Water responds intuitively, follows its path even when there are obstacles and immediately afterwards regains its original state. When you improvise, alone or with others, music will take you places. When you respond intuitively, great things can happen. I wrote something along those lines in my last blog post on finalizing our upcoming album, called Mind Like Water.
This is what making music feels like to me. There is a sort of trust – trust in the universe, in music, or in “the flow” – that will take you to this state of mind. But how do you establish trust in the universe, you might say? After all, we are cruising at high speed around a burning ball of hydrogen and helium, in the middle of freaking nowhere, on this tiny planet, which we are ready to destroy at any time.
Honestly, I don’t have an answer to that. There is no recipe and no How-To. What I can say is that, trust in yourself is a first step. Trusting your sound, your breathing, the physical side of playing an instrument, and hearing the music coming out of your horn an instant before you play it. Trusting the people in you band to move along with you. Or to take the music elsewhere and come back later. Focus. Mind Like Water.
A lot has happened in the last week, zooming in to tweak the details: the title order is finished, we have a cover draft and we are making some minor changes in the mix at Feedback Studio Vienna. Finally all tunes have a title! Gasp! References are Shakespeare (The Tempest), Zen analogies and human communication. Pretty cool mixture, I must say.
Oğuz made the beautiful cover draft. He is one of those highly skilled people, who can play an instrument at the highest perfection and be a graphical artist at the same time. Oğuz does most of the artwork for his projects himself, which I find very cool. You can find him on Instagram. If you are into Instagram.
The cover is still a draft, so I can not share it here, but the top picture will be on it! Michel Marang took the photos. Not only is he a great photographer, he is also an amazing classical clarinettist. All those gifted people involved in this production!
We had a lot of fun during the photo shoot. Our location happened to be the building in which the Conservatory of Amsterdam was located back in the day. I used to attend theory classes there. What a flashback.
I am sharing one more piece. It is quite different from Mind Like Water, our title tune. This one is called Wild Waves Whist.
Sophie Hassfurther: tenor sax
Oğuz Büyükberber: bass clarinet
#workinprogress #mindlikewater #music #jazz #mywork #zen #Shakespeare #communication
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The sirens, surely, played wind instruments like the "aulos", invented by Athena. No wonder the attraction and the fear of hearing their music from the sailors of Ulysses. Only the old hero, tied up, had the privilege of hearing them… We, however, can hear the saxophone and clarinet of Sophie Hassfurther and Oğuz Büyükberber without danger, although we must not will forget the old warning: the spell can always happen again….
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@Sophie you are truly challenging me! Except for some very few exceptions sax and other wind instruments do not speak to me for reasons I cannot name even for myself. So far the biggest exception was Moondog whom I pushed far, far, far away very soon after finding that he was an openly antisemitic and asshole.
The other notable one was Colin Stetson and his "New History Of Warfare Vol. 3 – See More Light" album, though I have not listened to that for a few years now (am now – still tremendously awesome).
It’s difficult to put into words. Those snippets should be just made for me, it’s just the sound.
Strange.
Very strange.
Will keep on listening.
Bring on the album! 🙂
Though I feel your album may be an interesting and rewarding challenge for me. Looking forward to it.
Challenge me!
A Rafa Poverello le gusta el mensaje de estado de Sophie
How beautiful is the relationship you propose between the flow of water and that of composition! Author and melody fused without the ability to break the spell.
Hasn’t it ever happened to you, after listening to a piece composed by you after a few years, that you didn’t know how you created it? It seems like it wasn’t your creature.
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@Manuel thanks, your comment is pure poetry. :heart:
@h.ear.t I like challenges 😉
Also, thanks for the heads up on Moondog. I was never that aware of him. One of his themes was used as signation for a TV show I used to watch (Trailer).
@Rafa Poverello Thanks!
Yes indeed. Although only very rarely. Usually I write for ensembles that I also play in. Only when I was not so involved in the process of performing, has this ever happenes to me.
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