Voices of the Carpathians

Artist Residency | Carpathian Mountains

Nico de Transilvania’s artist residency in the Carpathian Mountains, Romania

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About the Artist

Nico de Transilvania

Romanian-born music producer and DJ Nico de Transilvania grew up near the forests of Transylvania. Her creative practice brings together music, film and community collaboration, drawing on traditional Romanian songs and forest soundscapes. She is also the founder of the non-profit Forests Without Frontiers, which focuses on reforesting degraded landscapes with the support of musicians and artists.

Nico’s work is rooted in her heritage. Some of her earliest memories are singing with her grandmother at the edge of the forest, learning doinas that speak of nature, longing and connection. These early experiences continue to shape her approach to storytelling through sound.

About the Residency

The Carpathian Mountains hold one of Europe’s largest remaining expanses of old forest. They provide habitat for bears, wolves and lynx, and form the setting for many long-established cultural traditions. In this region, music, memory and nature are closely linked, and traditional songs often reflect the rhythms of rural life.

For her residency, Nico returned to the villages of the Făgăraș Mountains to explore how biodiversity and culture are connected. Working with elders, musicians and forest communities, she sought to understand how local knowledge, stories and songs tie people to this landscape, and how these traditions have been shaped by the forests themselves.

Listening to elders and old traditions

During her time in the Carpathians, Nico spent many days with community members whose lives have been shaped by the forest. She was particularly drawn to the voices of elders whose songs reflect relationships with natural cycles. Through conversations and recordings, she uncovered stories that might otherwise be lost as traditions shift or fade.

One of the most important relationships formed was with Silvia Dan, an elder from the village of Nucșoara who sings in the local church choir. Recording Silvia and the other women brought renewed attention to their music and customs, strengthening a sense of pride within the community. The process deepened Nico’s own connection to the landscape. Silvia shared places from her childhood, including a centuries-old beech tree and stories about how previous generations lived in closer harmony with the forest.

“A lot of the old traditions are disappearing, and the elders and indigenous knowledge and songs are not being respected in the way they were.”

“Our interest in the cultural heritage of the Făgăraș Mountains brings a sense of pride, not only to the elders, but the communities that live in the area too.”
Nico de Transilvania

Sharing stories through sound and film

Nico’s residency focused on building bridges between generations. Using music, film and photography, she highlighted how cultural heritage and ecological knowledge are intertwined. Traditional songs and forest soundscapes were woven together with new electronic textures to form I N T E R B E I N G, a multi-media installation exploring the relationship between people and the natural world.

By blending old and new forms of expression, Nico sought to show how cultural memory can support the recovery of forests and inspire younger generations to value their heritage. As she explained, music can bring people together and encourage conversations about how communities see their landscape and their future.