Harnessing light, pixels and pure imagination, here’s a spotlight on 11 VJs revolutionizing the Romanian artistic landscape and beyond.
In the ever-evolving world of art and multimedia a new generation of creative artists has emerged, transforming the way we experience visual spectacles. Visual Jockeys, or VJs, have become the maestros of immersive visual performances, seamlessly blending cutting-edge technology, artistic prowess and boundless imagination. From mesmerizing live concerts to mind-bending digital installations, these 11 visionary VJs have taken the art of visual storytelling to breathtaking new heights.
Join us as we explore more about the works of these trailblazers, uncovering the magic they weave through pixels and light in order to shape the future of visual art. Changing concert stages or DJ booths into immersive wonderlands and shaping architectural landscapes into living canvases, their work transcends the ordinary, creating a symphony for the senses. Let’s find out more about Adistu, Aural Eye, Cote, Dreamrec, Les Ateliers Nomad, Mindscape Studio, Noetic, Pareidolia, Vali Chincișan, Visceral and Vloop.
Adistu
Adistu has been in the game for quite some time now, always exploring possibilities and opportunities, taking everything to the next level. From intriguing digitally printed canvases and alluring animations to avant-garde installations and immersive video mapping performances, he delivers a solid dose of moving shapes and colours that dwell in the realm of deep psychedelic experiences and beyond. Throughout time he performed in 20 countries around the world.
He’s also the founder and director of Tripoteca International Psychedelic Film & Arts Festival which took place in many countries around the world, including Romania as a starting point. His work as a curator brought forward memorable abstract and surreal experiences which combined music, film and complementary arts to the people while collaborating with a lot of forward-thinking artists. His tools of the trade include mastering software like Blender, Touch Designer, Mandelbulb 3D, Resolume and AI tools like Midjourney or Stable Diffusion.
facebook / instagram / vimeo / website
Aural Eye
Alina Anca completely immersed herself in her Aural Eye project for more than a decade, focusing on video mapping, interactive installations, generative art and stage design. Always looking to the future and embracing new technologies that can be creatively incorporated into her works, you would often see her name on posters and flyers for festivals like Amural, Sunwaves, Ozora, Waha, Electric Castle and Street Delivery as well as on line-ups for parties hosted by The Mission, Guesthouse or Sunrise Hub, to name only a few.
Using a wide palette of digital tools she seamlessly tries to reach a deeper understanding of the organic world, creating a visual parallel reality through algorithmic incursions each time she performs solo or alongside Daniel Bega, as a team, under the same moniker.
facebook / instagram / vimeo / website
Cote
Ion Cotenescu aka Cote is a Bucharest-based visual artist widely known for his visual experiments associated with the Romanian underground electronic music scene since the beginning of it all. His extended activity includes collaborations with resonant names worldwide as his endeavours always create an immersive experience that perfectly fits the rhythms and textures played by all DJs and producers who choose to flavour their music with his inspiring visuals.
As a tech tributary to the contemporary media platform vvvv, he found himself branching out interests from visual syntax into interaction and light design. Nowadays, you can catch him working on projects which incorporate visual programming or even Augmented Reality, looking for the perfect aesthetics to please all the senses.
facebook / instagram / website
Dreamrec
One of the first VJs in Romania, Silviu Vișan aka Dreamrec has countless performances and intriguing works under his belt, often collaborating with Florin Iscru on various inspiring projects including the packaging for a:rpia:r’s vinyl releases. Having close ties to the electronic music industry since the early 2000s, he’s well-known in this field and has been part of the Videogram design studio alongside Cote for a long time.
Employing a layered approach to various software, he skillfully crafts mesmerizing realms within party spaces, blending projection mapping techniques in order to transport attendees into captivating alternate dimensions. Throughout time, he earned a prestigious reputation, attracting the attention of the renowned V&A Museum, who sought his expertise to envelop their internal structures with his visionary interpretations of pseudo-reality.
