Transmission received

The relationship between music and other forms of art – painting, video art and cinema most importantly - has become increasingly important. How do you see this relationship yourself and in how far, do you feel, does music relate to other senses than hearing alone?

I think that different kinds of art have always been connected by their ability to cause emotions. If you’re receptive and emphatic for that kind of transmission I can’t imagine that you’re not receptive for other kinds of art like pictures, videos, theatre, etc... . You can combine different arts to amplify the effect and feelings that you’d like to achieve.

There seem to be two fundamental tendencies in music today: On the one hand, a move towards complete virtualisation, where tracks and albums are merely released as digital files. And, on the other, an even closer union between music, artwork, packaging and physical presentation. Where do you stand between these poles? 

Definitely on the last side! As an instrumental band it’s important to use all possibilities to send our message as we’ve got no real vocals. But apart from that it’s essential for us as artists that all components fit together and create a unity.

The role of an artist is always subject to change. What's your view on the (e.g. political/social/creative) tasks of artists today and how do you try to meet these goals in your work?

It’s important that art in general pays attention to the tasks mentioned as it’s mostly and hopefully, an independent point of view. We as a band aren’t that political in our music.

Music-sharing sites and -blogs as well as a flood of releases in general are presenting both listeners and artists with challenging questions. What's your view on the value of music today? In what way does the abundance of music change our perception of it?

As a listener it’s really difficult to get through the huge amount of new music and bands especially when you’re into different kinds of music. So for me the best way to get an overview is to check print and online mags as they have the most objective view about what’s happening. Blogs are often led by personal taste, which isn’t bad but you have to be aware of that. Suggestions by sharing sites are often led by statistics and financial calculation.

Of course the availability of music without having to do any thing downgrades the value of music but on the other hand people are listening to more music than ever. So maybe the value of music in general has risen, but the value of each band has dropped.

How, would you say, could non-mainstream forms of music reach wider audiences?

Still platforms like youtube, soundcloud, reverbnation, facebook, etc. are the best to reach wide audiences but it’s difficult to get it started and you’ve got to combine them to get attention.

Usually, it is considered that it is the job of the artist to win over an audience. But listening is also an active, rather than just a passive process. How do you see the role of the listener in the musical communication process?

In a live situation the most important thing for us is to connect with the audience. We’re very lucky to have fans that are really active and give us great feedback that pushes us to play better and it’s more fun for us, too. We try to return the energy back to them and so we push each other. Without that communication there’s no great gig for us as a band and for them as listeners.

Reaching audiences usually involves reaching out to the press and possibly working with a PR company. What's your perspective on the promo system? In which way do music journalism and PR companies change the way music is perceived by the public?

These days it’s even more important because the amount of music around has risen in the past few years as I already mentioned. More promotion leads to more attention. But be aware that it doesn't correlate to the quality of the music promoted.

Please recommend two artists to our readers which you feel deserve their attention.

He’s not unknown but for me he was a really important attendant the last year: José González

And here an instrument that I discovered in the last months called “Hang”. It’s great for releasing tension!

Visit the website of Long Distance Calling at www.longdistancecalling.de