Peter Coccoma about Death, Decay and a Misdiagnosis that changed him
"Death taught me that you shouldn’t wait.“
Heidi Talbot Shares her Creative Process
"I walk for hours and sing ideas into my phone. If you stay open, it's possible to catch an idea."
Grant-Lee Phillips Shares his Creative Process
"For some, writing songs is a kind of necessary evil. That's something I simply can’t relate to."
jaimie branch of Anteloper about Improvisation
"30 seconds as a duo with Evan Parker realigned my atomic make up."
Carl Stone about Production, Technology and Creativity
"A digital working environment is a two-edged sword."
Bryan Senti Shares his Creative Process
"I wanted to connect my world to that of my parents and ancestors."
Matilde Meireles Talks Sound
"Don’t get me wrong, I do like technology. I just have a very particular focus."
Jenny Berkel shares her Creative Process
"The creative state is the most giving place I can imagine. It can also be the most frustrating."
Eraldo Bernocchi (Sigillum S) talks Sound
"Sounds are a utopia that can be heard. They're possibly the nearest thing to a God I can imagine.”
twocolors about Production, Instruments and Songwriting
"We want to implement 100% of what we have in mind. Like a vision of a film."
Linqua Franqa about Rap as Activism and the Contextual Power of the Word
"If you don't fucking know what you're talking about, it's okay to say nothing."
Louise Quinn of Gates of Light Shares her Creative Process
"When my ex-husband listened to one of the songs, he broke down crying."
Heavee about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I consider myself to be tethered to my studio."
Peter Gregson about Sleep, the Subconscious and the Value of Silence
"Everything is possible in a dream state."
Bag Raiders about Modular Synthesizers
"The modular is the ultimate starting point. A kind of limitless inspiration source."
Tangerine Dream about Improvisation, Collaboration and Speculation
"There are no restrictions in our world."
Dave Tucker about Improvisation
"I was messing about - which in turn became improvisation, of sorts."
Tools of Creation: Waldorf Microwave
Stefan Goldmann about a synthesizer which is rewardingly akward to use.
Síomha about Irish, English and the Influence of Language on Creativity
"I find singing in the Irish language so freeing."
Mazen Kerbaj talks Sound
"My childhood was rocked by sounds of shells, bombs, rifles, and tanks. We made competitions to identify a brand of rifle by its sound."
Tools of Creation: Moog Modular
Hannes Bieger about a synth that you can have conversations with.
Melody's Echo Chamber Shares her Creative Process
"Sometimes I am so nerdy and tyrannical about the smallest detail. My producer sometimes thinks it's madness."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Pachakuti & young.vishnu
Always Tradition, always Transition
Christian Winther Shares his Creative Process
"I never wrote for anyone else but me. How can you make anything while thinking about an audience?"
Richard Talbot aka Prospector Sound talks Sound
"The kitchen is always rewarding. Some of my sounds are samples of saucepans."
Xinobi about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I believe in creative mixing. It's the ultimate personality stamp on a piece of music."
Khompa about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I think the element of surprise is fundamental. Isn't that why we make music?"
What do Black Holes Sound like?
"There is a mystery about the inner part of a black hole. I wonder what it would be like to travel there."
Gabriella Vergilov about Healing Music and Dancefloor Existentialism
"It is not beauty that is going to save this world. It's music."
Life On Planets Shares his Creative Process
"I’m not as gifted as Prince. But computers help fill the gaps."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Jarboe (SWANS, Neurosis)
Open the Door to the Corridor of Discovery
Paul Beaudoin about the Electricity of EDM and the Illusion of Time
"I had tears running down my face. How can it be that music is powerless to express anything?"
Roger Eno Shares his Creative Process
"In medieval stone carvings the angels are playing instruments. They're not making coffee or watching television."
Abigail Lapell Shares her Creative Process
"Music is the closest thing I know to the meaning of life."
Heidrunna Shares her Creative Process
"I can cry my eyes out while I’m writing some of my saddest songs."
James Heather about Music as a Tool for Forgiveness
"My jaw was wired shut for a month, and all I saw was darkness."
Lord Pusswhip about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Producers with the most broken, fucked up computers tend to make the best beats."
Simon Whetham talks Sound
"Llistening to the environment is a different experience from listening to a pop song. It takes patience and practice."
Bambounou about the Art of Remixing
"You can create a whole new track from just one second of an original."
Rizomagic about Production, Technology and Creativity
"For us it’s really important to imagine the music before putting our hands on the instruments."
Yung Bae about Collaboration
"At first, when I set out to tackle the new album, it was a bit intimidating."
Steven Brown (Tuxedomoon, Ensamble Kafka) Shares his Creative Process
"Yes, I believe in the presence of spirituality in what I do."
Michelle Willis Shares her Creative Process
"The same impulses that direct everyday tasks come through in our songwriting. That’s what gives music a voice, a character, a shape."
