I started with a recording made in the garden with our little boy. We were getting ready to go to Bucharest, so we planted a few more things and we said goodbye. “The garden looks like our life: the things are mixed, have their own calendars, there are no 3 rows alike” (Vlad). It is a continuum.
While listening to the recording, I made peace with this space filled with different plants, some eatable, others not. Even if this garden asks for more time and soul than I am ready to give, it has a huge contribution not only to our daily food, but to our imaginary.
I dedicate this composition to Vlad, my husband, and to Bogdan, our son (both “words creators”!), and to our garden for the delicious things it gave to our stomachs and ears.

Maria Balabaș

Producer’s note: Maria Balabaș moved to the countryside a few years ago, though she has the heart of a city person.

Măr din măr translates as “apple from the apple tree,” but it also recalls the use of metonymy in the folkloric Romanian songs.

Sound piece commissioned by SEMI SILENT in the frame of the 2021 edition of SONIC FUTURE RESIDENCIES.

Photo: Nicu Ilfoveanu

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Maria Balabaș is a journalist and musician. She is the host of the Dimineața crossover show (Morning Crossover) from Radio România Cultural and has created projects devoted to new forms of radio creation (Generația sonoră/Sound Generation). In 2014 she was nominated for Prix Europa (Berlin) for the documentary Maria Tănase – Urban Soundtrack for a Diva. She initiated musical groups such as Avant’n’Gard and Soare Staniol, inspired by improvisational techniques, electronic music, acoustic music. Creates installations generated by the artistic interest in the form of field-specific auditory memory.

Recording, editing, and mixing by Maria Balabaș for SEMI SILENT.