Name: Chris Cubeta
Nationality: American
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current release: Chris Cubeta's APOE is out via Make My Day.
Recommendations: Stephen Wright - Going Native; Tony Morrison - Beloved

If you enjoyed this Chris Cubeta interview and would like to know more about his music, visit his official website. He is also on Instagram, twitter, Soundcloud, and Facebook.

When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I feel many different things in my body when listening to music. It often depends on what music and the scenario that I’m listening in.

I guess I mostly listen to music with my eyes open.

What were your very first steps in music like - and how do you rate gains made through experience versus the naiveté of those first steps?

My first steps in music were at a very young age. I have played piano since the age of 5. My real formative years were in my early teen years when I was teaching myself guitar. I had formed my first band at 13 and was always interested in how different elements of music fit together to become one thing.

I often wish I could get back to the feeling of playing as a young child when there were no other attachments of success, money and tangible things that can often could the process.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music meant to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

Ha! I answered this question in the last one. Mostly what has changed has been the idea of “success” and whatever that means.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools and how have they shaped your perspective on music?

The most important instrument for me has been the studio.

I have always played a few instruments relatively ok but I think that using the studio as a tool to create has always been at the heart of what I do

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

Well, the key ideas for this record are the idea of memory.

My mother's Alzheimers disease had me questioning my own idea of memory and how it affects everything we all do.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

That is interesting. It’s hard for me to listen to my own music once I’m done making it.

As far as defining my sound goes, it’s hard to say these days because there are so many genres and sub-genres. I guess you’d have to say, singer-songwriter / indie, rock?? Not sure really.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

The sounds of NYC are pretty extreme. There has been the churning of the subway, the fierce and aggressive, volume of the sirens from police and ambulances. The chaos of busy streets and bars.

I don’t know that I would say they are particularly, musical but they definitely can create a mood.

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 tend to write very rhythmically, many of the songs on this record started with a drum groove or loop of some sort.

I tend to react viscerally to rhythm. I love the layering of rhythm instruments too. You can hear that on several of the songs on this record.

From symphonies and traditional verse/chorus-songs to linear techno tracks and free jazz, there are myriads ways to structure a piece of music. Which approaches work best for you – and why?

For the most part I have always gravitated towards the traditional verse / chorus type of songs. But, that being said, most of my favorite music has slight, subtle twists in those simple arrangements. I grew up a big Pearl Jam fan and a lot of their early work was fairly simple songs but with occasional, unexpected changes.

I am also a huge David Byrne and Talking Heads fan which of course masterfully combines pop and the avant garde.

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?

The song “Birthdays” started as an experiment to see if I could create a song based around 5 repeated notes.

I had recently just discovered Steve Reich’s “Piano Phase” and was fascinated with it. I began with that 5 note sequence and then added layers of synths on to the figure.



That song was built out over many months and I had even added a final layer of drums during the mixing stage.

Sometimes, science and art converge in unexpected ways. Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

I didn’t think I did but I guess to some extent the description above of how I mad “Birthdays” was a bit of an experiment

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?

Well, I have been trying to reconcile that my life doesn’t have to parallel my music. I have been dealing with depression since my early teens and it’s always played a huge part in my music for better or worse. I’m still learning all the time on how the two are related and how to keep them both closely related and also separate.

I don’t believe you have to live a particularly interesting life in order to make interesting music but I also think that all of my favorite art has a bit of chaos to it. Civilized society is not always the best conduit for art but I think finding a way for those things to coexist is interesting.

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?

Yes I do. At the risk of sounding pompous and pretentious, I do think that the artistic process is different than most if not all other processes. I don’t know how to necessarily, quantify what an artist is but I do think I know it when I see it.

This is a slippery slope and I don’t fully know how to get at the gist of what I feel about this. I’ll have to try by creating some more music. :)

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

Wow, this is a tough one. For starters, I can’t stand the new spatial audio and ATMOS trend in music.

My hunch is that it’s a money grab for labels and big corporations and that the general, listening public doesn’t care at all about it. I guess I would like to see that go away.