Interview with Peter Evans

<2014/09/30>

An American trumpet player based in New York, Peter Evans is as prolific as he is talented. He performs with a large variety of projects (from performance art to electroacoustic music) and collaborates with artists like Evan Parker, Mary Halvorson and Zach Hill, to name a few. In Barreiro, Peter will perform with his Quintet, which which he composed and released the acclaimed “Ghosts”. He will also share his wealth of knowledge over his instrument and music through a master class at the Be Jazz Cafe. We talked to him to find out more.

OUT.FEST: There’s a review of Ghosts online that sort of starts with: ”Listening to any recording by Evans often prompts the dubious query, What did I just hear?” Do you take that as a compliment?

PETER EVANS: I haven’t read that review, but yes- a response to the music that includes questions, uncertainty, confrontation with something new or unfamiliar… I take this as a compliment. 

OF: You play with several different groups and projects, including Rocket Science, Pulverise the Sound, Zebulon Trio and Mostly Other People Do The Killing. What, in your opinion, sets the Quintet apart from your other musical endeavours?

PE: I recently left MOPDtK, but yes, all these bands have their own life, their own reasons for existing, their own musical and social dynamics.  Bands are so important to me and I love participating in the process of growth and change, and seeing how this is manifested through music. The Quintet is really a kind of Disneyland for me- a place where my weirdest, wildest and most unreasonable ideas can take shape. All the members of the band are just so talented and have a “no limits” mentality towards music, they all have a very broad range and highly varied skill set.  We’ve already done so much, from stuff like “Stardust” on Ghosts to the more cinematic, monumental compositions on Destination: Void, and now on tour we are premiering a totally new set of music that includes heavy grooves, new ways (for us) of improvising, a lot of soloistic moments.  The new piano player Ron Stabinsky is a secret weapon, watch out!

Most importantly, the players in the band share a certain value system and attitude towards performance with me- there is an imperative to deliver the music with ENERGY and abandon.  Communication with each other and the audience, engaging with sound and space with expressive energy takes precedence over all other concerns.  

OF: The Quintet includes a somewhat unconventional component – a laptop, manned by Sam Pluta, digitally processing the remaining instruments live. Can you tell us more about Sam’s (and his laptop’s) role in the band and what appeals to you in live sound processing and other electroacoustic experiments?

PE: Sam is one of my most important collaborators, both inside and outside of the Quintet.  He is a real scholar of music- ALL music -  and brings this knowledge to an instrument that is often quite limited.  We have performed many duo concerts, large scale compositions with wind ensembles, fully notated works, music by Duke Ellington, all the music in the Quintet. So, it’s a combination of his qualities and values as a musician in ADDITION to the instrument he plays that makes him important for me.  If he didn’t exist I probably wouldn’t have the Quintet as a band. I don’t know of another person with his broad skill set- lightning quick improvising, awareness of form and large sound structures, ability to deal with scores, and general adaptability.  The sounds he brings to the group are simply impossible to achieve in any other way and it has progressed far beyond shadowing individual instruments.  His role is very mutable, like all of ours.  Sometimes he will be audibly linked to a particular instrument, sometimes he is the main soloist, and then there is everything in between.  I think all of us try to be able to adapt our instruments to serve any of these roles.  He is just doing it with a computer.

OF: You’ve played with Peter Brötzmann (who will also be performing at OUT.FEST) in the past – can you tell us about that experience?

PE: I was lucky enough to play with Brötzmann a few times, yes.  The most interesting experience was a pair of concerts in October 2008, in Germany. It was his Full Blast trio with Keiji Haino, Mars Williams and myself added.  It was wild, and the band was really too crazy to have us all play together. Peter ended up putting us in small combinations, which was great.  He is a totally unique voice who has a very broad expressive range. His duos with Haino (I think Peter played Taragato) were beautiful.

OF: What can we expect from your master class and your performance at OUT.FEST?

PE: The master class will be very loose. I don’t walk into these things with a plan.  Maybe I will play for a few minutes to get the ball rolling, hopefully other people will play, and we can talk a bit about music and life.  As for the concert, I really can’t say. We are starting the tour early- playing 3 nights in a row this weekend in NYC, then 2 concerts in Europe (Vienna and Amsterdam) all before the OUT.FEST gig. So we will be warmed up, I hope.  We have a lot of new music to play, but will play a piece from the new album Destination: Void, I think.

