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John Maters
Netherlands
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Interview : 10 questions
1. When did you start making music, what is/was your motivation to do it?
In fact I started making music in 1991, when I was doing a project calling my house a sculpture, and I searched for other presentation forms instead of photos to register and to communicate a project.
2. Tell me something about your living environment and the musical education.
Since 1984 I’m a multi-media artist, as musician I’m auto-didactic.
3.Is making music your profession? What is the context in which you practice music nowadays?
Making music is one of my professional activities; my other activities are drawing, sculpture, installations, photography. Music can stand on its own, like other disciplines; but also as part of an installation; as illustration, translation or documentation.
4. How do you compose or create music or sound? Have you certain principles, use certain styles etc?
A piece can start with a certain sound, like for example the repeated sound of a sculptor in stone, it gives a kind of rithym, the sound becomes registrated and is basis for a whole piece, in which the piece can reflect on itself by using electronic translations of the sound itself, or the sound becomes a basis on which other sounds from other areas become integrated, but where the piece still reflects on itself, or the sound forms a basis where also other sounds from other areas are infiltrated on a way that the meaning of the piece is to give impressions, images, next to emotions. If a piece starts with a concept and becomes a translation of the concept in sound, any style could be used to make a concept clear, depending on the kind of concept.
5. Tell me something about the instruments, technical equipment or tools you use?
Some downloadable sound editors, theYamaha Portasound II, Roland D-110, Rockmate Dock-A-Matic, Philips PMC 100, some acoustic instruments like guitar, violin, mouth harp, toy instruments, street sounds, my voice.
6. What are the chances of New Media for the music production in general
and you personally?
Just contemporary initiatives bring music, or any art, further and make sense for future and give reality form. Personal initiatives like New Media give me as artist the possibility of a platform and a context to let other people become open and let form ideas about music nowadays.
7. How about producing and financing your musical productions?
Until now musical productions are part of projects and became subsidiable.
8. Do you work individually as a musician/sound artist or in a group or collaborative? If you have experience in both, what is the difference, what do you prefer?
Still I work individually, and still the individual process goes on, but I would like to work with other musicians too. With other people you have to share, counting with others, into a project in which everybody integrate an own part to let exist something new, in which the social process could become the subject or an important part of the piece.
9. Is there any group, composer, style or movement which has a lasting influence on making music?
No, there is no lasting influence on my music, there is also no special sound which I love the most, or hate the most and I could not work with.
10. What are your future plans or dreams as a sound artist or musician?
My future plans are to research possibilities to interact different disciplines of art individually and in cooperation, try to integrate more electronic music in daily life.