Victor Santana about Music, Sounds in Space and Cosmic Exploration
"I hope to be able to make music on Mars one day."
Fifteen Questions Interview with James Singleton
Moving Humans Forward in the Grand Illusion of Time
Kaori Suzuki Talks Sound
"We've reached a point in Western experimental music where artists are incredibly self-conscious and verbose about where their work fits in."
Topic about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I often find myself looking ages for the right snare. It's a little bit like tinder."
Principe Valiente Share Their Creative Process
"Music might be the most physical and direct earthly religious experience you can have."
Felsmann + Tiley about the Art of Remixing
"100% loving a track is the worst precondition for a great remix."
Jacknife Lee of Telefís Shares his Creative Process
"What if nothing comes? That fear now excites me."
Roland JUNO 106: Tools of Creation
David Agrella about a synth that shaped the sound of a decade.
Hayden James Shares his Creative Process & Views on Technology
"When a song is released it feels like it’s born again to me."
FloFilz about Inspirations and Mental Travelling
"Many people have told me that my beats sound quite melancholic. I guess they're not wrong."
Katie Thiroux about Helping Female Jazz Players Stand up for Themselves
"I find females to listen better and to be more instinctual."
Silke Eberhard about Improvisation
"It's always a wonderful feeling to fill space with vibration."
Lola de la Mata about Tinnitus as a Creative Spark
"I've been fighting against my body for most of my 20s. Now I make music in order to … befriend it?"
Breakbot & Irfane about Production, Technology and Creativity
"We are very far from Prince’s vault."
Kaja Draksler about Building new Musical Languages
A musician told me: "I can hear the mountains of your village in your music."
Polo & Pan about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Technology can be in service of creativity. But the concept of surprise is human."
Hyesu Wiedmann about Film Music and Orchestration
"In a film, I want the music to be the unspoken voice."
Matthew Hawtin about Music & Design
"I’ve never consciously attempted to paint music. Yet unconsciously maybe I am."
Larry Tee about Fashion & Music
"Electroclash was so political - and I became its unofficial spokesperson."
Proper. about going from Black Suffering to Black Genius
"There’s no reason a simple tale about a black American can’t be told."
Chilly Gonzales about Collaboration, Negative Space and Consumed in Key
"Many electronic musicians think that sound can replace melody or harmony. No, it can't."
Richie Hawtin / Plastikman about Technology, Collaboration and Consumed in Key
"It was a incredible, frustrating and annoying. Isn't that why we became artists in the first place?"
Danny Clay about Healing with Music and Music for Hard Times
"Music is a powerfully functional tool. It should be used with the utmost care."
Kevin Saunderson about DJing
"People would say: Who's this cat? We haven't even heard of him! But it didn't take too long to prove myself."
Superpoze about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I'm not a fan of spontaneity in music."
Tommaso Moretti Shares his Creative Process
"Sometimes, the seed of a song will haunt me. I have to get it done to have some peace of mind."
KIDSØ about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Sometimes technology stifles creativity. Especially when you're more into technology than music."
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul about Morality, Fun & Uncomfortable Dancing
"Anger is a good starting point to get your point accross. But if you want change, you need to grow past that."
Avery Draut of Night Palace Shares her Creative Process
“I rarely think of starting a song at the beginning.”
Brian Chase about Improvisation
"Whether collaborating or working independently – we can expand ‘who we are.’"
Rhys Fulber (Front Line Assembly, Delerium) talks Sound
"Our brains are still adapting to all the noise. There’s a reason why every third person has insomnia."
Vincent Corver about Improvisation
"Life on earth never dies. It goes through stages of life and dormancy, remaining in a state of constant transformation."
Juheun about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Humans are not ready yet to give machines full control. I'm not sure we'll ever be."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer
Infinite Worlds, Infinite Ways
Imanbek about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Every single element of a production should reflect my feelings."
Daniel Bell (DBX, Cybersonik) about Early Inspiration, Detroit in the 90s and “Less is More”
"Ultimately, I wanted to create something that broke away from the old order."
Ken Ikeda about Improvisation
"Most soloists are like the main actor in the spotlight. I'm like a stage designer or cameraman."
Étienne de Crécy about Production, Super Discount & Motorbass
"Chaos and accidents are essential!"
Horse Lords about Just Intonation, the Rhyhm-Harmony Unity and Networks of Constraints
Dense, Dazzling Drones
Rizomagic about Identity, Tradition, and the Colombian Electronics Scene
"Music is as an instrument of union. It is a tool to demolish mind veils."
Johannes Albert about DJing
"We DJs are present at a club to play music FOR people. Give and take right?"
Mary Yuzovskaya about DJing
"My taste is very specific and super narrow - I’m not eclectic at all."
Michael Rother about Improvisation
"What is the creative state like? I don't know. In fact, I'm not sure I would even want to know."
Vittoria Maccabruni About Collaboration
"Out of your comfort zone can be a very interesting place to be in."