The Peter Evans Quintet will perform on Friday (October 3rd) at the Casa da Cultura, joining Fennesz and Dean Blunt for an evening of experimental, genre-bending music. 

Interview with Fennesz

<2014/09/29>

Ever since releasing “Endless Summer” (2001), his influential ambient/glitch masterpiece, the guitarist and electronic musician Christian Fennesz (better known simply as Fennesz) has been acclaimed as a leading figure in experimental music. We had a chat with him about his latest release on Mego, “Bécs” (pronounced “betch” – it’s the Hungarian name for Vienna, where Fennesz currently lives), as well as his live performance methods and the potential in using tablets for music production and performance.

OUT.FEST: You’ve been combining waves of digital noise, glitched and manipulated sounds with ‘conventional’ instruments (especially guitar) throughout your career, and especially so in your latest record, “Bécs”, which sees you include drums and bass more frequently in your compositions. Why does this combination appeal to you, and what do you look for (sound-wise) when processing these instruments?

Christian Fennesz: it just happened to be that Tony Buck, Werner Dafeldecker and Martin Brandlmayer where in town and I invited them to my studio. I wanted to have some kind of “band” approach on a few songs. At first I wasn´t much into processing these instruments, as I enjoyed the rather traditional sound that came out of the studio sessions. I ended up processing the drums though. It sounded interesting to me.

OF: In the past, you’ve mentioned your appreciation for studio ‘accidents’, sounds generated in ways that can go ‘wrong’ and don’t come out as intended, and yet add an interesting, unexpected touch to a song. Are there a lot of these in “Bécs”? Do any of them stand out in your mind?

CF: There is not much of this on Bécs except on the drum processing. I’m trying to change my working routine every once in a while. For Bécs I preferred a more direct approach. Some tracks are based on studio improvisations but basically it’s a very “composed” album.

OF: You were one of the first artists to pioneer the use of the laptop as an instrument, especially in a live setting. Despite it becoming common practice nowadays, bands continue to use the laptop mostly as a way to play backing tracks and samples, while you also use it extensively as an effects processor and an improvisational tool. Is it the laptop’s versatility that draws you to it? Have you experimented with tablets in the same way?

CF: I still enjoy using software like an instrument. Playing back tracks might be necessary in a band context but for me as a solo performer it would be a little boring.

As fantastic as it is ableton’s “live” never worked for me in a live context. I am still using ppooll, a patch written in max/msp. It’s the perfect improv tool for me.

I have been starting to use tablets since the first iPad came out. There is some iPad action on Bécs.

Fennesz will be performing Friday (the 3rd) at the Casa da Cultura, along with the Peter Evans Quintet and Dean Blunt. 

Interview with Magik Markers

<2014/09/26>

The G.D. Ferroviários pavilion is set to host prolific noise-rockers Magik Markers, who will be bringing their intense, experimental approach to music along for what promises to be a visceral performance. Meanwhile, he had a chat with Peter Nolan about the band’s latest record and the role spontaneity plays in their music.

OF:  Last year’s Surrender to the Fantasy is somewhat hard to categorize (and this is a good thing), shifting (sometimes dramatically) in mood and style from track to track. What is the link, if any, between these songs in your mind?

MM: Hopefully we’re telling a story with our record..  There are many sides on the Magik Markers dice..  We didn’t want to limit ourselves.. But compiling a record out of years of recordings was a big challenge..  We’re very happy with it and hopefully it takes people on a journey they can dig..  My favorite version if the record is the hourlong one that comes on the USB

OUT.FEST: Your music often feels spontaneous even in your more structured tracks, with very little to no polish, like you’re trying to convey feelings and ideas as raw and unfiltered as possible. Would you say that’s the case?

Magik Markers: Yes for sure.  A lot of the material was spontaneous .. We spent a long time ..4years..  Compiling recordings .. And we spent a long time mixing stuff too with Aaron Mullan .. He’s worked with us for a long time and he has a strong idea about what we’re all about.  It’s a family affair..  This is the least rushed and most representative record to date

OF: You’re known for recording and putting out several tapes and CDs a year, particularly prior to the hiatus between Balf Quarry and Surrender to the Fantasy. Any plans for eventually re-releasing some of those tapes online to a larger audience (on Arbitrary Signs, maybe)? Or a Gucci Rapidshare Download pt. II, at least?

