Part 2
From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?
I'm interested in the ends of the spectrum. And I believe they find each other easily. Both create a certain sense of hypnotic catharsis through sound. A relationship of dilated time through the simple or the excess.
Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?
My creative process is entirely based on improvisation. I add elements until I feel that I have obtained textures that convey something to me.
Sometimes the improvisations end up being the final product, other times they serve as a starting point for compositions with a more detailed structure. But to be honest, the end result is always less interesting than the process for me. Or even, the end result is the leftovers of the process. That's why I rarely listen to albums I've released. I'm more interested in doing it.
Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?
The guitar is the instrument by which I express myself. But I like to think of it as a sound object, as something that produces sound from electricity. I try to explore its sonic possibilities, through extended techniques and effect pedals. My favorite instrument is trying to reinvent the guitar all the time. So yes, I believe it is a scientific and empirical process of experimenting with new sonic possibilities.
Furthermore, I also like to create using different creative vectors. For example... When I'm reading a book, I ask myself “what sounds would be in this story, or what sounds would be a soundtrack for it?”. I also do this by watching films on mute, creating sounds for the visual stimuli of the scenes.
How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?
I think so. But first of all, I can't dissociate music from my life. Music is not a soundtrack to my life, it is my life. It is elementary, not an accessory or complement.
But I think that deep, attentive and committed listening makes us connect not only with our own existence, but places us somewhere in a much broader framework than ourselves.
Do you feel as though writing or performing 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?
It really depends on how you mean and relate to things in life. If you ask this question to a barista who is passionate about his craft, he will say that making a cup of coffee is something special. And it really is!
I don't like to subjectively elevate, as if making music was something that differentiates it from other things in life. The search for plenitude, completeness and wonder does not follow rules.
Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?
This question is really interesting… At least it was a very difficult time to respond! The vast majority of things I listen to are reconfigured and transformed throughout my life, according to the context and moment in which I am. Music is a living organism!
But to name one, the first that comes to mind right now and that moves me a lot is “Jubilee Street” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. That final crescendo is simply mind blowing.
If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?
In technological terms, I believe we have already reached the ceiling when it comes to the possibilities of manipulating sound with complete intentionality. So… The kind of development I would like to see and hear lies on a more philosophical spectrum, and perhaps it corresponds to a step back instead of forward, metaphorically speaking.
First of all, I must say that I am not a purist in ANY way. Each period of history has its processes, its excesses, its advantages and dilemmas. These paradoxes will always be there, like a shadow that accompanies us.
But I would really like to see a less algorithmic and more organic relationship with music. Music not as a consumer good, but as a constituent element of our existence. A less mass perception, but more attentive, sensitive and critical. I have no answers (nor would I dare) on how to do this. But it would be a beautiful human development, definitely.