Alexander Lloyd Blake of Tonality about making Classical Music Socially Conscious
"Gun violence, climate change, mental health, women’s right - I want to create music that gets people really discussing issues."
Massimo Magee about Improvisation
"Once free jazz exploded in my brain, it changed my perception of what music could be. It changed my life."
Madeline Juno Shares her Creative Process
"I've become addicted to feeling hurt by my own lyrics."
FloFilz about Collaboration and the New London Jazz Scene
"The best collaborations are based on trust."
Damian Dalla Torre Shares his Creative Process
“Sometimes I need a good friend to tell me to stop.”
Markus Rom about Improvisation
"I like it when it’s hard to tell if a piece of music is composed or improvised."
Elles Bailey Shares her Creative Process
“So many great lines were written while I was taking a break to make a cup of tea!”
Nyokabi Kariũki talks Sound
"In Africa, musical engagements are often not divided between stage and audience - everyone is a contributor to the sound.”
Roedelius & Tim Story about Collaboration
“The reason to collaborate is dangerous – to work with someone who is not ‘like’ you.”
Bugge Wesseltoft about Improvisation
"Already Johann Sebastian Bach was improvising over contrapunctual concepts."
Joshua Idehen (Deadelus, Sons of Kemet) Shares his Creative Process
"My early versions can be shit drafts. A lot of shit drafts."
The Range Shares his Creative Process
“It’s not uncommon for me to have 100 different saves of a song.”
Eric Chenaux about Improvisation
"When I am improvising I am often in many states at once. A present-tense that has ghosts all over the place."
Lewis OfMan about Production, Technology and Creativity
"It's like there's an ancient civilisation hiding behind the DX7 algorithm."
DJ Vadim Shares his Creative Process
"To know when a track is finished, when it feels right - that's a hundred million $ emotion!"
Blindsmyth about Production, Technology and Creativity
"You don't need technology to be surprised. That's a marketing trick of the industry."
Kajsa Magnarsson & Marta Forsberg talk Sound
"That’s beautiful - you are the adoptive mother of lost and found sounds!"
Sharon Farber about Scoring for Film
"We touch upon the deepest level of human experience - cliché or not cliché."
LB aka LABAT about Production, Technology and Creativity
"What sets your music apart is the percentage of honesty you put in it."
Lissy Fey Shares her Creative Process
"Some of my lines can only be explained in hindsight. Some remain a mystery."
Chrome Canyon about Scoring for Film
"Film music is like a magic trick - you know you’re being manipulated and the crazier it feels, the more wonderful it is."
Julianna about DJing
"Dancing translates another view of our experience in the world. It’s another kind of listening."
Willy Vlautin of The Delines Shares His Creative Process
"My rituals when writing novels? I have to feel good, and I can’t be hungover. When writing songs, I can be hungover."
Jaimi Faulkner Shares his Creative Process
"I often need to retank after making a record. I need to live new experiences, read, walk, laugh, cry."
DunkelpeK about Improvisation
"Improvisation is a willful adventure into the unknown. It can be scary and disorienting for some."
Melt Yourself Down Share their Creative Process
"No amount of cycling, running, meditating, coffee or incense will help if you’re not happy inside."
Ray Angry of Public Domain / The Roots Shares his Creative Process
"Once I sit down at the piano, the music just pours out of me."
Jamie Lawson Shares his Creative Process
"If a singer sings, “I love you,” and believes it, it can be the best line ever written."
Kasztan (Stal, M83) About Technology and his Creative Process
"Every time I start with an idea, it ends up becoming something completely different."
Awkward Moments about Fashion & Music
"Music has always led fashion. Nearly no one has written a song about a dress."
Christina Giannone Talks Sound
"Sound challenges our beliefs of how the universe is supposed to be."
Peter Knight of Australian Art Orchestra Shares his Creative Process
"I can reach part of myself in music that I can’t in other spheres of life."
Budhaditya Chattopadhyay Talks Sound
"Sound travels from one body to another. And on its path it makes connections."
Kate Havnevik Shares her Creative Process
"I'm like a sculptor. I look at the song and decide if it needs a different shaped nose or bigger ears."
Andrea Oliva about DJing
"Everybody want’s to be the headliner. Everybody wants to smash it."
Merzbow about Improvisation
"If I can't achieve sufficient volume and sound pressure, the nature of the Merzbow experience changes."
Thandi Draai Shares her Creative Process
"Africa is so rich in its native languages - and that’s a powerful thing!"
Niall McNamee Shares his Creative Process
"Being hungover awakens the senses. But that can’t be the answer forever."
Pierre Vervloesem Shares his Creative Process
"Do I have certain rituals? Just walking. Everything else is actor bullshit."
Rob Mazurek & Mauricio Takara of São Paulo Underground about Improvisation
"You can transform a whole tone scale, a brown shoe, the blue sky or a rollercoaster.“
Mladen Kurajica & Daniel Garcia of Tupperwear about Improvisation
"It is fun to get lost for a while."
