(SANI)SINT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD – ANALOG SYNTHESIZERS IN TREŠNJEVKA
LECTURE by Hrvoje Nikšić on analog synthesizers and Sanisint, the first Yugoslav synthesizer, made in Trešnjevka, open to all
February 3, 2025, at 7 PM (MONDAY)
Venue: Radiona Association, Nova cesta 186
WOKRSHOP aimed at playing synthesizers and creative research of the musical heritage of Saniboj Žugić, mandatory signup (more information below)
February 6, 2025, 4 – 8 PM (THURSDAY)
Venue: Trešnjevka Cultural Centre, Park stara Trešnjevka 1
"Sani)Sint in the Neighborhood – Analog Synthesizers in Trešnjevka" is a program that explores and revives the legacy of Trešnjevka musician, composer, and electrician-inventor Saniboj Žugić (1951–2002).
In the first part, open to the public, music producer, performer, and author Hrvoje Nikšić will present Sanisint, the modular synthesizer that Saniboj began to build in 1977, and finished in 1979. According to the available data, this makes it the first such instrument ever produced in Yugoslavia. In his introduction, Hrvoje Nikšić will explain what synthesizer is, and the way in which its specific sound, so important for the development of music in the 20th century, is created. Then he will, together with Anamarija Žugić Borić, musician and Saniboj’s daughter, reconstruct the process of building the Sanisint, and demonstrate its use in creating music. Starting from the early ‘90s, Sanisint has passed through the hands of synthesizer collector Damir Rogina, then musician Slavko Nedić played it and composed music on it, and finally, it ended up in the Kramasonik studio run by Hrvoje Nikšić. Since then, its specific sound has enriched concerts by a number of performers: Šumovi protiv valova, Mangroove, Petrol, Šumski, Zemlja Broj 9, Kriške, Coma Stereo, Tena Novak, Psychedelic Cinema Orchestra, and others. It appeared in the following films: Quit Staring at My Plate, A Very Brief Excursion, and Occupied Cinema. Furthermore, it was used in a theater performance of the House of Extreme Music Theater by Damir Bartol Indoš, as well as in a concert by Damo Suzuki in Močvara, a concert venue in Zagreb. At the end of the 70s and beginning of ‘80s, Saniboj played it in his solo compositions and in bands in which he was a founder, a member, or a passer-by: Sona, Hamatri (II), Homo Kiborg, and others. Only two original Saniboj’s compositions played on Sanisint have been released, within the complication EX YU ELECTRONICA VOL. IV: Once Upon a Time in the Balkans. The very design of Sanisint is closely connected to the specific culture od amateurism and hobby magazines, so it is a particular pleasure that this lecture is bringing it back to Trešnjevka, and specifically to the space of Radiona, an association that keeps experimenting with music and technology, in line with the principles of wide availability and the free knowledge transfer (so called DIY).
For the second part, we invite people with at least a minimum of music education and experience, to gather for a joint music session in which we will be playing analog synthesizers in the Trešnjevka Cultural Centre. The workshop will be moderated by composer and musician Tena Novak, Anamarija Žugić Borić, Hrvoje Nikšić, and musicians Roko Margeta, Leo Beslać, and Josip Šustić. This sextet had been exploring the music heritage of Saniboj Žugić for over one year, and at the end of 2023, they played a concert in the Nova BAZA gallery, based on the recording from Saniboj’s archive entitled ‘’Hamatri tape’’. The recording of concert can be listened to here, and the workshop will be concluded with a joint improvisation session, based on the composition ‘’Storm’’ from this tape.
The lecture on February 3 is open to all, and all those who wish to participate in workshop should send their application to blok@blok.hr by MONDAY, February 3, at the latest. The application must contain a brief personal presentation, musical background, and experience (a few words in the body of an email, subject: SINT). It is desirable that participants bring their own synthesizers. The number of participants is limited.
Project team: Anamarija Žugić Borić, Hrvoje Nikšić, Josip Šustić, Leo Beslać, Roko Margeta, Tena Novak, Srđana Vrsalović, Ana Kutleša
Design by: Klis and Prizmić
Partners: Radiona, Nikola Tesla Technical Museum
Supported by: Trešnjevka Cultural Centre
This activity is part of the program "Saniboj: Electro-pioneer from Trešenjvka", carried out in partnership with the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum, and supported by the City of Zagreb. BLOK’s annual program form 2025 in supported by the Kultura nova foundation.
