Sirom – Folk Spells from Slovenia

Iztok Koren, Samo Kutin and Ana Kravanj, the three members of Širom, create an “imaginary” folk music, a soundscape in perpetual motion capable of fusing heterogeneous influences into a universal synthesis. The Slovenian trio's practice is built on an extremely broad instrumental research, weaving together elements of global tradition – such as viola, hurdy-gurdy, balafon, banjo and wind instruments – with self-built instruments. Despite this material richness, their sound retains a minimal, shamanic attitude. Moving within a constant dialectic between darkness and light, mystery and revelation, the three musicians turn their live performance into a ritual experience, magnetic and deeply immersive.
We meet Ana Kravanj in an exclusive interview, on the occasion of the Slovenian trio's concert at Piedicavallo Festival, in Valle Cervo (Biella), scheduled for August 22.

It's been almost a year since the release of your new album “In The Wind Of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper“, a project that stood as a difficult obstacle to overcome after the critical acclaim for “The Liquified Throne Of Simplicity“. Are you satisfied with the result?
Ana: Yes, we're happy with how the music has evolved, how it keeps expanding and growing. We let the music follow its own course, and we let ourselves be carried away by wonder.

Širom's music is the result of improvisation, but also of a deep physical and spiritual immersion. Do you still retreat into the woods for inspiration, or are you experimenting with new creative approaches?
Ana: Each of us has our own approaches and inspirations for the creative process. For some of us, it's wild nature, climbing, hiking and sport. For others, it's meditation, introspection, painting. Staying in close contact with plants and animals. Relationships and life itself, too, with their gifts and their losses, are a great source of teaching and inspiration.

I was struck by your live performance, fluid and almost improvised, yet at the same time pervaded by an almost obsessive perfection. The instruments you build blend with traditional ones with an enchanting naturalness. Is this the result of meticulous rehearsal work, or is it also due to a deep understanding between the members of the band?
Ana: All three of us are very particular characters who don't always get along. I think tension is important in relationships to keep creativity alive, as is a balance between understanding and care. A constant balance. In the end, our music is the result of both our conscious and our unconscious mind.

In one track from your latest album, “The Hangman’s Shadow Fifteen Years On”, the voice becomes a fully-fledged instrument – and it's also one of your harshest and most visionary songs. Is this use of the voice an ongoing experiment?
Ana: In every period we study and experiment with different approaches to voice and sound. Each song brings out voices and sounds in us that need to be expressed. A song tells you what it needs.

Have you already started recording the new album, or will we have to wait a while longer?
Ana: Summer holidays first!

You're also working on other fronts, both as soloists and with supporting bands. Post-rock, avant-garde and ambient seem to play a key role in these excursions outside the group. Will there be room for these influences in Širom's future work?
Ana: I think the music we create in other projects and bands is also reflected in Širom, and vice versa. We have many characters and faces, but only one skin. How far can we go, how much can we shed our skin? With every album we bring new energy, new interests and explorations, and we'll keep doing so in the future. We hope!

Can you give five adjectives that best describe the meaning of each of your works?
Ana: We play music because we can express ourselves better than with words.

Your recordings and concerts are characterized by an essentially acoustic approach, a choice that in your case is not a limitation. In fact, I get this impression: are you constantly introducing new and different ethnic elements?
Ana: It's more about searching for new sounds and different sonic combinations.

Which artists have inspired you? It's a common question, perhaps the hardest one for a musician, and in your case I think it's even hard to sum up.
Ana: There are so many, and we thank them all. Most of them we don't even know personally.

(August 22, 2026)

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