Omar Péne Shares his Creative Process
"I am a creator. I create at every moment. It is my job."
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten about Improvisation
"It's social music. We need the audience as much as they need us."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Maurizio Vitale aka Lolita Terrorist Sounds
Into Non-Identifiable Space
Tall Heights Share their Creative Process
"We’re trying to create something spiritual in an agnostic sense."
Joshua Lutz aka The Road Up North shares his Creative Process
"The experiment is greater than the plan. It always wins in the end."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Torstein Lofthus of Red Kite & Elephant9
Connected by Something Bigger
Fifteen Questions Interview with Even Helte Hermansen of Red Kite
Music helps a party. Music helps a funeral.
Trond Frønes of Red Kite about the Art & Challenges of Collaboration
"We are looking for chaos. But we also want to be on the same page."
Thierry Maillard of MLB Trio about Improvisation
"Without composition, there is no improvisation."
Hans Joachim Roedelius about Ego as an Energy and doing IT
"We are god's creatures. Not selfmade egomaniacs."
Thomas Fehlmann of The Orb Shares his Creative Process
"I like to hoover the studio before I begin. Or clear up the kitchen."
Deri Dako about Illness, Brain Injury and Creativity
"Medicine and music can help us live betters lives."
Zach Chance of Jamestown Revival Shares his Creative Process
"The flaws are what make recordings relatable to me."
K.Zia Shares her Creative Process
"Sometimes, I disconnect from physical reality. It’s like I'm channelling things."
The Lumineers Share their Creative Process
"You need to feel those tears from another to be sure a song is done."
Ill Considered Share their Creative Process
"Making music is like speaking to each other. That's how natural it feels."
Les Mamans Du Congo about Women's Rights and the Need to Fight
"Commitment is a very important act. It allows you to defend noble causes."
Eddie Prévost about Originality
"To many, music does not mean anything! This is unacceptable."
Avision about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I never like to build an archive of projects. To me it is one of the worst habits in music production."
thisquietarmy and N Share their Creative Process
"If I switch on the amps and hear the hum, I am in."
Sea Wolf Shares his Creative Process
"I sometimes think being a spiritual person would help me get in the zone."
Boom Dice about Production, Technology and Creativity
"The easier technology makes music making, the more excited I get about the possibilities."
Fifteen Questions Interview with The Living Earth Show
Amplified Jell-O and an Albatross Feather
Satoko Fujii on the Art of Collaboration
"Music can get us to a place where we all agree – no need to talk."
Thomas Hoffknecht about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I hardly ever have ideas in advance. I create everything from scratch."
Jonny Wildey Shares his Creative Process
"I had this romantic notion of renting a shack in the countryside to work on my masterpiece. I now think that is ridiculous."
Lilly Hiatt Shares her Creative Process
"Simple or complex - I just want to believe what I’m hearing."
DJ Harrison about Production, Technology and Creativity
"The microphone has changed the way I make music."
Pepe Deluxé Share their Creative Process
"If we ever know what we’re gonna do next, that's the day we should call it quits."
Abraham Fogg Share their Creative Process
"We can work non-stop for 10 hours without feeling any need to drink or eat. It’s not very healthy."
Boubacar Cissokho Shares his Creative Process
"To give the world what it needs, we kill ourselves."
Julien Delfaud aka I Hear Disorder about Production, Technology and Creativity
"House music is one good idea that you make last for 7 minutes."
Ladyhawke Shares her Creative Process
"I really enjoy writing from absolute nothing. No concrete idea."
The Takatsuki Trio Quartett about Improvisation
"Even choosing to ignore what the others are doing is relating to the music."
Clinic Share their Creative Process
"It doesn’t feel right to plan too much. It takes the fun out of things."
Olivia Block Talks Sound
"The purpose of music is to tell you how to feel in your world. Field recordings don’t necessarily have those assignments."
Mareike Wiening about Drumming, Doubts, and the Disappearance of Education
"It’s a path with unpredictable situations."
Dustin Zahn about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Do we REALLY need machines with opinions? We already trained these robot assholes to do parkour."
Ferhat about Turkey and the Role of Music in Repressive Regimes
"Nobody wants to shoot my next video. Artists, writers, the press, the public – they're all scared."
Christopher Chaplin Shares his Creative Process
"When creating, a story is being told to the creator - not by the creator."
James Davidson of Subjective & Ulterior Motive about Creativity & Technology
"When you have a vision, try as hard as you can to stick to it."
Wadada Leo Smith Shares his Creative Process
"Music comes from another place. That’s why it is so vital."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Toto Chiavetta
Monotony at the Core, Variety towards the Surface
Lawrence English Talks Sound
"Sound resonates materials - and that resonation gives them life."
Malcolm Jiyane about Improvisation
"Improvisation is expression. It’s almost like being in heaven — it’s total freedom."
Beth Lydi about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I try not to have too many ideas before entering the studio. It's frustrating to recreate something from my mind."
