Name: Doug Wieselman
Nationality: American
Occupation: Composer, multi-reedist, producer
Current release: Doug Wieselman's WA-Zoh is out via figureight.

If you enjoyed this Doug Wieselman interview and would like to find out more about his music, visit his official homepage. We also recommend our earlier Fifteen Questions Interview with Doug Wieselman.

For the thoughts of one of his collaborators, visit our Graham Haynes interview.



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?

Well, there is a general impulse to wanting to create. Sometimes there is a specific thing I’m going after - like this new record where I had a desire to somehow work with my recordings of birds and to make something.  Sometimes it’s just giving myself the time to “drift” and hang with an instrument.

Dreams for sure are an inspiration. I’ve been able to write down dream melodies upon waking, and compose something with them. Also, I am fascinated by the structure of dreams and always aspire to make something that reflects that structure. I don’t think I’ve ever really got that, but it’s something I strive for.

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?

Sometimes I start with an idea - either a melody that has come to me and won’t let go, or also a task, like when I’m scoring for theater or a film or an “occasion” like for a wedding or a memorial.

I don’t usually have a “visualization” of the finished work, but as I am working, sometimes the visions of what it can or will be comes to me - and I just sort have to fill it in.

Planning and chance both play a part - as often I will discover something along the way - and then the piece will tell me where to go. Harold Arlen often quoted Rilke who said -“Drift, listen, obey.”

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'?

Sometimes I prepare with sketches, or say with these bird pieces, I identified by transcribing all the material that I would be working with. I’ll have these things around - close at hand.

Research usually comes with - as I just said - identifying the elements with which I will be working. Early versions happen - and then I make more versions until I am happy with the results.

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?

It’s really so much about giving myself the time. Carving out the time. Coffee, or sometimes a soothing tea can help. Sometimes marijuana helps open the doors.

Lighting, not so much - though sometimes I like to dim the lights. As Brancusi once said: “Making art is easy, getting in the right mood that is the hard part” (or something to that effect)

What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

I think I already answered that - usually an idea, either a melody or a riff. Then it’s about following the thread, exploring what I can do with that. Then it’s also about figuring out HOW to work on it.

Once you've started, how does the work gradually emerge?
   
It emerges from working on it, as they say “showing up.”

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?

Definitely the latter - following things where they lead me.

Sometimes, I kind of narrative emerges, and I try and serve that in all aspects - including mixing and mastering.

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?

If I find an “alternative road”, I’ll write it down or record it and put it away for another time.

I do sometimes look at odd notes or recordings I’ve made to see if I can work with them.

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?

I like to call it “note land” - where you are just there with the music. Time sort of goes out the window.

The spirituality has more to do with the direct contact with the source idea - either from something I’m hearing - like the water melodies in my From Water project - or something that comes to me - like a gift from somewhere.

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?
 
Deadlines definitely help. I think Picasso said something about knowing when to walk away from a painting.

Sometimes you know - sometimes you accept it and move on - which is also important.

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 get pretty involved with that. I do a “pre-mix” at home before I get to the studio. Usually fairly involved. Then I like being there for the mix, but like to defer to the engineer.

Phil Weinrobe has been doing my projects the last few years. I really love and enjoy what he brings to the process, as he seems to understand what I’m doing and what the pieces are about.

Also, I scrutinize the mastering process, sometimes going several rounds before settling.

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?

That emptiness comes a bit down the line. But, it’s not quite emptiness. It’s more like wondering what the next major creative project will be.

Sometimes, you don’t realize that what seems like down time is not actually that.

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 find this an odd question. I’ll quote John Cage who said something like, writing music is one thing, listening to music is another, and playing music is another.

“And what is the purpose of writing music? One is, of course, not dealing with purposes but dealing with sounds. Or the answer must take the form of paradox: a purposeful purposelessness or purposeless play. This play, however, is an affirmation of life - not an attempt to bring order out of chaos nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply a way of waking up the the very life we’re living, which is so excellent once one gets one’s mind and one’s desires out of it’s way and lets it act of it’s own accord” - John Cage - from “Experimental Music”