The music season at KONTEJNER kicked off on 19 March at 8 p.m. with the new electroacoustic work “Stretch Marks” by drummer Jerko Jurin, accompanied by an exciting DJ set by Kristian Bagarić, aka varboska.
Jerko Jurin: "Stretch Marks"
With the project "Stretch Marks", Jerko Jurin seeks to discover his authentic sonic identity within the specific field of solo performance, questioning how to shape musical expression in the absence of interaction with other musicians, while using a hybrid drum kit as his primary artistic medium. In this context, the hybrid kit enables the interference of two sound spheres – the organic sound of acoustic drums and a sophisticated digital sound, computer-generated and processed through the Sensory Percussion system. This system consists of sensors and accompanying software mounted on an acoustic drum kit, allowing the performer to generate electronic sound in real time with great precision, depending on a range of parameters – the position, speed, and type of stroke – thereby expanding the fundamental sound of the instrument. The drum kit thus becomes a harmonic and melodic instrument, significantly extending its primary role of maintaining rhythmic pulse.
In aesthetic terms, "Stretch Marks" is a kaleidoscope of diverse musical directions and influences: from the syncopated rhythms of contemporary jazz, the atmospheric and monumental qualities of post-rock, and the percussive elements of techno, to the dusty chords of trip-hop samples, the pulsating synthesizers of hyperpop, and the endless echoes of dub.
"Stretch Marks" represents an expansion of personal knowledge and capabilities, emphasising that all learning is a long-term and demanding process that leaves behind traces of growth and transformation. These traces stand as evidence of personal development and perseverance, shaping individual identity through continuous encounters with the new and the unknown. In this sense, Stretch Marks is a record of process and a testimony to an ongoing search for deeper understanding – both of oneself and of one’s own artistic expression.
This work was commissioned and produced by KONTEJNER as part of the project "New Perspectives for Action" of the Re-Imagine Europe network, co-funded by the European Union, and by KONTEJNER’s production platform UradiSam_ARTLAB.
DJ set from Kristian Bagarić, aka varboska
The cosmos, colossal ocean storms, deep caves, impossible buildings and vehicles, distant islands, extraterrestrial lullabies, and the residual sounds of stellar explosions. The music created by varboska is a poetic and abstract interpretation of striking astronomical and astrophysical, geographic, and architectural motifs, interwoven with feelings of wonder, melancholy, euphoria, longing, and hope.
varboska’s arrangements are complex and dynamic, while the sculpted sound is at once abrasive, soft, and warm — shaped through a long process of creation grounded in play and experimentation. A similar aesthetic is present in varboska’s DJ sets, where the electrified, deeply moving physical experience of dance becomes central, driven by powerful sound and fast, intricate rhythms, alongside a sense of strangeness and the shared catharsis, euphoria, and freedom of the dance floor.
The DJ set being prepared for KONTEJNER will offer a cross-section of these modes of sonic expression — from original compositions and immersive ambient and experimental tracks to peak-time rave club bangers.
The performance of the varboska was realised as part of the Sound Experiments project funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ program.