Lindy-Fay Hella on Healing with Music
“It is possible to create a good feeling in the body through placement of sound and your own thoughts.”
Luca Durán about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I like the idea of not really knowing what just happened."
Jamie Stewart of XIU XIU & HEXA Talks Sound
"Little else even approaches the weight and base of sound. I am obsessed, moved and driven by it."
Alan Clark (Dire Straits) Shares his Creative Process
"Keeping fit is important to me because feeling good is essential. Unless you’re writing the blues."
David Behrman Shares his Creative Process
"In the old days an artist would use her skillset for her entire life. Not so any more."
Purple Disco Machine Shares his Creative Process
"My whole studio is built like a wooden, purple coloured space. I need that to be creative."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Jonny Wildey fka Alphabets Heaven
Specific Rooms in Non-Existent Spaces
Kiesza Shares her Creative Process
"I often begin with nothing and let the song unfold on its own."
Gagi Petrovic talks Sound
"I am curious about stimulating the brain with music that is not audible. Are we still ‘hearing sounds’?"
Tobias Freund about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I always like to be surrounded by my machines."
Hayden Thorpe Shares his Creative Process
"Creating music is a regular, methodical searching for wonder."
Someone (aka Tessa Rose Jackson) Shares her Creative Process
"Oh. Did I just say that? Okay, I guess that’s how I feel."
Max Petersen Shares his Creative Process
"I have a lot of ideals. But being creative is not one of them."
Paul Schütze On the Creative Process
“We have woven a kind of privilege into the idea of art making that is nonsense”
Michael Robinson about La Monte Young, Tuning & Indian Classical Music
"Jazz and Indian classical music superseded Western classical music - intellectually, expressively, technically, and spiritually."
Hackedepicciotto Share their Creative Process
"We are spiritual beings with a human experience - not the other way around."
Harry Romero about Production, Technology and Creativity
"At the end of the day I am still a student."
Blockhead about Beats and Production
"I’ve been doing this so long that the idea of “inspiration” doesn’t really exist."
Parallells talk Sound
"It's very hard to make the sound of a dental surgery appealing. But it's a challenge we are willing to take."
Larry Goldings Shares his Creative Process
"If only I could approach music in the same way as I approach making a cup of coffee."
O Yuki Conjugate Share their Creative Process
"I’ve no idea how something will end when I start. I don't want to have."
Almeeva about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Technology is meant to make sounds unique and personal. Sometimes, that means destroying a song."
Philippe Petit Shares his Creative Process
"In my daily life, I have been educated and thus I am polite. Musically I can be the opposite."
Sophie Zelmani Shares her Creative Process
"I know I write in a simple way. But every word is there for a reason."
Barry Adamson (Magazine, Nick Cave) Shares his Creative Process
"An idea comes to you as you wander the earth with a metaphorical butterfly net."
Matt Robidoux about Improvisation
"Sometimes the ideal state and the creative thing are just taking a few deep breaths."
John DeNicola Shares his Creative Process
"Hungry Eyes was written in 10 minutes. It was just a flow that came through me."
Shadient about Depression and the Pleasure of Fucking Up Completely
"I damaged the art to make the pain feel tangible. I'd shake the tape machine as it recorded."
Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance) shares his Creative Process
"I have one ritual only: My creative space needs to be clean."
Tim Feeney and Vic Rawlings about Improvisation
"I like to be a little bit hungry - and just a little bit physically uncomfortable."
Squire about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I worry about the day that technology will understand more than our human minds."
Marja Mortensson Shares her Creative Process
"Yoik is giving me a new view of the world. It is as old as human beings are."
Marcus Gad Shares his Creative Process
"My inspiration is my life. I have to live it to sing it, sing it to live it."
Lena Platonos Shares her Creative Process
"I surrender myself to the imbalance of luck. Nothing is accidental."
Charles Richard about the Sounds of Rocks, City Acoustics and Silence
"By making cities quieter, they become more acoustically boring. A little noise is good for us."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Swans, Herbie Hancock)
Patience of a Hunter
![preview](https://media.15questions.net/thumbs/2021/10/"In group settings, it’s good to adapt and adjust, but above all, be yourself.'-110.jpg.300x300_q85_box-0,221,839,1062_crop_detail.jpg)
Trevor Dunn on Improvisation
"In group settings, it’s good to adapt and adjust, but above all, be yourself.'
Maya Jane Coles Shares her Creative Process
"I prefer not to have too much of a concrete idea before starting."
Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails) about Creativity, Studio Work and Bliss through Music
"I think I'd get bored of doing one thing only."
Latroit Shares his Creative Process
"You hope that god walks in with an idea. If that doesn’t happen, you make something up anyway."
Frank Arvonio about Production, Technology and Creativity
"The element of surprise is crucial."
Esther Venrooy talks Sound
"I feel a strong desire to become an alchemist - making an object from sound."
