Name: Sérgio Alves aka Azar Azar
Nationality: Portuguese
Occupation: Producer, composer, keyboard player
Recent release: The new Azar Azar album Cosmic Drops is out March 10th 2023 via Jazzego.

If you enjoyed this interview with Azar Azar and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

I love to draw, paint, to take photos … so my inspirations comes from all those sources.

Sometimes it can start with a movie, or with a song that I listened to. Or just by the way life develops.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

It depends, I can start creating just by improvising something, but If I’m thinking of making an album, there must be a concept behind it … It can take longer to get to a concept than to have the work done.

I usually don’t plan my sessions, and if something happens by chance, most of the times I’ll keep it. But If I start to work on demos, I really need to have them the closest I can to the finished work. I’ll play drums, bass, keys, anything I can so that I can visualise In some way the finished piece. Even though I’ll ultimately have all the parts played by other musicians, beside keys.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

I usually do some demos, where I play everything (I can use samples, MIDIs …). They work like drafts that I can show to the musicians before the recording sessions.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

Yes, I need to have my studio pretty tidy and clean. I like to read or draw while listening to some music, and to meditate … And of course, coffee, and running play a really important role in this process.  

Once you've started, how does the work gradually emerge?

I can start by listening to some recorded ideas stored in my dictaphone, or by playing some piano (my main instrument), or by laying some beats … I can also start with some sample that I chopped from one of my records.

I love to sample musicians that I admire end love, and imagine that I’m playing with them … sometimes, new music emerges by doing this.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control over the process or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

I usually start thinking that I want to have strict control over the entire process. But as things start to develop I normally accept and follow things to where they lead me …

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

Yes, it happens all the time. I always open a new project, or write it down on paper … but it does’t mean that I’ll do anything with it!

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

It’s a spiritual moment when you’re in the creative zone. You forget about anything around you.

For me it’s a sense of freedom, it’s like living in Neverland, or wonderland.  

Especially in the digital age, the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process? How do you finish a work?

For me it’s truly difficult to finish a work. If I have the opportunity I’ll change it every day.

The only way for me to finish a work, is by having strict deadlines.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

Once a piece is finished, packed and delivered … I won’t think about it anymore. But until that moment, I’ll change it every day if I can.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

I usually don’t get much involved in this process. I like to delegate those roles to somebody else.

But on my last record Cosmic Drops, I had to do the mixing, and I loved it. It made my look at my music from a different perspective, and helped me to better understand my composition / arranging process.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

I don’t usually feel that. For me is really hard to finish my albums, because I’m always willing to write new music. For me, it is easier to start than to finish things.

So, when I release a record I’m already in the mood for doing something new.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I think that a baker is as much an artist as a painter or a musician. Doing something great is always tough, it implies hard work and commitment.  

For me it’s easier to express my emotions through music because I have some music skills that allow me to do so.