played live, including singing, percussion and erhu for example, elevated the narration right in front of me, often mythical or allegorical in nature. Then, there is my first time listening to Ravel’s ‘Bolero’, live at a concert in China. I was perhaps like 7 years old? And I was so immersed in the composition’s crescendoing mystique, washing over me through the astonishing timbral combinations of the orchestral instruments. As the heated gradation of the piece pushes the audience over the edge in the final bars, I recall just being frozen and breathless – completely in awe. More recently, a few years ago, I’ve experienced a similar thing watching my first musical theatre show in London – Anything Goes. It was during the legendary tap sequence, which was so rhythmical, energetic and just satisfying to look at – the performers absolutely blew me away.
Where are you based? Can you tell us how the music scene there has inspired your sound at all?
So, with my parents being from China and Serbia, I’m quite grateful to call both places my home. Though, with zero covid restrictions in China, I’m currently based in Serbia and waiting for the situation to loosen up, in order to visit the other side of the family. Either way, spending childhood in both countries, I was lucky enough to have travelled to some remote places (like Gansu province and Qing Hai), which allowed me to soak in some unique ethnic/folk aesthetics from the olden traditional songs I learned. My mum is also a huge theatre enthusiast, and Beijing (where I attended first years of primary school) had such a rich scene, full of various concerts, ballet and opera shows she would take me to.
With that said, I have to admit that the current music scene in Serbia is quite depressing, since there is very little encouragement for any type of original work. However, I’ve recently been blown away by the organization called Femix. They’re dedicated to the promotion and affirmation of female creatives in the country, with Femikseta – yearly compilation of original music by Serbian female music artists, and their annual Femix Fest, both of which I’ve been grateful to be a part of. They are also involved in the annual Rock camp for girls (aged 11 to 14), where I had an honour to share my knowledge as a mentor for music production and hopefully encourage the young attendees to start making their own songs. In fact, a few days ago, I attended the Rock camp’s showcase concert, which really made me hopeful that a new, more open music scene was being created for the new generation, all with their commendable efforts.
Finally, I’ve got to mention the strong influence of the UK music scene on my development. The open mics, the concerts and all kinds of showcases of indie artists have been so encouraging for me. There was always that feeling of community and support there, which stayed with me and keeps me moving forward in my own pursuit.
If you could perform at any venue in the world, where would it be and why?
Well, first and foremost, I’m such a geek for architectural/spatial acoustics, so I’d love to perform everywhere, because I believe each space has quite a unique sonic profile – from different reverb/delay times, reflections, etc. Each space also offers different feelings of immediacy, for example the intimacy of a small venue is quite a contrast comparing to the triumphant feelings of a large hall. That is mainly why I seek interesting locations for my live videos. In fact, I’d say the arrangements for these were somewhat site-specific too, like when we scheduled the shooting of A Hint of Pink live session at the UNESCO site Felix Romuliana. There, I was inspired by the Ancient Roman remains to create a playing style of the strings to sound like instruments from a bygone era. Similarly, the industrial setting of club Dim in Belgrade was perfect to capture the dark, noir style of ‘Wandering’, while the Botanical Garden version of ‘Ashgrey Butterfly’ was inspired by nature sounds, translated as playful techniques, such as the ricochet bowing.
Though, if I would ever perform with an orchestra, my dream venue would be the Royal Festival Hall in London. I attended a concert of Danny Elfman’s epic film music there earlier this year and absolutely loved how the strings and the choir sounded so dark, yet airy at the same time and how crisp and shiny the percussion was. However, again, any space could be turned into the dream location. All with enough creativity, imagination, dedication and of course, budget/investment, in order to highlight the best aspects of the chosen location and make them more magical.
And what was the first album you remember owning?
Growing up, cassettes were definitely this huge thing with my mum and dad, who had so many laying around the house. At night, they would play me Vivaldi, Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and similar classics on the cassette player, while during the day, there was a vast array of popular music. My dad had a huge Beatles and John Denver obsession, so they were often repeated over and over at home. Now, the first album I personally owned, it’s probably in my teen years. I think it was either an album from Avril Lavigne or Aly & AJ, though I also went through a Britney Spears phase… At the same time, I recall having a CD with the soundtrack from TV series Charmed, which was really popular at the time, and I also remember getting a CD with notable soundtracks from popular films as a gift… It’s gotta be one of those – not sure which one, haha.
Finally, have you got anything to share regarding upcoming gigs, and what have you got planned over the rest of 2022?
I don’t actually have any gigs lined up for the rest of this year, but I’m currently heavily involved in the production of my two new, contrasting tracks. The first one is a fiendish dystopian epic in A minor, which creatively explores some of my experiences with PTSD and panic attacks, translated as heart-racing 7/8 rhythmic runs. Meanwhile, the second is a radiant track in G major dedicated to breathing, which focuses on how to slow down in an ever-accelerating context of contemporary life. Keep an eye out for them at the beginning of next year!
At the same time, I’m also working on expanding each realm of my audiovisual universe into a powerful franchise – that is, I see a true potential in expanding these animated stories into larger comic and table top/video game mediums. Right now it’s at the worldbuilding stage, but I’m already super excited. We’re also launching our webstore around March next year, which I’m really excited about. I’m currently collaborating with some amazing graphic designers to create artistic merch, not unlike the creative packaging used by BTS in their inventive lyric booklets and DPR in their eccentric album packaging. So, yeah! Lots of stuff happening, stay tuned!
