Name: Miguel Atwood-Ferguson
Nationality: American
Occupation: Multi-instrumentalist, session musician, arranger, composer, music director, producer, DJ, orchestral conductor, educator.
Current Release: Miguel Atwood-Ferguson's Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1 is out via Brainfeeder.

If you enjoyed this Miguel Atwood-Ferguson interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter. For more thoughts about Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1, read our follow-up interview Miguel Atwood-Ferguson interview here.

Over the course of his career, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson has played with a wide range of collaborators, including Wadada Leo Smith, Carlos Niño, Jamael Dean, Nels Cline, and Lara Somogyi.

[Read our Wadada Leo Smith interview]
[Read our Carlos Niño interview]
[Read our Jamael Dean interview]
[Read our Nels Cline interview]
[Read our Lara Somogyi  interview]



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? For Les Jardins Mystiques Vol. 1, what role did often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

The impulse comes from my soul - a desire to create a love letter to the multiverse, return my debt of gratitude to anyone and anything that has ever supported or inspired me, share what I love, and spread healing, uplifting, and authentic vibes.

The role that everything that is important to me and has inspired me manifested in the music as: sonic vibration, expression, and storytelling via my composition, music direction, arranging, orchestration, colors, emotional arcs of each individual song, disc, and volume, and so much more.

My music is my activism, religion, hope, therapy, playground, reassurance, and mirror - showing me my incongruences, divineness, and everything in between- inspiring me to continue to figure out how to manifest my truest self.

When you started work on the album, what were some of the ideas, themes or 'visualisations' for the finished work? Was there any sense of the sprawling nature that this project would take, the sound it would have, the kind of music you wanted to play?

It has pretty much been the same concept all along - musically and emotionally speaking, although when I first started, I thought it was going to be roughly 100 mins in length, not 630.

I matured a lot as a human being during these 14 years, so naturally, the music reflected that as well. The visualizations have always been traversing inner and outer landscapes, providing a soundtrack for discovering nature, and heartfelt dialogues meant to uplift. One of the ongoing themes all along has been emotional and spiritual freedom via opening up dialogues with one’s intrinsic infinite self and the multiverse.

The most major theme all along, narrative wise, has been the aim of creating each composition / recording in way to represent diverse mystical gardens, hence the title of the work. My goal has been to create a harmonious and diverse sonic world representing the potential in my opinion of how valid, mysterious, wondrous, and needed all of the diversity is in our world - including all life - can live in mutual respect, harmony, and peace.

I tried to achieve this via including different genres, feels, instrumentations, arcs, vibes, people, dynamics, etc.

The press release stresses a word that is rarely used in press releases these days - “friends”. For your music and LJM Vol.1 in particular, tell me about the importance of trust between the participants, personal relationships between musicians and engineers and the freedom to perform and try things – rather than gear, technique or “chops” - for creating great music.

I definitely value communication, intention, authenticity, creating an atmosphere that is accepting and uplifting to all, enjoying our time equally, and having fun. Friendship and the ongoing cultivation of respect, kindness, and warmth is everything.

As far as gear goes, it’s great, but isn’t the most important thing to me. In regards to ‘chops’: playing fast and loud is fine and is one form of virtuosity often referenced when people talk about ‘chops’, but my definition of virtuosity - or at least my favorite type of ‘chops’ or expression stems more from focusing on intimacy, vulnerability, and authenticity.

Not to say that loud and fast music can’t have those qualities too, but it seems to me that it’s harder for most audiences and creators to have the space needed to facilitate intimacy with relentless loud and fast music.

There are many friends/collaborators on this album, and they all bring something personal and unique to the table. What do you generally look for in a collaborator? Do you prefer to work with artists you have a lot in common with or those where you have more differences?

Wow, that is such an inspiring thought to consider purposefully seeking out collaborators that are really different than me. I have only done that consciously a few times and only super subtly, but reading your question now is inspiring me to do this more often, thank you!

Most historically, I have usually sought out collaborators that are already easily capable of understanding what it is I’m going for emotionally and musically, and furthermore are people that get along easily with me personality wise.

I usually look for people that know their instrument incredibly well, are positive people looking to spread healing vibes, have the ability to listen to the entire ensemble in real time, always try to add to the overall expression of the entire ensemble (not just being concerned with their own exploits), and don’t need a lot of coddling, etc.

In terms of your personal expression and the experience of performance, how does playing solo compare to performing within a group?

Playing with a group is so fun because it involves a constant sonic and emotional dialogue between everyone, even when someone in the ensemble is resting and not playing. It is always about the collective expression, the collective emotional and vibrational balance.

As the music director of my own ensembles, I really enjoy trying to always enable the most magic that I can. I really respect to my core anyone that i’m lucky enough to collaborate with. I enjoy the challenge of putting everyone in the best position possible, moment to moment, in order for them to enjoy their time in a way that serves the music and uplifts everyone’s spirits.

Playing solo is the same but instead of applying that concept to numerous individuals, I simply apply that to all of the various aspects of my individual soul and psyche. It’s fun when playing solo to know that I’m solely responsible for everything going on.

It’s more challenging in that I can’t be benefitted by other people’s energy and talents to counterbalance me, but it’s also easier in that I know to not expect any of that and therefore can concentrate deeper on whatever I’m painting in the moment.

German bassist and composer Zeitblom told me: “Sounds should stand for themselves, without referring to anything or depicting anything other than themselves.” What's your take on that – especially in the light of the fact that sounds in music are always created by musicians and thus refer to these very individuals as well?

My take on that is that in any given moment, most musicians seem to me to be creating something to exist and be understood for that very moment as the main focus, emanating from sound itself.

Yes, for people like me, in addition to focusing mostly on the moment, I’m also intensely interested in creating a larger narrative and arc of expression, I am a composer after all. Les Jardins Mystiques is my greatest example of combining these moments with composition, with larger arcs of narratives.

With that said, I’m also very into the idea of musicians celebrating their unique personalities by creating sounds that are painting a picture of all of the aspects of their personal character, and not some approach to music trying to distance themselves from that almost as if to create sound pushing away the human element.

There are a couple different ways to interpret what Zeitblom is saying and I don’t want to assume I understand which way he is intending.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing 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?

What a great question. Yes and no in my opinion.

They’re completely different in that I think the emotional depth that can be reached by the greatest cup of coffee is not in the same scope of what the greatest pieces of music can covey. But yes, they are inherently similar just a tad, in that making a great cup of coffee can be incredibly rewarding and if being made for someone else also becomes spiritual in my opinion.

Additionally, it’s my current personal belief and understanding that whatever we cultivate ourselves to be as a human being is the art itself, our life is the art itself, and then when we go to our artistic instrument of choice to practice or create, the art simply jumps out so to speak. So, I see one’s life and one’s art as one thing with no separation.

I don’t think there is any substitute for time practicing our craft at our instrument, but similarly, I don’t think there is any substitute for our time away from our instrument as well and how we choose to cultivate our energy and intentions during that time.

I adore cooking food for myself and others, composing music, playing various instruments, teaching for free, performing around the world, making music with others, going to concerts, spending time with my family, taking walks in nature, reading books, watching interviews, etc so many things - and they all might have some things in common – but - they each are irreplaceably unique to me and bring infinite value and perspective to my life.

So yes, even though I can see some very subtle similarities between making a great cup of coffee and writing a piece of music, what I experience with music is singularly unique as are any of the other things I mentioned. In terms of what those unique things are, I think they are best described as the scope of potential intentions, energies, and vibrations.