Name: Reid Willis
Nationality: American
Occupation: Composer, producer, sound engineer.
Current release: Reid Willis's Sediment is out via Mesh.
Recommendations: ‘The Southern Reach’ is a trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer that twisted and stretched my brain in the most incredible ways. It’s surreal, emotional, hard to grasp, yet incredibly visual, and it touches on so many themes that I try to incorporate into my music.
The whole album ‘Double Negative’ by Low is a total masterpiece. Incredible beauty under violent corrosion. The untimely passing of Mimi Parker last year turns this emotional album into a completely devastating listen.

If you enjoyed this Reid Willis interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, Facebook, twitter, and Soundcloud.



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?

Music is extremely visual to me as well. I believe a song or album always has a specific color palette and visual character. My favorite way to listen to music is lying down with my eyes closed with a really good pair of headphones. That way, I can feel the entire stereo field and experience the full sonic world of the song.

My other preferred way is to sit in the sweet spot between my studio monitors, turn them up as loud as I can, and cue up a long, abstract visualizer on YouTube.
 
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?
 
That’s a great question, and it's something I grapple with constantly. I’m a huge believer in the magic in mystery, but I’m always looking to learn, grow, and evolve.

I started taking piano lessons at six, so that’s when I started learning basic music theory. There really is something special about fumbling around in the dark and finding something purely creative and exploratory when you don’t have a complete grasp on what you're doing.

I think honing my craft has given me greater capabilities as a composer, but it’s taken away a bit of the pure, revelatory excitement of discovering something new. It’s a double-edged sword.
 
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?
 
That was my exact age when the music I was discovering was most life changing for me. We first got the internet in our house when I was an early teenager, and that’s when I started digging for music and stopped relying on what was playing on the radio or the TV. That’s when my musical world really expanded, and I was able to discover the true ingenuity that exists out there. It was incredibly inspiring.

The music and artists we discover in those formative years usually remain special to us throughout our lifetime. That’s also the root of the mindset of “music used to be so much better when I was young.” It’s just because it shaped us during the most malleable part of our lives.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools and how have they shaped your perspective on music?
 
Piano, for sure. It’s my home base and my mental ‘key’ in all music theory. Drums and rhythm have also always been important. There’s nothing as gratifying as programming a rhythm that grooves and moves like an organic, living creature.

I grew up watching a lot of dance, so movement is always a factor when I write something. It has to be captivating for the mind, the emotions, and the body.
 
What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?
 
That’s a hard one to pinpoint specifically. I usually get inspired by other art forms. A book, movie, or sometimes other music can spark ideas that lead to full songs.

I always get inspired by new software, instruments, and tools that I can play around with or incorporate into the music. That always makes the process feel fresh again.
 
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?
 
The overall sound is incredibly important in everything I write. That’s why I mix and master all of my own music, because one wrong tweak can throw the entire song off. I could be totally dissatisfied with a track, then I add the most microscopic detail, and suddenly it all comes to life. It’s a super delicate process.

I’d describe my sound as mood heavy. It lives somewhere between extremes, like violence and beauty happening simultaneously. I strive to build entire worlds in each song.
 
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”?
 
I don’t have a specific memory, but I do often love to pick out patterns in natural sounds. I love to sample and harness these extremely textural bits that are found all around us to fill out a song, or give it a warmth that can sometimes be missing in the completely digital world.

I think almost anything can be musical. It’s man-made, but I always enjoy the huge drone tones of leaf blowers in the distance.
 
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 love huge contrasts in music. Some of my favorite pieces are small interludes that introduce one simple idea for a minute or two, and then vanish. They always feel like a special snapshot of a time or place. And on the opposite end, I love long, winding pieces of music that contain multiple chapters and weave a sonic story. I use both ideas in my own music.

Extremes are what make things exciting and intoxicating, whether they are full-on extreme, or extremely subtle.

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?
 
I usually let the song take the reigns on where it needs to go. Some songs I write are through-composed, and some have almost a verse / refrain structure with movements that return and repeat. If I do have sections that repeat, I always add elements of surprise that change the passage and make it more that just a copy/paste.

I’m not for or against any kind of pattern or structure, and I try to remain open on what works best for each song.
 
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 live performance film “Mother Of – Piano Reworks” was a really great project and exercise on minimalism and restraint. I took a few pieces from my 2020 album ‘Mother Of’ and stripped them to their bare, melodic core. Most of my songs start on piano, so it was basically bringing them back to their embryonic stage, then building them up again for just piano and violin.

It was really gratifying to have just the crystalline emotional essence of the songs on full display.
 
Sometimes, science and art converge in unexpected ways. Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?
 
I don’t specifically do scientific experiments with my music, but I do pull from science and discovery as inspiration. The more we learn about the world around us, the more questions arise.

The cycle of striving for answers and accepting that every answer leads to more questions keeps us ever-evolving, which I think is the best mindset to be in.
 
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 feel like people that only know me through my music probably think I’m quite serious, but I’m quite the opposite. I’m serious about what I create, but I like to find the humor in every facet of life and not take anything super seriously. It’s been quite a powerful tool in combating fear and anxiety.

When creating , I’m always trying to tap into the deepest part of the human existence and what it all means. So I guess I’m sharing more of the parts of myself that I don’t often talk about. The contemplative, harder to grasp emotions. Music is an amazing tool for communicating the things that go beyond what words can really describe.

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?
 
I consider anything someone is passionate about and spends time perfecting as an art form. Music is my palette of choice and what I’ve always been most drawn to, so I’ve spent most of my life using it as my primary creative outlet.

I definitely strive to do my best in everything I do, but music is what I funnel all of my emotions and life experiences into.    

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?
 
A piece that never fails to completely take my breath away is ‘Nightfalls’ by Hecq (aka Ben Lukas Boysen.)



I can feel every single emotion in this piece. It’s calming, slightly unnerving, devastating, and hopeful all at the same time. The way he weaves these monolithic pads is masterful. It’s like discovering a new world that has never been seen before, while simultaneously watching it fade away.

[Read our Ben Lukas Boysen interview]
 
If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?
 
I would ideally love to see less trends and more individuality, overall. I would also love to see more bespoke instruments being created.

New sounds are the most inspiring tools to me.