Noch bevor der erste Roman “Sendawoy” in Druck ging, war klar – in anhaltender Liebe mit der Band Nedry, Matt Parker muss musikalisch eines Tages etwas zu Christian Ludwigs Werkschaften beisteuern. Irgendwie, irgendwo. Die Hoffnung lebte, das Resultat inzwischen tatsächlich auch. Unter seinem Projekt Earthkeptwarm hat er getüftelt, geschraubt und mit “Summer in the South” und “Winter in the North” zu beiden Teilen des Romans “Moritz & Ivahn” einen Song geliefert. Auf die weite Reise nach Birmingham, UK, gingen Fragen an Musiker und Produzent Matt, die teilweise fast zu schön beantwortet wurden.
Matt, how did the collaboration with the book project begin?
Originally, I met Christian whilst on tour with a band I was in called Nedry when we played in Berlin and Christian offered to let us stay with him for the night. We had a good chat and I remember getting emotional about some things at the time. The following day my laptop (which I used as part of the band) didn’t want to start and we had a huge panic and Christian took us to a computer service store very calmly. When we got there, three engineers queued up all excited to see the urgent problem but when I pressed the on switch, it turned on with no problem and was completely fine! I knew from then onwards that I would say yes to anything Christian ever asked of me!
Music and books – where is, should or could be the the connection and why does it happen so rarely?
A book follows its own timeline. Most books are linear experiences (except maybe for fantasy role play books) but they are stretched over a long time, where the reader is free to read at a speed they are comfortable with. Music is often more immediate, of a fixed duration and it makes it hard for the two to coincide neatly. However, I think, as with all creative processes, each medium can be influenced by one another and I think this is where writing music in accordance to themes within a book can become very powerful, to reflect the emotion and intention of a book through music.
What was the point you realised that music is more than just a short-period hobby?
I think when I finished university I remember thinking that all I wanted to do was music. I was pretty sure that all I wanted to do was music before going to university but I think I felt a need to explore other things that would hopefully influence my creativity as a musician in the long run and then once I finished studying, I knew it was all I wanted to do. It’s not easy… and it’s not like it is always a full-time job but I don’t think I’ll ever stop thinking about sounds in a creative way.
What or who is or was a huge influence for your work?
In my work as a media composer, my biggest influence is probably Cliff Martinez. As a guitarist, I love Johnny Greenwood, Benoit Pioulard, Jeff Farina, as an electronic music producer I love Radiohad, Massive Attack, Tortoise, Demdike Stare and James Leyland Kirby, as a sound artist, I love the work of Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, and Scanner.
I am obsessed with technicality, low frequencies, transmissions and rituals.
When you think about the project „Moritz & Ivahn“, what do you have in mind?
The desire and need to try find your true self, and developing a strong sense of personal identity but in exploring this, discovering that in finding out about yourself, you probably find out about other people more.
Tell us your three songs for a long road trip to the nowhere?
Djed by Tortoise,
A Tribute To by The For Carnation,
In Death – Is Death by Meshuggah.
Das Interview ist hiermit offiziell zum Einrahmen freigegeben. Die folgende Adresse gehört ebenso in die virtuellen Lesezeichen der Herzen: www.earthkeptwarm.com
Foto: Earthkeptwarm