MM: We’ve been doing a lot of archival work on the arbitrary signs bandcamp page.  We plan to continue with this for sure.

OF:  In a few of your interviews, you mention that a lot of Surrender to the Fantasy was written in Elisa’s father’s basement. What does he think about that record and your music in general?

MM: Only a few songs.  Elisa’s dad is a big supporter.  He played drums for us at one concert.   We used to practice in his basement when it was kind if a halfway point between NYC and Massachusetts .. So it was kind of getting back to our roots.

OF: What can we expect from your performance at Out.Fest?

MM: We were born to rock..  We’ll never be opera stars.

Magik Markers will perform Saturday evening  (the 4th) at the G.D. Ferroviários pavilion, joining Putas Bêbadas, The Ex and Faust for an unforgettable night of exploratory rock’n’roll. More info about this concert and the festival available at outfest.pt.

Interview with Rodrigo Amado

<2014/09/23>

For decades now, Rodrigo Amado has been one of Portuguese jazz’s leading figures, and today he finds his work increasingly recognized and acclaimed by the international press and audiences around the world. In the run-up to his performance with the Wire Quartet, his newest project, we had a chat with him about the group’s origins, as well as his latest records and the role of improvisation in his music.

OUT.FEST: You’ve released three (!) records this year – one eponymous album with your Wire Quartet, the project with which you’ll be performing at OUT.FEST, as well as Freedom Principle and Live in Lisbon, both with Peter Evans, who’ll also be playing in Barreiro with his Quintet. Plus, according to one of your recent interviews, you’ll be releasing a fourth one soon (!!) – is there anything you can tell us about it?

Rodrigo Amado: The next record will be a studio recording of the quartet with Joe McPhee, Kent Kessler and Chris Corsano, coming out near the end of the year on [the Polish label] Not Two.

This album was born out of my desire to record something with Joe McPhee, one of the most important improvisers currently active and whom I find hugely inspiring. He represents a kind of musician which is constantly renewing and reinventing himself, performing timeless, universal music.

OF: Tell us about your new group, the Wire Quartet. What made you want to work with Manuel Mota? What has the response to the Quartet’s performances and its debut album been like?

RA: The Wire Quartet was created due to my urge to work with Manuel Mota, first and foremost. His music always fascinated me and I found myself thinking about a context where we could share our different musical languages, while diverging slightly from the kind of music he usually plays.

We first experimented with Peter Bastiaan in Gabriel’s place, but afterwards we settled on Hernâni Faustino on the double bass and Gabriel Ferrandini on drums, a lineup with which I hope to keep working for many, many years.

The response to our record has been amazing and it caught us all somewhat by surprise. We recorded music which could hardly be considered ‘easy’, music that’s especially dense and intense, but that didn’t stop the international press from taking a big interest in it.

The legendary Brian Morton, one of people responsible for the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, wrote: “When most of our laudatory paradigms for music involve elevation, ascension, transcendence, Amado takes us toward the core. This is his most thrillingly realized and coherent recording to date.”

OF: You’re a staunch defender of improvisation as a form of musical expression, both with the Lisbon Improvisation Players, which you founded, as well as in your other musical pursuits. Can you tell us more about what attracts you to this way of creating music? Was there musical chemistry between you and Peter Evans when improvising together?

RA: I’m drawn to improvisation because of how true, how deeply connected to the moment it is. It’s the musical discipline where musicians expose and reveal themselves the most. It’s almost impossible to try and be something you’re not while improvising. This is also why improvising leads to music that’s purer than usual, closer to (in method and emotionally) to music’s very oldest and far-reaching roots. This connection to the moment makes you play music that’s vibrant, vital, constantly self-updating, music that represents and exposes all of your growth, not only as a musician, but also as a person.

There was an incredible, deep and intense understanding with Peter Evans, even though our musical language and our aesthetics are completely different. We communicated through conflict, confrontation and contrast, and the results of that communication were fascinating and changed me permanently as a musician once again.

OF: What can we expect from your performance at OUT.FEST?

RA: Total commitment and music that’s both urgent and vital to us. As serious as our own lives.

The Rodrigo Amado Wire Quartet will perform Saturday (Oct. 4th) afternoon at the Be Jazz Cafe, along with Open Mind Ensemble, presenting us with some of the best Jazz music Portugal has to offer. As if that wasn’t enough, these performances are completely free.