Les Ateliers Nomad
Founded in 2010 by Alex Petrosanu and Matei Dersidan, Les Ateliers Nomad steadily grew into a team of young creatives that work together across various technologies involving video mapping, 3D animation, scenography, stage visuals, post-production and CGI.
Based in Bucharest, their presence has easily stood out at numerous events and festivals in Romania and abroad, as their soft spot for high-end technology always makes a difference. They also deliver project management and consultancy services in all creative fields as the team now counts nine members ready to bring forward the best there is in the field of visual arts.
facebook / instagram / website
Mindscape Studio
One of the pioneers of Romanian VJ-ing, Dorel Naste, has come a long way since the early 2000s and now has a full team dedicated to working alongside him in the form of Mindscape Studio. Their art directors, motion designers and technology specialists always push their limits and accomplish the impossible. There’s no wonder they won so many local and international awards for their works, as the visual experience they deliver is truly one of a kind.
In the name of love for image, colour, vibration and most of all new technology, Mindscape Studio creates immersive visual experiences in private and public spaces that only need to be devoured by hungry artistic minds and curious people alike. Just make sure you never miss one of their showcases when they pop up as they’re specialized in projection mapping, VR & AR productions as well as unique interactive experiments.
facebook / instagram / website
Noetic
Dan Fiera and Șerban Netejoru aka Noetic are a local duo that started their career as VJs in the electronic music scene in 2017. Creating immersive experiences in various contexts, they love to play with hypnotic textures and trippy animations, integrating street murals with video projections or creating surreal landscapes for online streams and massive parties alike.
They often collaborate with Andrei Stefanovici for their audio/video renders, using software like Touch Designer, Unreal Engine 5, Resolume, Quixel and vvvv. That’s how the sensation of altered perception of reality occurs.
Pareidolia
You may know Pareidolia as the VJ from Sunwaves or Guesthouse or maybe as the girl who made the selections for Pelicam or Kinodiseea film festivals. From the moment she discovered animation everything became an experiment, with video mapping as the main playground of her relentless activity. Her art can easily be considered a form of therapy for both the viewer and the author, as her works are truly immersive and mind-boggling.
Among her collaborators we find Amural, Maraton, Origami Sound, Mioritmic and Sunwaves music festivals as well as other numerous party organisers with solid line-ups from both local and international electronic music scenes.
Vali Chincișan
An accomplished visual artist working in video mapping, digital art, film, photography and closely related mediums, Vali Chincișan is widely-known as one of the most inspiring VJs and multimedia creators in Romania. Throughout time he collaborated with numerous artists and ventures like Animest, Binar, SSA Mapping, Lights Festival, MNAC, Spotlight Festival and many many others, bringing forward his distinct vision in order to impress and make his viewers dive deep into both the conscious and the unconscious.
He’s also the one behind memorable videos made for emerging local artists that now can only be mentioned as legends for the alternative music scene and not only. There’s no limit o his extensions or creativity, that’s for sure.
facebook / instagram / website
Visceral
A mysterious character hailing from the heart of Romania, Visceral constantly creates otherwordly visuals and geometric landscapes that perfectly fit with the hypnotic beats of minimal techno and microhouse. Aside from his adventures in the realm of electronic music parties and festivals, he also undertakes deep personal projects which can often be seen as dedicated manifestos to visual art.
Vloop
With an open mind for anything creative, Vloop stands out with his interactive video mappings, smoothly crafted personal sonic landscapes and contemporary art installations everywhere he performs. He loves to combine procedural graphics with carefully chosen video cuts in a live, scenographic performance which transforms in real-time according to the vibes, the place and the people around him.
Vloop‘s multimedia affairs extend well beyond his hometown of Bucharest, as his art has reached every corner of the country and beyond. Expect his visuals to be seen at major parties, festivals or underground gatherings at any given moment and get ready to drift away.
🔮 Discover feeder.ro awards, an outstanding exhibition space created in the virtual environment with the aim of promoting and evaluating the work of contemporary artists. Stay sharp for the upcoming open calls for street art, transdisciplinary projects and electronic music compositions.
Words by: AndreiB
*the copyright for the photos belongs to their respective owners and publishers
