First of all I would like you to explain a little bit which kind of music you are doing.
I play fully improvised music (usually in Vertrek Ensemble). We like to call it "ground zero" improvised music because we are always trying to create "new music" and try to stay away from a "language pool" hoping that the music will be completely different all the time. I also have a solo project that consists of compositions and improvisations borrowing from blues, bluegrass, and klezmer music. My next solo album is entitled "Hebrew Hoedown"
Which are the differences from your solo music compared to the one in Vertrek Ensemble?
The main difference is that my compositions are very idiomatic, although I always throw in certain "improvisational elements" into it. In Vertrek Ensemble and even when I play solo improvisations I like to start from ground zero as I mentioned above and see if I can say something new within the improvisational language.
Why the releases of the Vertrek Ensemble always have guest musicians appearances such as that of Derek Bailey (guitar master) or Eugene Chadbourne ?
When we first started out we were a quartet. We found it very hard to keep members in the group. It seemed like the only people that were serious and committed to this music were Ron (de Jong) and Myself, so we became a duo and started inviting different people to play with (who were serious) for every gig and recording. Sometimes this meant looking outside Edmonton or even Canada (not that there aren't a lot of great improvisers in Canada, in fact Ron just released a duo from Montreal called Detention on his label) and the whole Derek Bailey recording was almost a fluke. Ron called Incus one day to straighten out a problem with a money order and Derek picked up the phone. That was the start of a long relationship which ended up in us going to England to record. It was also a year of planning and saving money. Eugene was different, we made a conscious decision to play with him. We are both HUGE fans of his. So we contacted him and he agreed. It also gave him a chance to visit his father who still lives in Calgary (365km south of Edmonton).
This also fit in nicely with our mandate to always create new music with constantly changing variables and the music became more interesting. Although having played shows as a duo, our musical intuition is becoming more fine tuned with each other's and we have been finding that lately we have been enjoying the duo setting.
How is it to play two instruments as different as the cornet / flute and the guitar?
I have been playing the guitar for 15 years and was very versed in the "proper" way of playing. I needed something that was completely foreign and new to create the sounds that I heard in my head. I have always loved the sound of the trumpet and when I lived in Toronto, being a very expensive city, I found myself very bored and decided to rent a trumpet. I instantly fell in love and when I moved back to Edmonton I found a used cornet which I enjoyed better because of the darker tone. In fact playing the cornet has helped me approach the guitar differently. The wooden flute I picked up in a store that sells goods made by people in third world countries with all the profits going to them. It is a simple South American flute but it has enormous character. I also own a pan flute but it's hard to play. I'm working on it, I had a Chilean friend show me how. I love simple folk instruments.
How is your material composed? Do you have something on mind or do you start playing an ideas come out through playing?
In free improvisation I do a lot of listening to other musicians which determines what I play. My compositions come by both methods. Sometimes I have an idea in my head and I sit down and work it out, and sometimes ideas come from improvising. When you improvise, certain ideas resurface, then I take them and work with them, maybe add an idea from a previous time. I have a composition called "Diaspora blues", which is about four different ideas that I was fooling around with. One day I was in a studio recording material for "Hebrew Hoedown" and it wasn't going well. So I decided to do an semi- improvisation (just to calm my nerves) and put all the elements into one tune on the fly. Which turned out to be "Diaspora blues". I was so happy with the way in turned out I went on to record the songs that I was having trouble with in one take.
I saw in your website that you are going to play some dates in Europe. Are there any other plans of touring? Perhaps South America?
Touring plans are always coming up. I have not been asked to go to South America yet. I would love to go to Argentina (I have a good friend here from Buenos Aires who always raves about it) or other locations if the conditions are right. If anyone is wanting to present me there you can email me and we'll talk. I also have a friend in Salvador, Brazil so I have a place to stay there.
Does releasing your music through your own label allow you to experiment more than if you´d have contract with another label?
It's the whole reason that I started Volatile records, to be only accountable to myself. I am open to do recordings for other labels, but I feel that when it's my music and my label I tend to want to promote it more. Although I know of labels that work very hard promoting their artists, there are not many of them promoting experimental music though.
I saw that there are some songs in the Vertrek Ensemble that are more than 27 minutes long...why did this happen? Are these longer songs composed differently than the shorter ones?
They were composed the same way. Just in those pieces there was a lot to say. Sometimes you can say what you want in 5 min. and sometimes it takes 33.
Are there any plan to record new compositions alone or with other guest musicians?
There are always plans. I have a back-log of projects right now for a few years including more Eugene Chadbourne and some new musicians from all over the globe playing various kinds of music, and I always have 2-5 ideas for myself at any given time. The problem is money. There is so much good music going on out there that you need to be a millionaire to put it all out.
How big is your knowledge of music theory? How does this affect your compositions and playing?
Learning two different instruments throughout my life, I have a basic musical knowledge from private instruction, I never went to any post secondary institution. Lately I have been learning advanced theory on my own because I have always been weary of musical instruction and usually disagree with the "instructor".
Theory is just that. A "Theory". Unfortunately most people mistake it for law written in stone. Those people are problem to music in general. It's more of a guideline for western equal temperred music and it's notation. There are many other theories from other parts of the world that are just as relevant (if not more to me).
At this point I find some theory useful and some completely useless. But that's the whole point, weeding out the red herrings for your own purposes and experiencing the joy of self discovery.
Which are the main features that you found recording at the Yardbird Suite in Edmonton or in Moat Studios in London?
The Yardbird is this great live venue here in Edmonton which has a great atmosphere especially when it's empty. We have done some exciting music in there with Jasiek Poznanski (on days that it is closed and live shows), who is a wonderful champion of this music and a super engineer. Moat is a recording studio, but like Jasiek, Toby (the owner) is also a tremendous fan of the music, he offers incredible rates for improvisers and probably one of the sweetest people I have ever met. His passion for the music makes you feel extremely comfortable so you can make great music.
Which are the musicians that you consider more influential for you?
The biggest heroes are the people that were not afraid to do something new (or as I call it "taking it to the next level") even in the face of adversity and starvation and not just musically. Aside from the obvious musicians that I admire, it's the people that changed history against all odds like the Tuskege airmen or WWII. They were black American fighter pilots who had the best combat records of the entire war (in fact they never lost a bomber on their escort missions, even though they weren't even supposed to be able to fly because they were black). Visual art has a huge influence on me. There's a painting by Edvard Munsch called "Train smoke" that blew my mind.
VOLATILE RECORDS WEBSITE: www.volatilerecords.ca
VERTREK ENSEMBLE - DISCOGRAPHY
Another Idea of North - CD (1998)
Departures w/Derek Bailey - CD (1999)
Dimsum, dodgers and Dangerous Nights w/Eugene Chadbourne - CD (2000)
