Here is our interview by email with Jazzaria, whose music was featured this week on Intangible 23.
[Esta es la versión original en inglés de nuestra entrevista a Jazzaria por correo electrónico]
What can you tell us about your musical background and work methods?
My original musical background is classical (piano and clarinet) and jazz (sax, clarinet, etc.), hence the name Jazzaria. The vast majority of my tracks rely heavily on samples and synthesizers, i.e. a lot of my music is "in the box" (made in a Digital Audio Workstation or DAW with virtual instruments and plugins). I do play a number of instruments: piano, clarinet, saxophone, flute, and other aerophones (e.g. ocarina, recorder, penny whistle, etc.). So, some of my tracks (mostly clarinet, some sax) are true acoustic recordings of me playing (accompaniment, if any, is virtual). Virtual instruments I either play (like the piano) or enter into the DAW.
How did you come up with the idea of publishing one track every week? How do you manage to keep up with that schedule after nearly ten years?
I'd been experimenting with music production for several years before I started this project; the result was dozens of incomplete projects littering my hard drive. None of them were ever quite "right", and it was always easier to tinker with something new and not go back and finalize anything.
I realized I'd only ever release music if I made it a habit by putting myself on a schedule (and publicly committing to it). This lets me short-circuit the perfectionism: releasing *something* is paramount, and so if it's a tight week and I spend less time polishing, so be it.
As for how I've kept up: I maintain a backlog of track concepts, usually in the form of a tentative title and some notes on the idea (instrumentation, style, structure, motifs, etc.). In a good week, inspiration strikes and I end up making something completely new (sometimes based on a prompt from something like the Disquiet Junto). But if that doesn't happen, I select something from my backlog. If time is particularly tight, my track is likely to be more improvisational and with fewer instruments (or more dependent on scripted/looped instruments).
How do you approach the dichotomy between improvisation and composition? Do you consider yourself more of an improviser or a composer?
They are closely related for me, but I definitely lean towards improvisation in most of my production. Improvisation comes naturally to me; I've always "noodled" on instruments, figuring out songs by ear. But I have also studied music theory, and incorporate ideas from it in my work.
I view improvisation as a form of exploration: in the ideal, you hit a state of "flow" and aren't consciously worried about technique but instead focused on expression. Composition is of course expression as well, but it is more premeditated and structured, often with iterative improvements. Still, the seeds of a good composition (e.g. thematic material, grooves) arguably come from moments of improvisation.
The clarinet could be considered your main instrument, since you've done many solos and experiments with it. What are your thoughts about that instrument?
It is absolutely my main instrument: it is my voice, and I can say things with it that I can't express in any other way. My relationship with the clarinet is well-described by a quote from Kalmen Opperman (from his obituary in the New York Times): "Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet".
Beyond my personal connection to it, I see clarinet as a flexible, diverse, and often under-appreciated instrument. It has a wide range and is capable of extreme dynamic and timbre contrast; with extended techniques, it can produce a great variety of sounds. It is an integral part of many genres, at home in jazz, classical, and beyond. Learn it, and picking up other woodwind instruments (including the now-more-popular saxophone) is quite approachable.
But the popular conception of clarinet, if any, is that it is the "band geek" instrument, and one that is hard to get enough students to play (a wind ensemble needs clarinets much like an orchestra needs violins). I hope that in some small way, my use of the clarinet can inspire more to give the instrument a try.
Many of your tracks show a sense of humor, and also a fondness for wordplay in the titles. Any thoughts about that? Or, as Frank Zappa said, does humor belong in music?
Music is life, humor is part of life, so humor absolutely belongs in music. It can be a way to make it more approachable, or a way to incorporate a message. Consider Mozart's "A Musical Joke" and Shostakovich's 9th Symphony.
I wouldn't claim my humor is so far-reaching as those examples. Much of the time it is a bit I add because I find it amusing, and hope others find it enjoyable as well. But I think humor is an important part of keeping art fresh, alive, and engaging.
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| Portada del single de Jazzaria 'Making Up Your Mind' |
A Jazzaria track is not only the music, but also the title, the cover, the text... how do you create those elements? Do they always come once the music is created?
When I started this project I learned that releasing often required (or at least encouraged) a cover image and description. So I decided to find (or occasionally make) appropriate images, tweak/touch them up, and use that for my covers. I always choose images that are either public domain, or from a service that I have paid for the rights to use. Often my changes to the image are fairly minimal, but sometimes I spend awhile cropping, transforming, combining elements, shifting colors, and so forth. The track name on the cover is generally from the GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) "script-fu" presets.
Occasionally I find an image that I want to make a track for (i.e. sometimes it is image first), but usually the order is:
- Track concept (e.g. "I want to make a fast blues song about hot weather in 5/4 time signature with clarinet + jazz trio")
- Track audio (record, mix, etc.)
- Final track title (I usually have a tentative one from the concept, but might change it based on how the track comes out)
- Cover image
- Text description
The text was originally meant to describe the track style and instrumentation. But as the project developed, I realized I enjoyed having a place where I could write snippets of thoughts, sometimes even poems. This lets me explore the track concept in a second way, with a goal of tying the ideas together with the music. It's also often where the wordplay and humor is more developed.
How has been the experience of publishing music under Creative Commons licenses? Are you happy with the reception of your music on the internet?
When I started the project I originally intended a CC BY-NC-SA license, but found that BY-NC-ND was more compatible with distribution services (to e.g. automatically upload to YouTube: not my favorite platform, but there is value in having your music available where people listen). I do grant exceptions to the ND clause for people who reach out and ask, for a recent example:
I take a pragmatic approach to the release of my music. I have a preference for and engage the most with the Creative Commons and Fediverse side of things, but my music is also distributed to commercial outlets such as the aforementioned YouTube. In that universe I also get listens, but thousands of listens times fractions of a penny isn't much. I definitely see more from the "pay what you want" Bandcamp. Amusingly, in the commercial ecosystem my most-listened track has become "Salad Days", a humorously surreal jazz swing track meant as a Shakespeare reference, but I believe being selected by people as background music for videos of their lunch.
Overall I'm happy with how it's gone. I particularly appreciate the engagement I've gotten on the Fediverse (aka Mastodon: I'm @Jazzaria@mastodon.art). I also enjoy seeing the international uptake: this show itself is a good example, and there's a number of European countries where I seem to do well.
Remarkably, I have over 1.2 million listens on Jamendo (a European CC-centric music service). Of course, more listeners are always welcome, but in the end I'm doing this project because it's something I want to make.
