29.5.13
23.5.13
Jakob Ullman interview for 06:00am
06: How would you describe your music to someone that has not experienced it?
The music I´m interested in (and so the music I compose I think) is very quiet and of rather long duration. I think one can hear better if one has to concentrate on hearing. But it is a laborious process. Some people become angry about such an imposition.
06: What was your father like?
It`s not easy to answer this question in short terms. I think the best description of my father is, that he was a “survivor”. He survived the Nazi-terror-regime in Germany (with the help of British bombs, otherwise the GESTAPO would have found and killed him). He survived Neonazi-attacks in the early western Germany; he survived prison in East Germany later. With this background he became member of the civil-rights-movement in East Germany and even politician (member of the European Parliament). At the end of his life he tried to survive his deep frustration seeing the recurrence of war in europe and the treason of the European idea and values. He died in 2004.
06: What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from Cage’s work?
The most valuable lesson I learned from John Cage as person: if you want to make music in freedom, you have to follow the instructions of the composers very, very carefully. If you want to compose freedom music you have to imagine (and to prepare) situations which are clear and adequate to practical circumstances of musical practice and – at the end – don´t try to be the owner of your work!
06: Do you find new surprises in sound every day? Are you constantly discovering new sounds?
I´m really sad that it is nearly impossible to discover new sounds every day. The world is too loud!
06: Do you have any expectations at all of the audience that comes to hear your music?
I should say that I have no expectations, but I would be glad if the audience will hear.
06: When you’re working on a piece of music, do you work on one piece of music alone, or do you work on several pieces at once?
When I work on a piece of music, I can concentrate only on one piece. After finishing the score I abolish the sketches so my mind is free for new things.
06: Are you pleased with the recordings of your music?
I´m very thankful for all the musicians who helped to record some pieces I composed. But I like performances more. Recordings are documents, performance is life.
06: For whom do you write?
If for “anybody” I write for “music”. In art it is not allowed to serve a purpose.
06: What is in your opinion the purpose of music in society, what is the purpose of art in society?
See above. And: if there is something like “purpose of art” then only to make visible and audible that the most important and most necessary thing for human existence have no purpose and no value (nobody can pay for them!).
06: Do you vote? What is your opinion about the current sociopolitical situation in Europe?
To vote one needs a party or an organisation, which try to work for aims, I can support in the sphere of politics. In Germany I do not see any party which is unconditional covenant to pacifism, is working for social justice without the heresy of limitless growth, respects people of all cardinal direction as equal human beings and knows that Germany is until today responsible for the worst crimes the world has ever seen.
So, how shall I vote?
I think it is seen from this my opinion of the current situation in Europe too.
06: You’re also a professor of music, a teacher of composition?How do you divide your time between the teaching and your own composing?
It´s very difficult to find the time to compose in the face of the obligations as professor of music. The result is: I did not compose so much in the recent years.
06: Can you send us a picture of you and a picture of something that best illustrates your current state of mind?
JAKOB ULLMAN.COM
15.5.13
15.4.13
Felix Kubin interview for 06:00am
Felix Kubin foto by Evelyna Domnitch
06: A definition of
yourself.
I am an early
reflection.
06: If we don't act
with immediacy, capitalism will become our executioner?
It’s the other way
round. Capitalism forces us to act faster than we can think and
consume more than we can swallow. It compresses time so much that
there is no contemplation in work, no time to let the particles
settle that were thrown on the surface of the water. Life needs time.
Art needs time. Love needs time. We have to claim back time and
public space. Also, capitalism doesn’t judge the inner quality of
things, it only judges their immediate sales value. In its most
perverted (or maybe purest) form, capitalism means earning money with
money. This is incest and it leads nowhere.
06: Free time is
something we have to work for?
We have to buy
free time, unless we decide to drop out of the (working) society and
become hermits. Some people do that, and they are courageous. I am
not a hippie, though. I like taxis, modern buildings, vacuum cleaners
and elevators. I want to live in a modern world but detached from ist
daily rhythm, more like a ghost.
06: Why did Orpheus
turn and look at Euridice just before the exit?
In my radio play
version „Orphée Mécanique“ he didn’t look back. Actually, he
entered the underworld without finding Eura (he only found her
projection). And after he left Hades, he forgot where he was, so he
entered again. But in the original version he turned around because
he heard no sound behind him. We need sound for evidence. When I saw
my dead father lying on the floor, his silence was much more
horrifying than the way he looked.
06: How do you
perceive the rise of extreme right wing parties in Europe, that is
accompanied by a corresponding rise of extreme right wing parties in
Greece?
