KIT DOWNES - Enhancing The Truth
Interview by John Marley
British pianist and composer Kit Downes has a resume that belies his young age. His performance and recording credits include collaborations with the likes of Stan Sulzmann, Julian Argüelles and Clark Tracey. Downes’ search for new sounds has led him to compose music for a number of ensembles including his own piano trio and prog-jazzers Troyka. This search for the new has led him back to the musical environments of his childhood and more specifically, the church organ. The product of this journey is the album Obsidian, released by a name synonymous with experimentation in improvisational music, ECM Records.
Congratulations on the release of your solo album on ECM Records. What inspired you to record an album of music composed for church organ?
I have been writing/improvising for church organ for the last few years in a variety of different contexts (with saxophonist Tom Challenger, cellist Lucy Railton and turntablist Shiva Feshareki) and I wanted to try challenging myself to make some solo works.
Was it a logistical challenge to compose and record the material? ECM is known for its unique and identifiable sound recording. Was there a conscious effort to honour this tradition?
It was a very natural process as the producer (Sun Chung) is very sympathetic and sensitive to the musician's process, as he himself is a musician also. I think the idea of the record in the first place was sonically quite a good match for the ECM aesthetic, so we didn't need to think about this too much - it was more a case of working out the best way to capture the nuances and details of these unusual instruments in a way that didn't feel too classical - this involved close micing the organs, which as you can imagine on such big instruments was sometimes quite a logistical challenge.
British pianist and composer Kit Downes has a resume that belies his young age. His performance and recording credits include collaborations with the likes of Stan Sulzmann, Julian Argüelles and Clark Tracey. Downes’ search for new sounds has led him to compose music for a number of ensembles including his own piano trio and prog-jazzers Troyka. This search for the new has led him back to the musical environments of his childhood and more specifically, the church organ. The product of this journey is the album Obsidian, released by a name synonymous with experimentation in improvisational music, ECM Records.
Congratulations on the release of your solo album on ECM Records. What inspired you to record an album of music composed for church organ?
I have been writing/improvising for church organ for the last few years in a variety of different contexts (with saxophonist Tom Challenger, cellist Lucy Railton and turntablist Shiva Feshareki) and I wanted to try challenging myself to make some solo works.
Was it a logistical challenge to compose and record the material? ECM is known for its unique and identifiable sound recording. Was there a conscious effort to honour this tradition?
It was a very natural process as the producer (Sun Chung) is very sympathetic and sensitive to the musician's process, as he himself is a musician also. I think the idea of the record in the first place was sonically quite a good match for the ECM aesthetic, so we didn't need to think about this too much - it was more a case of working out the best way to capture the nuances and details of these unusual instruments in a way that didn't feel too classical - this involved close micing the organs, which as you can imagine on such big instruments was sometimes quite a logistical challenge.
Tom Challenger features on one track of your album yet when you performed live at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, he played a much more prominent role. Is this because you wanted to keep the album mainly solo or because you feel the performances are enhanced by the presence of a second musician?
For this first album I wanted to try making a solo record for organ incorporating some of the techniques I had been using in my other more exploratory work. Tom and I are now working on some new music with guitarist Stian Westerhus. Tom is one of my closest collaborators and a great guy.
When seeing you perform recently, I was aware that due to the nature of the instrument, you must have your back to the audience while performing. Does this affect your performing experience? Does an awareness of the audiences reaction influence your performance and improvisations?
I actually find it easier to play like this. I am not a very natural performer and find it difficult sometimes to feel natural in front of an audience, so there is something quite appealing about making quite a big statement musically without having to be too present physically.
As the performance of the material is limited to venues with a suitable organ, do you feel that the music could be translated to the piano or is it composed specifically for the organ?
I have done a few concerts already performing this music on piano, and I think it worked fine. As with anything that has a lot of improvisation involved, it is fairly adaptable. The interesting part of making this music has been adapting to each recording situation (the organ, the room, the background noise of the church) so to adapt it to another scenario (with a different instrument) feels like an extension of the process.
For this first album I wanted to try making a solo record for organ incorporating some of the techniques I had been using in my other more exploratory work. Tom and I are now working on some new music with guitarist Stian Westerhus. Tom is one of my closest collaborators and a great guy.
When seeing you perform recently, I was aware that due to the nature of the instrument, you must have your back to the audience while performing. Does this affect your performing experience? Does an awareness of the audiences reaction influence your performance and improvisations?
I actually find it easier to play like this. I am not a very natural performer and find it difficult sometimes to feel natural in front of an audience, so there is something quite appealing about making quite a big statement musically without having to be too present physically.
As the performance of the material is limited to venues with a suitable organ, do you feel that the music could be translated to the piano or is it composed specifically for the organ?
I have done a few concerts already performing this music on piano, and I think it worked fine. As with anything that has a lot of improvisation involved, it is fairly adaptable. The interesting part of making this music has been adapting to each recording situation (the organ, the room, the background noise of the church) so to adapt it to another scenario (with a different instrument) feels like an extension of the process.
