Nina Virant
Voice, ritual and South Slavic heritage.
VIRA
A contemporary reimagining of South Slavic ritual heritage through voice.
Add a few sentences here about the release: how it was made, who played on it, what it means to you.
View the live actAbout
VIRA. Bold, passionate, fiery. Solid. Yet soft, fragile, among feathery clouds and dreams of home. And with all that, heartfelt. VIRA is an aesthetic of the unseen.
Vocally refined poetry rises through rhythmic pulsations and synth-generated textures, allowing the voice to sing freely and unfold into melody. It invites a listener into a world that takes them through the changes of the present, only to return them to the past—a moment that feels both familiar and entirely new.
VIRA's musical expression grows from poetry, stories and everyday songs as imagined by our ancestors—an everyday life that, at first glance, seems long lost, yet still lingers. It also draws from a world that gradually faded from Nina's daily life during her years in the distant North, where distance from home made familiar sensations and sounds too loud to remain unheard. A small new world was born—soft yet raw, filled with cries and primal tones, foreignness and babbling, melodic patterns and poetry, constantly searching for a place where it could finally stretch across the floor, across the earth...
On stage, VIRA comes to life as a trio with pianist and synth artist Mojca Zupančič and drummer Vid Drašler. Drawing on the original compositions from the album niei (Drugod label, 2023; feat. Gard Nilssen and Veronika Kumar), the performance unfolds as a fierce and ecstatic sonic performance, defined by powerful vocal expression within an avant-pop/folk framework.
Press
“[Nina Virant] has exceptional control of her voice and infuses every word she sings with intense emotion …”
Jazz.pt, Ljubljana Jazz Festival
“The vocals, regardless of register, genre, approach, or the complexity of harmonies, were always performed exceptionally and with no less confidence than on the album itself.”
Radio Študent, Kino Šiška concert review
“Nina Virant […] confirms herself as one of the most interesting contemporary performers and popular performers and as the author of content-rounded and aesthetically perfected Slovenian music culture.”
SIGIC
“As a vocalist, Nina Virant gave a fusion of elegance, femininity and humor in her dramatic performance, which offers a rather charismatic character with the music created.”
Radio Študent
“[Nina Virant] has convincingly brought us closer to her ever flourishing world, drenched in tears.”
Radio Študent, Ljubljana Jazz Festival
Notable performances
- 2025
- Slovenian Chanson FestivalVelenje, SI
- Festival TreskLjubljana, SI
- InnenhofkulturKlagenfurt, AT
- 2024
- Kino ŠiškaLjubljana, SI
- 2023
- Porgy & Bess (Kick Jazz Festival & Showcase)Vienna, AT
- Ljubljana Jazz FestivalLjubljana, SI
- Jazzinty FestivalNovo Mesto, SI
- Jazz RavneRavne na Koroškem, SI