Part 2
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?
Recently I’m very much drawn to classical minimalism, with composers such as Steve Reich a big influence on me. I find the tiny details and repetitive ostinato patterns slowly changing really appealing.
The aesthetic is beautiful but keeps you guessing, and the repetitions and groove gets me into a trance-like state, feeling intricate yet ambient all at the same time. It makes me feel focussed yet relaxed, and that I’m part of something with progression and purpose.
It’s definitely sponged into my own compositions and sonic palette.
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?
The quick answer is all of the above, in terms of my taste and experience, and how I may start writing music / improvising in my studio.
But with my solo sax works I do tend to have 3 or 4 different sections in each final version of the piece, which repeats here and there to a fairly traditional structure, like A-B-A-B-C then round again perhaps with variants the second time round in terms of note choices, or putting things up / down the octave. Intros and outros are also common.
I improvise a lot but under heavy restriction in the main – this said, a couple of my live pieces are pretty much completely improvised on the spot based on an initial idea or groove.
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?
Yes – I can go through the steps of my new LP:
1) Start improvising and jamming ideas out on my sax through my eventide H9 pedals messing with different combinations of delays, reverbs, and harmonisers
2) Record the best little snippets of these, maybe up to around 30 short ideas, some of them longer / fuller than others. All of the time I’m thinking of themes / memories / scenes in my head, like an ongoing scrapbook of ideas
3) Loads of listening, a lot of it outside of the studio environment, on the move or at home. I roughly categorise the compositions into different styles / energy levels / time signatures / keys, just to see how I’m doing with variety and track groupings. I also often play bits of sax or sing into my phone, storing up ideas for the next time I’m in the studio
4) I start to narrow the tunes down to my favourites, extending some of my favourite ideas into longer forms, and fine tuning the presets / settings of the effects pedals so they fit better or are more inspirational to what I’m playing on the sax. More rough recordings, and post-it notes with scribbles on so I don’t forget the best bits, now whittled down to probably around 15 tunes now
5) Listening, listening, listening. Imagining playing the pieces live on stage, often thinking of my Counter Chamber club night in London and how people might respond. I’m now heading towards the final 9 or 10 candidates for the album
6) I now make myself “proper” parts, i.e. sheet music created in Sibelius and exported out to pdf, which I print and also have on an iPad. I rehearse the parts for a while before I start the final recording process, hopefully meaning I’m at my best and have to make less edits later!
7) I make the final recordings, playing through my live rig with effects running in my headphones, but only keeping the dry sax initially from these takes, using Cubase as my DAW
8) I then make some edits to the raw sax parts, tweaking some timings, removing weird noises, and tuning notes here and there – nothing too crazy or perfect but a bit of a tidy up
9) Next I effectively “reamp” these sax parts, running the raw sax audio back out of my DAW, into my effects pedals, and back in again. I now have the dry sax parts and 2 sets of stereo effect channels
10) I then repeat some of the previous steps around until I’m happy I’ve got the best takes and representation of what I’m trying to do
11) Then I work with a mixing engineer, mixing and adding some additional effects / creative moments, which is quite a lengthy process with a lot of back and forth and focus on small sonic details
12) Then it’s off to the mastering engineer, with usually only a couple of revisions and DONE!
Sometimes, science and art converge in unexpected ways. Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?
Absolutely, I often think of myself as working in a lab, using trial, error and randomisation to try out ideas.
From a technical point of view I’ll often record different alternatives (e.g. mics / positions / effects settings) to compare, which could be described as a scientific method.
I believe the technology can inspire the art and vice versa, working in symbiosis, especially in my solo sax work.
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 like to try and represent my true self with this latest project, as it’s a solo / live thing. I love telling the stories, want to make people laugh and think, and hope that it’s down to earth and accessible at the same time as being exciting and profound. I’m saying to the audience, here I am and here is what I’m all about.
I would say we can definitely learn life lessons with a deep understanding of music, often things can seem to slot into place with clarity in this context for me.
That said, I think we often read too much into musical processes and have nostalgic / hero-worshipping views of our favourite music, when it was usually just someone mucking about until it sounded nice!
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?
Basically, yes. When I’m playing great music it’s always a pretty deep experience for me, it has a real energy and makes me feel like I’m doing what I was meant to do in the world. It’s hard to describe it without sounding like some kind of hippy spiritualist or jedi, but when everything falls into place it’s like I’m tapping into a universal life force.
Same goes for connecting with other band members, and the audience. Sometimes a simple nod of the head from someone in the crowd, or fleeting eye contact can tell you everything you need to know about this connection.
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?
I think in most cases I can analyse things and work out why certain music affects me more than others.
Often it’s to do with the context / time of my life when I first heard it too of course. I’m fascinated by the opposite, music that ticks all the boxes, is loved by many people, that I should love, but just doesn’t hit home.
If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?
I’d like every child to have the same privileges and opportunities I had growing up – instruments, teachers, amazing experiences, the lot.
It feels like we’ve gone backwards with funding and resources for music education in recent times, I’d love to reverse that.
