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?
Inflection Point is one of my seminal pieces, primarily for my personal development, but it has also brought some recognition and awards. It's probably one of the first pieces where I had a very clear idea that I could realize in such a way that it didn't sound like an etude, and that had a particular flavour that would later contribute to my personal style. At that time, I was really shocked how the tsunami in Japan left everyone dumbstruck and unprepared, so that no one was able to predict or in any way prevent the impending disaster with the nuclear reactor in Fukushima. I think this was one of those historical events with an immediate negative impact on the whole world that makes us rethink our human-centred perspective and relevance.
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?
Rested, unconcerned, at home (where I have set up my little studio), working on a project that I am very excited about, would probably be a rough summary of the ideal conditions. Over the years (mainly because of the constant lack of time) I have become very efficient at composing on the spot (often on planes, trains, etc.). All this is not ideal, but it can be done. What stops me very much from being productive is anxiety or an immediate feeling of worry or an urgent (usually trivial) matter that needs to be resolved. In this day and age where there are constant distractions like news, Instagram, Tik-Tok, emails, etc., it's especially hard to focus. That's why I have certain protocols in place when I'm composing - I put the phone on silent and close all distracting apps sometimes for an hour or two to limit distractions. What also helps are small comforts (warm tea, some low-calorie snacks, ...) that allow my brain to stay sharp. I also do small rewards (go for a walk, call a dear friend, watch an episode of a favourite show), but only after I have completed a daily creative task I set myself. This way I can track my progress and motivate myself to keep working. Every day is different, and sometimes there are days when you wake up and feel like shit and know that despite your best efforts, you won't get much done. I think it's okay to procrastinate on those days, as long as you're able to acknowledge the good days and seize the moment.
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?
As a former medical student, I remember hearing about how music activates different parts of the brain at the same time, which is why it has been branded as good for the development of the child's brain and could hold the key to some of its healing properties. However, I am not an expert in this field, so I will refrain from speculating. All I can say is that for me it has a healing effect, either as a mood enhancer or a mood stabiliser, and I have often been able to work through my emotions or emotional turmoil by listening to music. Whether or not it can also harm (apart from damaging the cochlea with high volume), I don't know; the worst music did for me was make me lose interest and get bored, which doesn't sound so bad, does it?
The healing potential of music lies in the fact that rhythm and movement affect our bodies on a very physical level, and yet music manages to remain sufficiently abstract that you could interpret each piece in your own way and relate it to events, people or emotions that are meaningful to you! It allows you to reflect, remember and process thoughts and feelings, which could then have a cathartic effect and put you in a different state of mind.
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?
This question will probably remain controversial. I suspect that people whose identity is the main impetus for their creation are more sensitive to this issue, as they could hold the adaptation of elements of their culture by others as theft/appropriation. Artists like me who are curious about crossover, collage and mosaics are likely to have a more lax attitude to where this 'fine line' might be drawn.
In principle, I am against any kind of restriction in art because it stifles creativity. We talked earlier about the fact that we first learn by imitating each other, and I also believe that in this way we are able to better understand each other. No matter how well we define the "fine line" between these two terms, there will always be exceptions. In addition, we must not forget that many art movements (some of which are considered genuine styles) have a dark side to their genesis (e.g. Picasso’s masterpiece ‘Les Demoiselles D’Avignon’ has been criticized for incorporating the African masks in the design of the faces). In spite of what I just said, it should not be taken as a carte blanche to brazenly abuse, unreflectively allude to or ridicule foreign cultural symbols. On the contrary, I think we should always treat each other with a lot of respect, but also always remain open to trying things out, if only to understand what works and what does not.
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?
As a passionate amateur foodie, I would say that taste (and smell) and the way you put flavours together has a lot in common with the way I think about timbre and the way I put together certain combinations of instruments. In cooking, you have a wide range of "basic ingredients", but the combination of these ingredients and the way they are prepared result in combinations that go far beyond the simple 2+2 = 4. This is also true in music, where you have an inexhaustible number of instrumental (and electronic) sounds, but depending on the combination and inner balance of dynamics, pitch, rhythm, etc., you can get sound constellations that sound more sublime than what you might expect just based on the components used.
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?
In my humble opinion, art should invariably reflect on the time and space in which it was created, but it should not take on the role of propaganda. If a work of art is too concerned with the current social or political issue, it runs the risk of losing its universality over time, and with it the potential to communicate with posterity.
Currently, I am obsessed with our post-truth world and how we construct our reality. But rather than talk about specific social actors that might hold centre ground in this polemic (like Facebook, which may or may not exist in a hundred years), I prefer to focus on the impact these issues have on human perception of actuality and how this changes our behaviour. To give a concrete example: I am working on a project where we randomly divide the audience into two halls just before the show. They each see their own version, but also get a glimpse of what is going on in the neighbouring hall. These insights are sometimes true, sometimes faked and often manipulated or taken out of context. In this way I can talk about things that are relevant to the time in which I live, but in a way that tries to abstract the theme of manipulation so that it is not necessarily connected to the socio-political theme that served as my initial inspiration.
What can music express about life and death which words alone may not?
For me, the fact that music works with symbols that are changeable, whereas words work with symbols that have a fixed meaning, makes music more malleable and able to express things that we don't necessarily need to understand, whereas words are constrained by the need to be understood if they are to have meaning. In this sense, music is ideally suited to expressing premonitions, dreams, fears and feelings because it can engage the limbic part of our brain that is responsible for our emotional response. Even though music cannot really explain the concepts of life and death to us, its cathartic qualities help us to cope with different life situations and to deal with the ephemeral nature of our existence.