Vels Trio Share their Creative Process
"We’re trying to document a time in our lives, rather than create a masterpiece."
Aki Onda about Improvisation
"Too often we just follow the playbook we are given and get lazy."
Manjul about the Natural and the Magical in Songwriting
"Even an instrumental piece must be guided by a subject, a title, or a chorus."
Taj Weekes Shares his Creative Process
"I don't need to be on a mountaintop for inspiration."
Wheez-ie about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Given the choice of paying the rent or being original, most will choose to get in line."
Rafael Leafar about Improvisation and Recording with Jeff Mills
"Human improvisation is the greatest synth modulation possible!"
Main(void) Shares his Creative Process
"If I knew it'd take me 20 versions to finish a track, I wouldn’t even start."
J-Fresh about Beats and Production
"Hip-hop, Garage, Grime - the whole essence is built on samples."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Theo Katsaounis of Hey!Tonal & Joan of Arc
Sit with the Pain
Fifteen Questions Interview with Dave Davison of Hey!Tonal and Maps & Atlases
Tell, don't Show
Stina Marie Claire aka Honeyblood Shares her Creative Process
"An earworm is a triumph - a euphoric state of being!"
Music and Identity with Colin Riley
"The way people relate to music stems initially from their social background and their upbringing."
Stephan Moccio Shares his Creative Process
"We have lost the ability to make decisive, strong choices in our art."
VITALIC about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I like music when it’s weird and poetic at the same time."
Vapors of Morphine Share their Creative Process
"A song is finished when I no longer hate it."
Porches Shares his Creative Process
"My perspective is: Half out of my body and half deep inside my brain."
CYRK About Technology, Production and Creativity
"We have a lot of "unfinished" projects. We somehow always want to start fresh."
Pokey LaFarge Shares his Creative Process
"What makes lyrics good? When I can know the person by the words they speak."
Myele Manzanza about Improvisation
"The better I get at life skills, the better my music becomes."
Marta Zapparoli Shares her Creative Process
"Without the outside world, I cannot create my music!"
Noizu about Production, Technology and Creativity
"All the important plugins exist already. They just aren't 100% yet."
Matthew Herbert Shares his Creative Process
"It always starts with an absence. And the question – why?"
Fifteen Questions Interview with Nadjib Ben Bella of Montparnasse Musique
Magic with any Method
Judith Hill Shares her Creative Process
"Music opens the portal to another dimension of spirituality."
Meta Dia Shares his Creative Process
"Life is a spinning vinyl record. Listen - and you'll hear it."
James Gillespie Shares his Creative Process
"I'll write one line and realise - wow. That's how I feel about that."
Factory Sequences about Production, Technology and Creativity
"If it sounds decent the next day, it’s a keeper! If not, then I bin it."
Keys N Krates about Beats and Production
"It’s all an experiment that you try to control. We are just passengers within."
Marja Ahti Talks Sound
"If I move the microphone only a tiny bit in one direction, everything's affected."
Luca Formentini about Creating Silence and Tapping into the Sonic Energy Field
"I don't want my music to engage your intelligence."
Matty Took of PLANET Shares his Creative Process
"Writing a piece of music is like splattering down all your feelings into sound."
Cluster Lizard about Production, Technology and Creativity
"If an AI isn't motivated by fame, greed, sex, and popularity – why would it develop creativity?"
Michael Rother about Production, Technology and Dreaming
"I Appreciate the Absence of Music a lot."
Pink Turns Blue Share their Creative Process
"A Good Song Connects your Soul to the Universe."
Gio About Fashion & Music
"Young blacks from the hood are often labelled as criminals. My dress sense is my way of breaking these stereotypes."
Nite Jewel Shares her Creative Process
"There is always a “I wish I had done this or that” for every album."
Jelly Crystal Shares his Creative Process
"I have never managed to make me a good cup of coffee. I guess that’s art too."
Brandon Lucas about controlling the Black narrative in dance music
"My music is a call to action. Black love is revolutionary."
Mara Simpson Shares her Creative Process
"Sometimes it’s only when a song is finished that I understand what it was trying to tell me."
Don McLean Shares his Creative Process
"American Pie had to be over 8 minutes long. I wasn’t finished telling the story."
Dances With White Girls about Fashion & Music
"Fashion exposes the lies of what you speak in your lyrics."
Odd Beholder about Identity, Discrimination and why Privilege sucks
"Having a privilege is benefitting from injustice."
Mitch Grassi of Messer & Pentatonix about Fashion & Music
"I want the experience to be a bit bombarding."
The Felice Brothers Share their Creative Process
"Writers want to think that their work is being dictated by a higher power. That's a symptom of egotism."
Martyna Poznańska talks Sound
"We're not better than other species inhabiting this place – we may even be worse."
Aisha Badru about Reforestation and Personal Responsibility
"You don't have to reach a million people. Start local. Start with you."
The Nu Deco Ensemble Share their Creative Process
"I like to put Easter eggs throughout the music."
