What first drew you into music?
Well, I think the Music gene kind of runs in the family, from my father’s side at least. My first experience has to be a toy keyboard an uncle gave me when I was 10. It was there I made my first steps, with my father’s guidance, and next year I started taking piano lessons. Fast forward 28 years and here I am!
Your track “Plaything” is absolutely amazing! How did you achieve such a great signature sound in such a short time? Also, what is your creative process like?
First of all, it wasn’t a short time. I count all my years of Musical training and my previous compositions (even in totally different and diverse genres) as part of this process. Secondly, I believe “signature sound” is a pretty bold statement. But I admit I feel I have my personal musical voice. Is it unique? I cannot say. I have many influences, ranging from 16th to 21st century. I could never deny my classical background, but I have a great deal of respect for contemporary music as well. Before the silent H, I studied earlier compositional techniques, like counterpoint and fugue, and I made music in many styles genres, ranging from baroque choral to shoegaze rock. My postgraduate studies were in electroacoustic experimental music and it was from there I migrated to a more mainstream electronic sound (I do hate the term “mainstream” but I have to somehow differentiate it from my more academic music endeavors). This is where I am now. Where shall I be in the future? No one knows.
As for my creative process, let’s see… many times I turn to non musical sources for inspiration, like philosophy, science, literature, poetry. Then, I create a story in my mind. Next step is to find sounds that help me tell the story. And all these interact with each other in a constant feedback, until I have my final music piece. Other times I just find or create some interesting sounds and try to let them tell their own stories. “Plaything” is a little bit of both.
Going over your Soundcloud we can tell you love experimenting with new sounds. Can you tell us more about your studio setup and some of your favorite plugins/instruments?
Even though I do not believe the equipment makes the musician, I have to admit that my imac and macbook are an essential part of my setup. I use ableton live to mix everything. I have a saffire audio interface and an akai apc key as a midi controller. I love my genelec 8020A monitors and my blue yeti usb microphone. I do not have any favorite plugins, I mostly use the stock ones in ableton, as well as various drum beats, mostly by cymatics (I find their collections excellent). But I also record stuff at home and experiment with those, for a more personal feel. Every sound can be used in a musical context. Even a sneeze, or a falling fork, or a cigarette puff.
Your music sounds very organic and authentic. Do you play any real-life instruments?
As I said earlier, I took piano lessons for about 15 years. I stopped because I was such a lazy student. But I continued with the more compositional and theoretical aspect of those studies. I also taught myself to play guitar and electric bass. I rarely use those instruments now, but the mentality has stuck with me and with it I approach most sounds when I arrange them in a song.
What are your musical goals for the future?
I would really like the silent H to take off and have some official releases. Also live performances. In an ideal world, I would like that to be a steady source of income, but, baby steps I guess…
What are your goals for the coming months? Any upcoming projects we can get excited about?
Currently, I rearrange my already finished tracks for possible live performances. Nothing scheduled yet, but I like to be ready. Of course new music is coming, but it still needs polishing. I hope to have at least two new tracks before 2019 is over.
Connect With The Silent H:
- Soundlcloud
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