If you are a singer-songwriter working with original material you have written and fully own, your songs are deeply connected to your own language, place, and artistic identity, your music is shaped within a contemporary style, and you are curious about how this might travel into English while remaining emotionally and culturally recognizable, I would be interested in exploring a collaboration with you.
I am not interested in culturally smoothing or neutralizing artists for international audiences. The purpose of this work is to explore how songs rooted in language, memory, and lived experience may travel into English while remaining recognizably and emotionally their own. Any adaptation process begins from listening, dialogue, and respect for the artistic world the music already inhabits.
IstaraCollab is a non-commercial initiative supporting artists in Central and Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on Croatia, Czechia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The work centers on intercultural English lyric adaptation and lyrical translation, approached with care for voice, language, and cultural origin, so your music can be understood by English-speaking audiences without altering authorship, ownership, or artistic identity. All original songs, lyrics, and musical works remain entirely your own. I do not claim authorship, co-authorship, copyright, publishing rights, or ownership of any kind.
My role is interpretive and supportive: to help clarify meaning across languages while respecting the integrity of the original work. Because this process involves depth, trust, and sustained attention, I encourage artists to take time to read the materials available on this site before reaching out. The pages outlining process, ethics, and approach describe the conditions under which this work can take place with care; for the song, for the artist, and for the cultural ground from which the work emerges.
Although the work is offered without commercial or stakeholder interest, it is undertaken with seriousness and intention. Collaboration here asks for readiness: a willingness to engage thoughtfully, patiently, and with respect for the work and for one another.
This work can only be undertaken where the artist holds authorship and rights to the material being adapted. This collaboration is not a fit for traditional repertoire, cover material, or songs where the artist does not hold authorship and rights.
I work with artists who:
These criteria are not about status or success. They are about readiness. This work builds on what already exists.
My role is to support culturally rooted music by helping you adapt your lyrics into English in a way that preserves your voice, identity, and emotional power, so your work can be heard, understood, and felt by wider audiences.
Because it involves a significant investment of time, attention, and care, I work selectively and only with artists where there is strong mutual alignment. Collaboration begins slowly and conversationally, usually with a single song, with shared listening, and open discussion about what feels possible, meaningful, or artistically right for you. We continue only if the collaboration feels right for both of us.
Our collaboration involves written communication in English and discussion of potentially complex artistic, cultural, and emotional material. For this reason, artists need at least an intermediate level of English (CEFR B1 or equivalent).
After reviewing your materials, if I feel there is a good fit, I will arrange a Zoom introductory conversation so we can meet, ask questions, and sense whether the collaboration feels right on both sides.
Beyond this initial conversation, most communication takes place in writing. Working in writing allows time and space for reflection, careful expression, and thoughtful engagement, especially when working across languages and cultures.
Artists are welcome to use machine-translation tools to support written communication. However, it is important that you are able to read, understand, and reflect on English texts, including lyric drafts and interpretive discussions.
Where helpful, I can also offer support with English pronunciation and clarity, particularly in relation to sung or spoken English lyrics.
This collaboration values depth rather than speed. Developing an English lyric adaptation for a song typically involves around 6–8 hours of focused work shared between artist and facilitator. A full album project may involve substantial time over an extended period, depending on the material.
I collaborate with culturally rooted contemporary artists in Central and Eastern Europe who write and own their original material, have recorded work, local recognition, and sufficient English to engage in a thoughtful written process. All creative ownership remains with the artist. We begin with one song and continue only if the collaboration feels right for both of us.
If this invitation resonates and you would like to explore this further, you are welcome to email me at contact@istaracollab.org
Please also include the following:
Every voice carries a story. Where there is mutual alignment, I would be honored to help yours travel further, without losing what makes it uniquely yours.