Q018:
You say that you taught yourself to play guitar and other instruments, and that you're transforming sounds in your head into music for people. Do you ever feel limited in trying to work with these sounds? Are you getting closer to reproducing them exactly? How do you communicate them to other musicians if you're collaborating?
A018:
There are basically two types of sounds that I hear in my head. The first is like absolutely pure tones from the universe. The aural hallucinations and ringing sounds that I've heard since I was a kid, and the heavenly orchestras I've heard in my dreams fall into this category. I try to realise these sounds in my solo work, or in other projects that are close to solo in their intent. The second type is something that I hear constantly, even when I am in the midst of performing. My improvisations are just moment by moment recreations of this sound. I find that especially when I'm playing with a other people and there are all sorts of sounds flying around, I hear something in my head that's like the universe guiding me towards the most correct music (ultimately, I believe that this process will lead me to pure sound, or else to the power that will enable me to discover pure sound). I honestly believe in the power of these sounds, and I try as hard as I can to reproduce them moment by moment. Of course there are times when the sounds my collaborators are making take off in some direction totally different to the sounds I'm hearing, and then I'm always dazzled by the way my cosmic sounds kaleidoscopically change to keep pace with the changing situation around me. Perhaps an easy example for you to understand would be the way a satellite car navigation system immediately keeps suggesting multiple new routes every time you ignore the one currently being displayed. The only way I can communicate this to my collaborators is through sound, so the best thing for me to do is to become like a good radio receiver and clearly and faithfully transmit the sounds I hear. But, to tell you the truth, with my current levels of skill and perception it's hard. Or maybe everyone is a good receiver and the point we're all heading for is the same. At times like that we can create very high grade music.