British musicians, notably John Surman, have composed using the church organ. Did you use these works as a starting point for composition or were you looking to create something completely unique?
I didn't listen to any organ music before making the record, not as a deliberate point, but just that the instrument itself wasn't the most important part of this project. I wanted to find ways to pace melody in a very slow way, and to colour it very sparsely but rich in sonic detail. I was listening to a lot of John Taylor when I was thinking about the record, as well as Stian Westerhus, Arvo Pärt and John Coltrane. I wanted to find a way to make some of the music feel like spiritual music, devotional music, without being religious - which of course is tied to the history of the instrument itself.
Particularly in a live setting, you took the organ out of its more conventional range of sounds and created a host of rumbles, distortions and whistles. How easily attainable were these sounds and how does the range of sounds vary between organs?
They can vary quite a lot between different instruments. Usually before playing solo I go a day early to check out the instrument a little. I explore all the different stops individually and in combinations of 2 or 3, and see how the organ blends with itself, and then see where some of the corners are in the instrument. These are the most interesting parts to me, often they are because the organ is damaged, the sounds that only that organ can make. It is the same for musicians, finding the sound that is most yourself.
I didn't listen to any organ music before making the record, not as a deliberate point, but just that the instrument itself wasn't the most important part of this project. I wanted to find ways to pace melody in a very slow way, and to colour it very sparsely but rich in sonic detail. I was listening to a lot of John Taylor when I was thinking about the record, as well as Stian Westerhus, Arvo Pärt and John Coltrane. I wanted to find a way to make some of the music feel like spiritual music, devotional music, without being religious - which of course is tied to the history of the instrument itself.
Particularly in a live setting, you took the organ out of its more conventional range of sounds and created a host of rumbles, distortions and whistles. How easily attainable were these sounds and how does the range of sounds vary between organs?
They can vary quite a lot between different instruments. Usually before playing solo I go a day early to check out the instrument a little. I explore all the different stops individually and in combinations of 2 or 3, and see how the organ blends with itself, and then see where some of the corners are in the instrument. These are the most interesting parts to me, often they are because the organ is damaged, the sounds that only that organ can make. It is the same for musicians, finding the sound that is most yourself.
Click on the album cover to read our review.
Due to an issue with your left hand, you recently composed a series of pieces to be played with your right hand. How important is it to you to practise and compose everyday? Did composing in this manner teach you anything new about composition and playing the piano?
Yes, it taught me that the starting point is not as important as it seems. You can take any idea and develop it into something, because the development of the idea is 90% of composing I think. It is tempting to judge yourself way too early in the process and then get stuck in a rut, so this daily process was a good way of breaking through that - especially since my mind was in a strange place with the injury.
Do you see the church organ playing a major role in your future compositions and recording projects? How effectively do you think the instrument could be incorporated in to a larger ensemble?
The next project will be with a larger ensemble. I am keen to try and place these instruments in unusual line ups to see how they (and I) can adapt. The organ, like the piano and the harmonium, are not the things that define my music I think, rather that sometimes it is easier to express what I want to express on a particular instrument over another. I sometimes play bass, sometimes sing, the instrument doesn't define you I think - your ideas do.
Many thanks for answering these questions. What projects do you have lined up for 2018? Are there any musicians on the British improvised music scene who you particularly admire and would like to work with?
One musician I greatly admired and who was very influential to this album was John Taylor (whom the album is dedicated to). I also love the music of Matthew Bourne, James Allsopp, Lauren Kinsella and many other people that feature in a project called 'This is Our Music' - a collective monthly mixtape project featuring many different musicians from all over Europe. You can hear January's edition:
https://www.mixcloud.com/ThisIsOurMusic/this-is-our-music-vol-1-january/
For more information visit ECM Records and
Kit's website.
Yes, it taught me that the starting point is not as important as it seems. You can take any idea and develop it into something, because the development of the idea is 90% of composing I think. It is tempting to judge yourself way too early in the process and then get stuck in a rut, so this daily process was a good way of breaking through that - especially since my mind was in a strange place with the injury.
Do you see the church organ playing a major role in your future compositions and recording projects? How effectively do you think the instrument could be incorporated in to a larger ensemble?
The next project will be with a larger ensemble. I am keen to try and place these instruments in unusual line ups to see how they (and I) can adapt. The organ, like the piano and the harmonium, are not the things that define my music I think, rather that sometimes it is easier to express what I want to express on a particular instrument over another. I sometimes play bass, sometimes sing, the instrument doesn't define you I think - your ideas do.
Many thanks for answering these questions. What projects do you have lined up for 2018? Are there any musicians on the British improvised music scene who you particularly admire and would like to work with?
One musician I greatly admired and who was very influential to this album was John Taylor (whom the album is dedicated to). I also love the music of Matthew Bourne, James Allsopp, Lauren Kinsella and many other people that feature in a project called 'This is Our Music' - a collective monthly mixtape project featuring many different musicians from all over Europe. You can hear January's edition:
https://www.mixcloud.com/ThisIsOurMusic/this-is-our-music-vol-1-january/
For more information visit ECM Records and
Kit's website.
