"There is an aesthetic sense that is in danger of extinction. When one lives within this sense, certain music can be regarded as a means of survival in an increasingly hostile environment. It would be a truism to suggest that the aesthetic sense is requisite for meaningful existence, but it is less and less avoidable to conclude that the aesthetic sense is ultimately a required sense for human and non-human cohabitation, and therefore, survival of the human species. If the extent of one?s perspective is merely human than one is divorced from the absolute reality that forms the basis of existence.
Music can be used as an invigorating tool in attempting to revivify the atrophied abilities of the human organism to relate meaningfully (hence responsibly) with the world at large. Music and the arts do have the power (however seldom actualized) to guide man to an awareness and contemplation of the higher beauty of an ultimate reality."
As I already mentioned I like your latest album very much. What do you think about Hazel stepsS now, when the album is out. Everything happened as planned?
It was an open-ended experiment (as usual), so things have happed as they have Sand as planned, I suppose, as far as they were planned.
I'm not a native English speaker and I do not understand poetry as good as I'd like to. But I have enough skills to see that lyrics for IGR songs is a vital part.
Yes, I feel the lyrics to be a vital part of the music, they become of one whole with the music and are interdependent.
How do you write your songs? Lyrics come first or you choose them when your music is written?
This depends upon the song, but usually they are formulated or brought forth basically together.
Russian director A. Tarkovsky said that Art is the way to share your pain with others. What do you think about that? What means your music for you?
Sometimes Art is a way to share pain, but also a way to share joy, mystery, love etc. To explain further: it is common to see art or music that formulates an over concretized identity with "pain". In the main I find this malicious or at the very least useless. However the reflection of pain through Art can also be a way to transcend the "pain", or to understand it as it is rather than as one conceives it.
One of my favorite songs on the album is Poet's Lyre. It begins with words "Childhood made a Poet's Lyre". What has made your lyre? What has influenced your decision become a musician?
I don't suppose that there ever was a single decision, except the decision that is ever present: to follow the imperatives of true Wil.
If we continue our talk about poets, I'd like to ask you about poet's role in the society. How do you see that role for yourself? I guess you agree with me that any form of Art is a propaganda in some way and your music affects listeners somehow.
There are many ways to talk about this, many angles to take. I would say that the "role" is to connect the seen and unseen worlds; to bridge heaven and earth; to continue the story; to elaborate upon the many savors of existence. Socially, music is a 'harmoniser'. Tone brings people into resonance, this is a physical and psychological reality, so music and poetic incantation can be used to these ends. It is the intent of the music to experience a wider world view and expanded sense of things. In this way it could be termed "Psychedelic", however, no specific doctrine or dogma is propagated because the truth that it would wish to portray is not given to clearly defined ideology. In this way it might be differentiated from "Propaganda".
You are an American, at the same time your music is very European. You have seen Old World and you live in the States, so you can compare cultures and societies. America has changed for last years. Do you agree? What do you think about contemporary situation in the States? Have you ever though about moving to Europe?
In the next years I do hope to be travelling back and forth. I am moving all the time, sometimes through Europe, and for extended stays, sometimes in North America. I appreciate aspects of living on both sides, unfortunately the contemporary situation may not be making this kind of vagrancy as easy for me in the future - but we don't know how things may unravel, we just move along day by day and survive as best as possible. In the United States I do recognize a mounting element of fear, intolerance and subliminal censorship in general society. Of course modern man is highly neurotic but the visible ironies become more and more extreme. There is a noticeable change in the cost of living in the last couple decades, the economic class divisions have been widening; it becomes increasingly more difficult to slip between the cracks in the wall.
Please tell me a bit about your collaboration with ALIO DIE. Frankly, I can hardly imagine such a collaboration.
I had communicated with Stefano for a while about this, then he showed up at a festival I was playing in Germany and I had an extra week so I went with him back to Milan where we recuperated from our festival exhaustion, met with Franceso and made some improvisations. I had some pieces I had previously worked on that I thought might be fitting for the project and I've left the rest of it to them. So, I don't really know how it will turn out! We did have a nice time swimming in the mountains.
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