Name: Sandro Sáez
Nationality: German
Occupation: Pianist, composer
Current release: Sandro Sáez teams up with Jonas Westergaard (bass) and Nathan Ott (drums) for Abstract Emotions, the debut album of his OVERSÁEZ project – out now via Boomslang.
Recommendations for Berlin, Germany: One place that has influenced me a lot and still does is the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin. This place is great for discovering music (modern music in particular) and being able to listen to it played by amazing musicians. The best part about it is, that usally it’s possible to sit extremely close to the musicians on stage, at a distance where you can see every look and feel every emotion of the players.

[Read our Nathan Ott interview]

If you enjoyed this Sandro Sáez interview and would like to stay up to date with his music and upcoming live dates, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram. 



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

Composing for me is a process that can feel very creative and emotional at times, and other times it may feel more like “work.” That doesn’t mean that I will like the results from one of these situations more than the other, but they will probably sound different. It feels great to have a fantasy, and having the urge to bring it into reality by writing it down.

In my works, there are for sure connections to personal relationships and politics, but usually not in the most direct way. I enjoy putting these things in there in a way that you won’t notice them, or maybe only if you listen to it a couple of times.

I have always enjoyed listening to music that I don’t understand because it was always a journey to discover things in that particular music while listening to it many times - and to create your own personal relationship with it.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

When I compose something, I think it can be very helpful to have at least one specific idea of what you want to do. It can be a loose idea, like “trying to write a piano solo composition” or “try to write a customized groove” or “find ten chords that sound good”.

I used to always finish my compositions in one day and to then give them a title at the end. That helped me to get it done, even though it wasn’t necessarily “done,” because the real work started when I would start playing it with people. It can also be great to start with no idea and go with the flow. But this comes with the danger of frustratation much more quickly.

During the process of composing, I never feel the need to be extremely consistent with my ideas. If it feels like I need to get more loose with my rules because I have a different idea, I'll go with it.

Also, I always enjoy giving other people space for their ideas, and to change my compositions accordingly. After all, most of the time, they were making them sound even better.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

I always write my compositions down on paper with a pen. Then I will type them up in the computer. That always gives me the feeling of getting it done.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

The right mindset can be very tricky sometimes. I don’t like to stimulate myself on purpose.

If I had a coffee and it uplifts me, that’s great, if I had a fun night out with friends, that can be great, if I am feeling down and I am sitting in front of a blank piece of paper, that can be challenging.

For Abstract Emotions, what did you start with? If there were conceptual considerations, what were they?

As mentioned before, I always had a one specific, but still “loose” idea when starting to write the compositions for my latest release.

These where things like: experimenting with the 12-Tone scale, experimenting with minimalistic concepts, trying to to compose a sophisticated groove or experimenting with rhythmical concepts, write a ballad.

One composition is influenced by by Anthony Braxton’s “Opus 23c” (“Paternoster”).



Furthermore I was influenced by the Alban Berg Sonata (Reference in “Distorted Dreams”) …



… and Messiaens Catalogue d’oiseaux Nr.9 (Reference in “Soothsayajin”)



Tell me a bit about the way the new material developed and gradually took its final form, please.

When I write something, I like to think that until the moment when I bring the composition to play it with people, it is around 60% done.

Through playing it with people, I quickly realise which ideas were good, and which weren’t. Throughout the process I like to stay open and watch what happens, maybe like creating a painting together, and anybody who wants can add their colors. Sometimes the final result can turn out to be something very different to what I intended in the first place.

The best way to develop the material is through concerts though. This time I was lucky to have played a tour (5 concerts) with my trio, and we also had three days of rehearsals before going to the studio. So we could really go deep and had a lot of space to shape my compositions.
 
There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

I can say that I have reached very unique states of mind through playing my instrument or by playing with other people.

I have discussed this topic with friends and family. Since I am not a person who has a faith or feels part of any religion, playing music is a way for me to reach states of being that might be comparable to states that “spiritual people” have witnessed.

I am very grateful for that, and the best thing that can happen is if I can transmit this feeling to my listeners to some extent.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

As mentioned earlier, I like to get pieces done as quickly as possible. The time when practising them on the piano, up to the point when I have played them a couple of times with other people is the most crucial time for me. That’s usually when I feel the biggest urge to make the best out of a composition.

In the past it has occasionally happened that there are pieces that I still enjoy playing after years. I think that’s mostly because every piece is part of a journey, a journey of pursuing you artistic vision. It is a never ending journey though, and going back to old times is not often very inspiring for me.

When it comes to “being satisfied with a piece”, I don’t like to overthink things. It becomes evident very quickly which pieces I like and which I don’t. If there is a piece that I only like in parts, but in others not, it is really hard for me to rewrite it. I’d rather just start a new one.

How do you think the meaning, or effect of an individual piece is enhanced, clarified or possibly contrasted by the EPs, or albums it is part of? Does each piece, for example, need to be consistent with the larger whole?

I really like consistency, and I’m trying to get better at it. In the past, I feel like one could hear that I was still searching what I wanted to do. For example one my first album,the titles and the music are quite inconsistent.

This doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. But I do look up to the idea of writing something that is as coherent as possible.

The challenge in the end is getting better or faster at expressing what you have in mind. I do believe that you get better at this throughout the years.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? In terms of what they contribute to a song, what is the balance between the composition and the arrangement (performance)?

I do like to think that when performing, you are in the moment and you need to let go of thinking and trying to control things. Even if something happens that you don’t like, you will need to accept it and make the best out of it in that situation.

In the end, me and the listener will not remember one or two bad things that may have happened. They will remember the performance as a whole and how they felt right there, in that moment.

When you are recording your music, you suddenly have the power to choose, and to control. “Which take do I like more?” “Can we merge these takes together?” “Can we edit this note out?”

When I record my music, I like to make the intention of my composition clear, so these options can help with doing that. At the same time, there is a big potential that I kill the soul of that recording, and take away a special mood or flow that was existing, so you have to be careful.

With my latest release Abstract Emotions, I was trying to let loose as much as I could. When you are doing something that means a lot to you, it is very hard to do that, but it was a nice challenge for me, and I am happy with the results.

I would love to know a little about the feedback you've received from listeners or critics about what they thought some of your songs are about or the impact it had on them – have there been “misunderstandings” or did you perhaps even gain new “insights?”

For some reason, it was very clear to me a long time before the recording, that the title of the album had to be Abstract Emotions.

But I first had to figure out what it meant myself, and I had to talk about it with friends. I could see that the title caused some questions. But through this process I learned something about myself, and I learned how to communicate the things that I want to say with this title.

I also like to choose titles, that give people the freedom to figure out what it means for themselves.

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?  

I can relate well to this question, because for the past 1-2 years, I really got into making coffee, and I really enjoy the complexity of it, and the ritual itself. The similarity to composing something is that you need to have certain skills and knowledge in order to get an enjoyable result.

When it comes to the result of both of these processes, you will find yourself with something that is extremely subjective. Which means that with both things people might be able to say “this is done very well, but I don’t like it” or just “this is great, I really like it.”