Sirom | Artist

Širom is Slovenian trio formed 2015 in the Prekmurje region by multi-instrumentalists Iztok Koren, Ana Kravanja and Samo Kutin. Širom play experimental folk music fusing polyphony and psychedelic music with folk, classical and improvisational elements. The band themselves refer to their music as "imaginary folk." The band is characterised by its diverse, exotic and obscure sound palettes that make up their immersive soundscapes using instruments as diverse as hurdy-gurdy, banjo, tempura brač, ocarina, lyre, viola, balafon, ribab, mizmar etc. Many of them come from unique homemade and prepared instruments (an acoustic resonator made from a spring and a frame drum) and found objects (bowls with rice). The band has created a unique sound world in isolation to mainstream influences, “Journalists often reference various bands we don’t know, and sometimes I check them out, only to realise that they’re very different from us,” Ana Kravanja explains. Names like Jon Hassell, Moondog, Don Cherry, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Steve Reich and Penguin Cafe Orchestra tend to pop up in their company, but they mostly function as simple reference points for potential newcomers. To-date the band has released four consistently excellent studio albums, all of which are recommended: I. (2016), I Can Be a Clay Snapper (2017), A Universe That Roasts Blossoms For a Horse (2019) and The Liquified Throne of Simplicity (2022). The band name Širom is a Croation word meaning "throughout."

Artist Website: siromband.si

Featured Albums: Sirom

Related Artists: Širom, Ana Kravanga, Samo Kutin