Nikki Sheth about Field Recording and Building Sonic Panoramas
"Sound and field recording can one hundred percent change our perception of the world."
Matt Evans about Touchless Touch, Grief and Death
"I remember absence being something odd and impossible to handle. It didn’t feel real."
ATB about Production, Technology and Creativity
"AI will optimize some processes. But I prefer to do the job myself."
David Morales Shares his Creative Process
"Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys taught me about intelligent lyrics."
Jim O'Rourke about Improvisation
"Live, you are on the train, whether you want to be or not."
Billy Brett of Buck Gooter about Creating in the Face of Death
"All we have is now. You can’t take it with you after death."
Cochemea about Improvisation
"Once a space is populated with bodies, something else happens."
Jemma Woolmore talks Sound
"We need to be more careful about the effects of noise pollution on all life forms."
Sharif Sehnaoui of Karkhana about Improvisation
"In your early years of free improvising, you are not truly able to listen."
Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe about Composing for Film
"It’s about understanding when to remove sound as much as it is to know when to have it in."
Steve Rodby (Pat Metheny Group) about Improvisation
"Playing improvised music is like taking a bath in the past, present and future."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Ester Poly
Searching, Finding, Losing, Searching, Finding, Losing
Fifteen Questions Interview with Anthony Moore (Slap Happy, Pink Floyd, Kevin Ayers)
Either and Both
Duane Pitre About Tuning Systems, Working with MAX & Music of the Spheres
"I like some order in my life. It helps the chaos in my brain."
Agoria about Infinite Remixes, Sound after Death & Audio Intimacy
"Living systems are more powerful than any artificial intelligence."
Cochemea About Identity, Indigenous Culture and Deep Listening
"Colonization severs cultural ties through oppression and violence."
Billy Martin of Martin, Medeski & Wood About Improvisation
"Every sound I make is a performance. No matter where I am."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Wolfgang Mitterer
You can pray in your church, but it is better to sing.
Graham Haynes About Improvisation
"You must be totally prepared. But you must also be empty."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Max Turnbull / Badge Epoch
A Primary Vessel for Consciousness
Ulrich Krieger About Alternative Tuning Systems
"Electronic tools will be the end of the traditional 12-tone equal system."
Ensemble Emoción About Creative Cosmopolitanism and Music as a Universal Language
"We see our different backgrounds as our super-power."
Andrew Shapiro About Minimalism, Mental Health and Mindfulness
"My life changed the second I walked in Philip Glass's door."
Master KG About Jerusalema, African Unity and Musical Activism
"Artists are in a unique position - they raise their voices and people will listen."
Rebecca Lenaerts Shares her Creative Process
‘Creation is bringing to the surface what already exists’
Picard Brothers About Limited Options, Technology and the Super AI
"If I were my computer I would ask for publishing rights."
Fifteen Questions Round Up Week 25
A Selection of the Week's Best Interviews + Reviews & Music
Fifteen Questions Interview with Robert Cox of Rimarimba and The Same
Make Noise, Mutate Music
Bushwacka About Helping Musicians Heal
"Being in the studio 80 hours a week affected my health, my relationships, my ability to think clearly."
El Buho About Identity, South American Inspiration and Global Community
"Music moves, it evolves, it is transformed. That's what makes it so rich."
Gerald Cleaver about Griots, Ghost Orbits and Modular Synthesis
"I felt I was hurtling through space uncontrollably."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Hprizm / High Priest (Antipop Consortium)
In a State of No Mind
Parra for Cuva About his Instrument Collection, Technology and AI
"Machines could come up with a new great song. But it wouldn’t be inventive."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Sara Oswald + Feldermelder
Sounds that Make Your Brain Tickle
Steven Weston About His Studio, Gear and AI
"A computer that never crashes, that would have the best impact for me."
Matt Bachmann about Life and Death
"I like the idea of some sort of energetic compost. But also, I don’t know and I enjoy not knowing."
Chris Connelly (Ministry, Revolting Cocks) Shares his Creative Process
Mystical and Awe-Inspiring, and Very, Very Personal
Alejandro Valdés About Identity, Roots and the New Cuban Flamenco
"Playing the bagpipes in flamenco drew a lot of attention."
Theresa Wong About Alternative Tuning Systems
"Pitch, tuning, and the sounds we create can effect the world around us."
Yussef Dayes about Body Rhythms, Metronomic Time and Family Ties
"I make sure every drum beat has purpose, power and life force."
Joshua Abrams (Natural Information Society, Mind Maintenance) Shares his Creative Process
Keep the Flow Going
Laura Masotto About the Mediterranean Refugee Crisis
"I cried. I was moved. I took some time to witness the pain."
Breakthrough Works: Ten City - "That's the way love is"
"It felt like we were sitting in a futuristic spaceship!"
The Twilite Tone about Sound as a Driving Force and Creative Clearing
"My Intention is to Inspire Freedom."