When the economy
gets bad and people have to struggle with poverty, right wing (or
extremist) parties always get strong. That seems to be a phenomenon
of history. Of course, the situation in Hungary and Greece worries
me. But most of all I am worried about Russia. It seems that they are
light years away from Glasnost and Perestroika.
06: Are radio
transmissions today as important as they were in the past? In which
ways?
Transmissions are
always important! Let’s just forget about commercial radio for a
second. I think that the ideal of radio has become more
important than ever. For me, radio can be a synonym for quality
journalism, in-depth features, radio plays, alternative music
programmes and experimentation with transmission in general. Of
course, hardly anyone listens to radio by antenna nowadays, only
people in cars do that. We mostly listen by internet and usually turn
on the radio randomly. We don’t care about the programme schedule.
There are some decent radio programmes on internet but most of them
lack something that public radio has: money. At the end of the day,
you need to pay a radio maker, so (s)he can take time to make
a good research. You need to pay the staff of a radio play
production: the author, the director, the musician, the actors and so
forth. And you need to pay the moderator, so he can prepare
for the programme. All of these paid people shall not be controlled
by a private company that is only interested in sales figures. They
shall be paid for work that is serving public interest, education and
a free spirit of culture. Having said that, the democratization of
internet has produced a lot of blogs and mini radio stations with
some brilliant perls amongst them. But on the long run I really
believe that it’s necessary to be paid for quality work, at least
if you want to keep a sustainability. This counts for artists and
musicians, too. Otherwise it stays a hobby.
06: What has been
your experience working with Christoph Schlingensief like?
I had met him few
times 10 years ago. Back then, I only compiled some classical music
for his theatre play „Atta Atta“, so I wasn’t involved too much
in the creation of the play. Few years ago, he wanted me to compose
music for his play „Eine Kirche der Angst vor dem Fremden in mir“
(„a church of fear of the alien in me“ – actually, the title is
hard to translate). But his request came too short in advance of the
rehearsals, I couldn’t do it. I think, one year later he died. I
always liked his ability to bring people together and create a riot
or protest. I liked his interfering with public spaces. He wasn’t
afraid of any confrontation. However, I didn’t like his aesthetics
very much. He was more an instigator than an artist to me.
06: Can you describe
what has been in your life your relationship with the dancefloor.
I have no special
relation to dancefloors. Dancefloors mostly create reproduction. They
are as much overrated as DJs. I like the idea of a club that creates
world, surprising, surreal and independent from the outer world. It
needs a lot of creative audience to achieve that, no consumers. I
don’t like DJs who play only one style of music and only care about
how they can please the crowd. They should rather go into politics
then. Parliaments should be dancefloors, DJs should be conductors,
dancefloors should be auditoriums.
06: What would you
like to do in the future?
I want to work with
foley artists and create a composition for a cursing choir.
06: Can you send us
a picture of you, of a place or of something else that best
illustrates your current state of mind?
I attached a foto
that Evelyna Domnitch took of me in Amsterdam in her sci-fi lab.
3.4.13
1.4.13
Dimitris KU Papadatos Interview for 06:00am
06:
What is your parents profession? Can you describe the environment in
which you grew up?
My
mother is a travel agent and my father is a computer programmer who
later became a farmer. I grew up with my mother and sister around the
southern suburbs of Athens.Very close to the sea, so that I could
always get the big picture just by looking at the waves. I went to a
public school, and every Sunday we would gather at my classmate’s
house and watch all episodes of Nightmare On Elm Str in a row.
I
was also a boyscout. I guess I still am since one is always put under
the oath.
06:
Had you ever wished that you had invented something massive like the
blue jeans?
I
always wished I had composed Springsteen’s 'Thunder Road' which kind of answers your question.
06:
Has your music influenced your parents?
No,
I don’t think so .
06:
Where do you like to usually walk your dog?
I
take Daria almost everywhere I go if it’s in a walking distance.
She likes the park close to our house cause all her dogfriends are
there.
I
like mt Penteli but only on sunny days.
06:
What book(s) are you currently reading?
I
am re-visiting Brian Michael Bendis’ “POWERS” series, just
started Hillel Schwartz’s “THE CULTURE OF THE COPY” and
finishing “EVERYBODY LOVES OUR TOWN” by Mark Yarm.
06:
Why do you thank Kariofyllia Karambeti in the credits section of your
new album Feathers as KU?
Because
she taught me that everyone should get paid for their work, and
proved it in action and on her own private expense. Plus she gave me
some more great piece of advice.
06:
Tell us about your new album.
My
new album was released on 12’’ + free CD via Inner Ear Records on
the 26th of March. The name is Feathers and it consists of 9 songs.
