Part 2

Can you talk about a breakthrough work, event or performance in your career? Why does it feel special to you? When, why and how did you start working on it, what were some of the motivations and ideas behind it?

When I premiered my piece Sediments We Move in Berlin in 2017, I’d say it was a breakthrough event for my personal perception of my career and who I want to be as a musician. It was special because the very reason that I started this whole process was out of pure inspiration from the sound of many voices together and then imagining that with an electronic leaning band. There was a strong pull to write a piece for a choir and that was strong enough for me to be able to learn and make it happen along the way.

The idea to write a piece for choir came when I saw Colin Stetson play with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus at Merkin Concert Hall as part of the Ecstatic Music Festival in 2014. Ever since, this idea was planted in my head that I wanted to do something for choir.

In the summer of 2015, I reached out to Ralf Sochaczewsky, the conductor of the Berlin-based choir Cantus Domus that was recommended to me by a high school friend, who at the time was part of the choir and told me about their many cross over projects and over all high quality productions for being a choir of non-professional singers. Ralf agreed to meet and talk about the project and a couple of days before our meeting emailed me something along the lines of: “Looking forward to going over the score with you”. At that point I hadn’t composed a single note and was very far away from any sort of lyrical content whatsoever.

Shortly after that first meeting, I had a conversation about four generations of men in our family with my grandmother and we both realized the very many parallels that persisted in their characters over generations. That’s when the idea for the content of the piece was born.

Sediments We Move reflects on the evolution of human character traits, influenced by their heritage, family, culture, personal surroundings and human interaction. Exploring the roots of one’s personality has been a process relatable and relevant to the human experience for centuries and throughout different societies and social statuses: Where am I placed in society, how did my personality and culture influence this placement and how am I evolving further in my life through other humans?

I then discussed this idea with my brother and writer Julius Greve and he added the imagery of nature and moving sediment to it, which I in return drew inspiration from in the composing process.

Although the process of making a large-scale project happen can be hard and tedious, I learned that I can do this as long as my musical vision is strong enough. From the very beginning stages until the release on two of my favorite labels, New Amsterdam Records and Figureight Records, I was able to stay with my vision and I’m so happy and thankful for everyone who supported me along the way.

There are many descriptions of the ideal state of mind for being creative. What is it like for you? What supports this ideal state of mind and what are distractions? Are there strategies to enter into this state more easily?

I think the ideal state for creativity is very personal for everyone and can differ extremely from one artist to another. I find my most creative state is a certain kind of playful chaos where I pull many strings at once and like that can dive deeper into the world of creating something. What I find most helpful is writing thoughts and ideas down, on paper, in a notebook, drawing shapes, thinking of lyrical topics and form and exploring all of that using a pencil and paper.

Another source to get into the state is, as I stated earlier, playing, singing or “musically meditating” on any sort of long note or slow melody, which I can then use as a launchpad.

My biggest distraction is the internet in all its shapes and forms and it’s so important to disconnect from it as much as possible. However, that remains one of the biggest challenges.

Music and sounds can heal, but they can also hurt. Do you personally have experiences with either or both of these? Where do you personally see the biggest need and potential for music as a tool for healing?

Music for me has always been a source both. Interconnectedly for healing and for supporting suffering. Sometimes I have to dive into a dark place and explore moments of suffering through something fully. Music can support that experience and make that moment deeper, in order to then to be able to come out of it more clearly minded and stronger.

Likewise, I have had so many moments where both playing with or listing to a certain type of band/music has had therapeutic effects on me. Like I was changed completely after having experienced that certain music though playing or listening.

I think music should be accessible for everyone at every age and it should be incorporated into everyday life in order to support a strong community and healing through a musical connection. This should be supported in any given public or private space, from the family dinner table to schools, daycares, homes for the elderly or homeless shelters.

There is a fine line between cultural exchange and appropriation. What are your thoughts on the limits of copying, using cultural signs and symbols and the cultural/social/gender specificity of art?

We are all inspired by music and art form different cultures; however I find it most important to check in on each and everyone’s own culture and heritage and stay true to that, even when drawing inspiration from other cultures.

At the same time, I think it is important to keep the conversation alive and open between different communities and their specific musical and artistic heritage in order to be able to understand each other better and offer a broader sense in which art and music exists and influences each other both actively as well as subconsciously.

Our sense of hearing shares intriguing connections to other senses. From your experience, what are some of the most inspiring overlaps between different senses - and what do they tell us about the way our senses work?

The overlap of hearing and seeing something that is interacting with each other is one of the most obvious and inspiring combinations for me. Both the visual and sonic side can make the other side louder and more present and I find it fascinating how this specific combination doesn’t cease to capture my focus and emotional attention.

Art can be a purpose in its own right, but it can also directly feed back into everyday life, take on a social and political role and lead to more engagement. Can you describe your approach to art and being an artist?

It is my goal to reach a stranger on an emotionally deep level with my music. When I can accomplish that, I feel like there is a sense of a greater good and social contribution in the form of a connecting element in society. Likewise, it means that I was able to persuade a stranger to open up to something that might be musically complex but still making the effort to be open and welcoming to a different world, which to me is like an amazing level of trust.

Passing on my knowledge to my students, either kids or adults is another aspect that is important to me because it gives so much clarity and direction in a genuine interaction, which I think is needed nowadays more than ever, where a big part of lot of people’s lives takes place on the internet.

What can music express about life and death which words alone may not?

Music has a transformative quality and is as universal as life and death themselves. Maybe it’s because of this parallel, that a certain depth of emotion about life or death can only be reached by something non-verbal yet extremely approachable and clear, such as music.