Realma
Ariadna Vrljanović-Zhao, professionally known as Realma, is a Serbian-Chinese music artist, composer, performer and polymath.
Early Life and Education
Surrounded by two disparate cultural environments and family conditions that allowed her to develop a broad interest in arts and performing, Ariadna Vrljanovic-Zhao grew up in Serbia and China, where she delved into her distinctive roots through a range of different art mediums. Ariadna's childhood explorations range from Chinese painting, calligraphy and poetry recitation, to the classical music (violin, guitar, piano, harmony, counterpoint, musical form and composition), dance (contemporary, Horton, tanztheater, ballet, butoh and burlesque), traditional Western drawing, oil-painting and stone carving, as well as martial arts (karate, wing chun, ninjutsu and yoga).
During her undergraduate studies in drama and film at the University of Kent, where she demonstrated distinguished results (two rotary awards, Vanessa Forrest prize and The Best Writing Prize), Ariadna focused her skills on ensemble devising and physical theatre with a focus on the psychophysical actor training and Michael Chekhov methodology. The practical side of drama allowed her to investigate various societal themes through narratives enriched with soundscapes and choreography, while the academic aspects led her to topics that extended beyond the given framework, inspiring her essays on the counter historical outlook on body-mind relationship and reconceptualization of process/product binary from a post-psychophysical perspective on devising. Meanwhile, the film coursework taught her about cognitive theories, such as embodied cognition, as well as theories on narrativity like chronotopic narration.
Outside of the main university, Ariadna completed the composing and stylistic techniques courses at OCA (part of UCA) and attended multiple workshops on general movement efficiency, immersive theatre, Laban and Shakespeare, puppetry, mask, mime and many others. She has also completed the Singing and Songwriting course at PointBlank and Mixing and Mastering course at ICMP in London, and has attended multiple summer intensives, including the Guildhall Summer School for Musical Theatre, Jasmin Vardimon Summer Intensive in Ashford and Duende physical theatre residency in Greece.
Music Career
After experiencing a turbulent Covid-19 police mishandling when arriving home from studies abroad, Ariadna started a new audiovisual project under the alias ‘Realma’, based upon art songs she created during lockdown as a response to trauma. Her alias is a punny wordplay on ‘realms’, since each song or composition has been composed in a different music style/genre with the narrative situated in a new storyworld.
Starting to release her music in 2021, Realma accumulated printed and online coverage across global media outlets (Rolling Stones India, Calvert Journal, Music Crowns, Zile si Nopti, Extravafrench, Indiefferential, Flex, Vreme, B92, Pink TV, etc.) and has presented herself as an exciting creative talent with a lot of promise for the future. While her eye-catching live sessions feature notable locations, such as the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Felix Romuliana" and Botanical Garden “Jevremovac”, Realma’s animated music videos, in collaboration with the award-winning artist Mihajlo Dragaš, have been a part of international film festivals, including Lift-Off Global Sessions, Flipbook Film Festival and Animest. Most recently, her performances at Femix and Befem festivals have been described as “eclectic, distinct and multidisciplinary” and she's entered the Top 3 quarterfinals in the MArte Live European art & music competition.
With every song and composition by the artist representing a new cross-genre blend, together with its accompanying visuals, it offers a new journey within Realma's audiovisual world. On that note, Realmaverse is a multi-genre audiovisual universe that is based on her art songs and features compelling characters with captivating tales. With ambitions to expand these storyworlds into comic books, tabletop role-playing games and video games, Realma and her team are now exploring the exciting possibilities of turning this audiovisual universe into a successful brand and franchise.
Discography
Realma - main songs/singles:
A Hint of Pink (2021) Wandering (2021) Ashgrey Butterfly (2022) Down the Railway Spine (2024)
Side instrumental project 'Cinematic Miniatures':
Last Breath (2024)
External Links
Official Website
Official Facebook Page
Official Instagram
Official Twitter
Spotify Artist Page
Last.fm Artist Page
Apple Music Artist Page
Soundcloud Page
References
Illustrate Magazine (Interview)
PureMzine (Interview)
New East Digital Archive (Article)
ExtravaFrench (Article)
Vreme (Article)
Film Center of Serbia (Article)
Higher Plain Music (Article)