The duration is almost 38 minutes. The music and lyrics are mine
except where specified on the liner notes. It was recorded on the
summer of 2012. It was produced by Prins Obi. My wife is on the
cover.
[RUBICON video directed by Corinna Triantafyllidis]
06:
Do you identify with any art movement(s)?
I
identify with every art movement there was, is and will be, except
action painting.
It
makes me sick in the stomach.
06:
Reveal a secret of yours.
I
have a secret Mimi Parker obsession.
06:
What is beauty for you?
A
neck ready to be kissed.
06:
Do you consider yourself to be talented?
Yes,
of course. My greatest talent is memorizing telephone numbers.
06:
If you owned a billboard what would you have on it?
It
would be a Felix Gonzales Torres.
06:
Do you believe that love can overthrow everything?
I
do. It should.
06:
Would you ever decide to go on an island where all your desires could
be fulfilled with the risk that you might never ever be able to
return?
Why
would I want to leave in the first place if I knew I would want to
return? So yes.
My
father left for an island and he never returned to the city. I envy
him.
06:
What features of contemporary Greeks quiet you the most?
If
you mean what leaves me speechless, I have to go with the fact that
greek society keeps repeating old mistakes and does that in the worst
possible ways.
06:
If the world is both overpopulated and underfed why are we opposed to
cannibalism?
Because
the mind is a terrible thing to taste, according to Al Yourgensen at
least. Never say never though.
06:
What was the most significant encounter in your life?
Meeting
my wife definitely. She made me look at the world in its real
proportions and this was the most important gift life had to give me.
17.3.13
10.3.13
9.3.13
Fabio Frizzi interview for 06:00am
06: Do you believe that if someone wants to make out with a lady should take her to see "Dracula"? What do you think is there in horror movies that could be stimulating in that sense?
FF:To conquer a woman there may be many systems. I, for example, prefer to make her laugh, have fun. But surely the charm of mystery and fear can help. And then today the community of lovers of fantasy and horror has expanded enormously. Anyway, as Freud says, adopting Heraclitus, Eros & Thanatos have a deep relationship.
06:What is creativity for you?
FF: Creativity is a magic moment. Actually happens. And that makes you feel like Gods. You have an idea in mind, a simple idea that looks like so many other thoughts. And like many thoughts could disappear at any moment and be forgotten. But you do not let her get away this time. You stand in front of a sheet of paper next to a piano and turn it into something different. You look, you feel, you listen to it. It 's always an idea, but now it is coming out and if you really like it, you can begin to give it a shape. The musician, like all artists is a craftsman who must work for a long time to get a convincing result. Much later, when someone is singing or whistling the theme finished, it will be difficult also for you, who created it, to remember all the composition process. Something magic.
06: How did Death Waltz Recordings came in contact with you for the reissue of Zombi 2?
FF: Spencer Hickman is a young record producer distributor in London, young but with a great experience and with very clear ideas. He knows that the modern discography has a target other than the one of 30 years ago, and realized that back bravely to vinyl (as many do some time now in London, New York and many other places in the world) could be a good choice. He is a good fan of my soundtracks, particularly those '70s and '80s. He contacted my agent and publisher here in Roma, Daniele De Gemini of Beat Records, who told me about the project. I found it brilliant and I immediately supported. Spencer probably will be the promoter of a concert that we're going to do in London next Halloween. Strictly on the music of Fulci films. Frizzi 2 Fulci the title.
06: Do you vote? What is your opinion about the current sociopolitical situation of Europe?
FF: For many years I did not vote, disgusted by the political reality, especially the Italian one. Recently I returned to vote, as a act of responsibility for the terrible situation we are facing. I think that since some years there has been a paradoxical situation, a kind of third world war, an economic war that has sanctioned the crisis of the so-called West economy. I believe a lot in Europe, social and cultural development of all our people, who certainly many common roots. But it is a long and treacherous period that will still need a lot of time. I am a big fan of Greece, have been there many times in my life and I have great respect and admiration for its ancient civilization from which we all come. And I really hope that the mechanisms of the European Union allow Greece to regain soon the serenity and perspective it deserves.
06: What is your favorite synthesizer and which is your favorite sound effect?
FF : When I started working in the early 70's, first synthesizers began to come out. I think I've used them all, each of them had a special charm and characteristics. After so many years, there are two elements that still fascinate me like the first time (apart from my TR808 and Jupiter 8 that are still in my studio since then): I speak of the Moog and Mellotron. Mellotron took me in the story of the mysterious paranormal appearances in the films of Fulci. The Moog is a masterpiece that still has a ductility and, I would say, a soul waiting to be discovered. Their sofware versions are extraordinary, but the originals do not fight.
8.3.13
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