Borealis 2010

Close

Magda Mayas & Tony Buck

Kerry Yong interviews Magda Mayas and Tony Buck

Q.  I'm aware that both of you play in other groups, but was there any particular event that made you think: 'Yes, experimental/free improvisation is for me!'?

A. 
(Magda Mayas) Maybe it’s easiest to tell you where I musically "come from". Pianistically, I started playing classical music as a kid, and then, being interested in improvising, moved on to jazz.  There are certain musicians and personalities that I was fascinated by and influenced me, directly or indirectly, like Prince, Cecil Taylor, Cage, John Tilbury, Sun Ra etc. etc. I didn’t consciously choose or think ‘this is the area or kind of music that I’m going to do, free improvised music’ – I guess no one does really.  But I know I’m not a composer, in the sense that I’m not very good in writing down my thoughts musically (so far…) and I like the spontaneity, flexibility, magic that can happen during a concert when you improvise: maybe playing "experimental" or " free music", or whatever you call it, came from my interest in creating sound/music in a structurally open context while interacting with others.
(Tony Buck) It's true that I involve myself in playing in many different groups, but also in many different styles or methods of music making.  But although I do play in plenty of free improvisation settings, I still maintain contact with playing rock, jazz and groove music for example.  So, while I could say 'Yes, experimental/free improvisation is for me!', I would not say I do it at the expense of other ways of playing music.  I think there are many things to be achieved and areas one gets into when one improvises freely with like-minded colleagues that are hard or impossible to reach in other contexts, but likewise, sometimes there are other things that one cannot get close to without forethought, planning and composition. Both things are important to me.

Q.  What other interests or other types of music do you like that you think might surprise people, given your work as performers?

A.
(Magda)  Do you mean what other music etc. am I interested in that doesn't naturally show in my work as a performer?  Very recently, I’ve been into Blues, but I believe you can hear it somewhere in my music.... and then I’m really into all kinds of music, some of it I don’t know very deeply, but as a reference: Funk, Reggae, some Metal, Fela Kuti, Mark Stewart, Fairouz, Marc Ribot, Nirvana, Akron/Family, the Shaggs, Ethiopian Music, Moondog...Cecil Taylor.
(Tony)  I think if people have a kind of overview of my work as a musician, or artist, they wouldn't be too surprised by much. I have played in bands that play very commercial pop music, or quite 'heavy' rock, as well as what is, I guess more obscure and improvised music, so I think throwing anything into the mix wouldn't surprise those who know me.  I am also very interested in visual arts.  For the past few years I have been focussing on making video work.  Often I make work to be screened in parallel with music performances and in the past I have made some installations and objects and 'sound' sculptures.

Q.  Magda, what do you value from your classical piano training? And was there anything you hated? Any particular composers/works you cherish?

A.  Regarding my classical education: I spent time developing touch on the keyboard, a sense for dynamics and also a physical approach to the instrument (awareness of which muscles to use, how to move etc). That is definitely something I appreciate today.  I don’t think I hate anything about classical education per se. Maybe one thing that sums it all up: competitions…  Often I found classical piano teachers far more conservative and "closed minded" when it came to other musical styles, or even a total lack of knowledge there. Developing one's own artistic voice was a bit harder in that sense.  I’m not very original when it comes to "classical" composers I love: Bach and Bartok are the first that come to my mind.

Q.  What are you presenting at the 2010 Borealis Festival? Can you tell me a little about your choices?

A. (Tony)  At the festival we will be presenting our work as a duo that has been an ongoing project for around 6 or 7 years. In a way, when one plays improvised music in a project that has some longevity, your work, in a subconscious way, takes on a natural path of development. So, in essence, what we will be presenting will be the state of the duo in 2010 as it stands as a work in progress.  Of course, there are things we have been exploring, like the timbral similarities and differences of both instruments and the motion of non-metric time, that I imagine will still be points of interest between us, but we will be doing quite some playing between now and then, so it is hard to say what we will be doing in the frame of this "work in progress" 5 months hence! I can imagine what we present will be improvised and concerned with these things, but then again, that could change between now and then.

Q.  Although I'm not a fanatic, I'm quite fond of Henson's The Muppets. I sadly may have similarities with Kermit the Frog, Dr Bunsen Honeydew and Statler & Waldorf (the two grumpy critics). Are there any character you think you are like, or characters you would love to jam with?

A. (Magda)  According to the Facebook “Which Muppet are you?” test, I’m Animal.  I don’t really agree. Anyway, I think the coolest Muppet by far is Janice.