Fifteen Questions Round Up Week 22
A Selection of the Week's Best Interviews + Reviews & Music
Curses about Orwell's Predictions, Chemistry with Machines & Future Nostalgia
"Everything changed after I heard Suicide."
Robert Rich on Alternative Tuning Systems
"Let's not be fascists about who gets to sing a right or wrong note."
Jaberwocky about Gear, Technology and AI
"There hasn't been a major technologic revolution in music since the 2010s."
Fifteen Questions Round Up Week 21
A Selection of the Week's Best Interviews + Reviews & Music
Blood Cultures About Identity, Opressive Ideas and Manufactured Egos
"Ask yourself who you are and what you've done. Are you blameless?"
Rollo Armstrong of Faithless About Technology, AI and the Impact of Streaming
"Without technology, I am nothing."
Alex Patterson of The Orb on Sound, Field Recording and Frog Song
"It's been a very, very surreal ride for me."
Fabio Florido About Sound Healing and using Music Responsibly
"We are literally playing with people's cells and molecules!"
David Dornig of Dsilton on Alternative Tuning Systems
"I have to put in hundreds of hours just to make it sound okay."
Pixel Grip About Identity & Killing Your Old Self
"When someone really weird makes really good art, it’s suddenly cool to be like them."
Georg Vogel of Dsilton About Alternative Tuning Systems
"Your fingers need to learn almost every move from the beginning."
Curses about DJing
"I love the mystery of walking into a club and not knowing how the night will go."
Jochen Rueckert About Technology and Artificial Intelligence
"I doubt AI will offer much beyond saving time or small variations."
Hayden Chisholm About Alternative Tuning Systems
"In some music, you can hear the history of clashing empires."
Stephan Packe of LTO about Gear and Authorship
"I'm still waiting for a technology that enables us to create any sound simply by imagining it."
Angrusori About the Links between Norwegian Improv and Slovak Roma Songs
"Slovakian Roma music is like Lego blocks: It keeps shifting into infinite shapes."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Charlie Nieland (Debby Harry / Rufus Wainwright)
Step Into the Fire
Noah Pred About Challenging Power Structures with Music
"I get upset when I hear fans demand artists stay in their lane."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Christopher Bono of Nous Alpha & Ghost Against Ghost
Geometry in the Mind
Fifteen Questions Interview with Matt Walker (of1000faces, Morrissey, Smashing Pumpkins)
When it’s Time to Write, it’s Time to Write.
J. Peter Schwalm about Life, Death and the End of Beauty
"I've sometimes thought: Peter, this could be your last project."
Yuko Araki about Technology and Gear
"I'm very curious to see if I could make music with another me."
TRAX ONLY about Identity and the Queer Nightlife
"Identity as a social concept can be an exhausting spiral."
Malcolm Pardon about Death as a Companion
"These songs opened the door to my subconsciousness.“
Balmorhea about Climate Change and Feeding Activism with Emotions
"We fear the destruction of the natural world."
Sistanagila about an Israeli-Iranian Dialogue in Music
"What is the point of music if it doesn't give you hope?"
Wild Anima about Mantras, Healing and the Heart as an Oscillator
"The day we released the film, a volcano erupted in Iceland."
Zach Phillips About Life and Death
“The dead are always right, according to the proverb, but fundamentally they are always wrong."
Igliashon Jones of Cryptic Ruse About Alternative Tuning Systems
"It was like trying to imagine a color outside the visible spectrum."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Cathal Coughlan of Microdisney and The Fatima Mansions
Where Would We Be Without Pretence and Fakery?
Sinego on Shaping a New Identity for South American Music
"Bolero is the life-blood of our music culture."
Satori about Celebrating Cultural Diversity
"The Art is to Understand What a Sample is About."
Fred Hersch about being a spokesperson for artists with HIV/AIDS
"Those $25 contributions really add up."
Fifteen Questions Interview with The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies)
Creativity is a Habit
Fifteen Questions Interview with Colin Edwin of Porcupine Tree, Eternal Return & O.R.K.
Space for Failure
Fifteen Questions Interview with Masaki Batoh of Ghost & The Silence
Music is Acupuncture. Acupuncture is Music.
Fifteen Questions Interview with Tim Friese-Greene (Talk Talk, Heligoland)
A Game without Rules
Fifteen Questions Interview with Alessandro Tampieri of Accademia Bizantina
A Condition of Multi-Instrumentalism
Fifteen Questions Interview with Alessandro Tedeschi / Netherworld
Landscapes Wrapped in Silence
Fifteen Questions Interview with Una Sveinbjarnardóttir of the Siggi String Quartet
A Larger Context
Fifteen Questions Interview with Richard Knox of A-Sun Amissa
Small Steps and Bigger Pictures
Fifteen Questions Interview with Mike Coles of Malicious Damage
Images from the Mental Archives
Fifteen Questions Interview with Christopher Farstad of Galaxy Express 555
Living in the Body
