Note: Klimperei's answers appear in both their original French, and in their English translation.
Q:
When you do an arrangement of a longer piece like Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s Tarkus or Moussorgsky’s Pictures At An Exhibition suite, how do you approach the process (i.e. do you notate each instrument’s part beforehand, are there lots of overdubs, etc.)?
A:
J’ai ce morceau dans la tête depuis des lustres. Je crois connaître chaque détail par cœur, ce qui est faux, bien sûr — on s’en rend bien compte ici et là. Overdubs, bien sûr, puisque j’ai joué seul !:) J’ajoute que ce morceau (et bien d’autres) ont fait partie de ma formation musicale « rock » (ou « pop »?) et que venant d’un milieu très fermé à la musique, ce furent des révélations, des bouleversements radicaux.
I'll start with a piece I've had in my head for ages. I think I know every detail by heart, which is wrong, of course — we can hear that here and there. Overdubs, of course, since I played alone ! :) — but never more than 16 tracks. I add that this piece (and many others) were part of my musical culture — "rock" (or "pop"?) and that living in a family very far from music, they were revelations, radical upheavals.
Q:
Many of your albums are made up of twenty, thirty, or even forty tracks about two minutes long. Do you prefer this kind of structure when making and listening to albums?
A:
Oui. Oui j’aime beaucoup les morceaux courts et — pour rester dans le contexte ELP, Jeremy Bender est un morceau qui me touche beaucoup. Pièce courte, piano désaccordé, dimension mélodique très touchante (Keith Emerson est un mélodiste remarquable). Chez Érik Satie ou Debussy aussi, puis chez Jehan Alain. J’aime quand il n’y a pas de bavardage et je n’aime pas forcément bâtir des cathédrales composites, mais séparer les idées.Et ne pas trop répéter.
Yes. Yes, I really like short pieces and — to stay in the ELP context, Jeremy Bender is a piece that touches me deeply. Short piece, detuned piano, very touching melodic dimension (Keith Emerson is a remarkable melodist). In Erik Satie or Debussy too, as well as the work of Jehan Alain. I like it when it is not talkative and I do not necessarily like to build complicated cathedrals, but separate the ideas. And not to repeat too much.
Q:
In interviews, you’ve acknowledged the influence of other French composers like Debussy, Poulenc, and Satie on your work. What in particular do you like about these composers? Are there any other composers or musical artists, past or present, that you admire?
A:
Comme je disais, la rigueur minimaliste. Laquelle nécessite un souci de la composition très rigoureux. Mais on peut trouver ça dans Commercial Album des Residents aussi. J’aime particuièrement les ambiguités harmoniques chez Debussy. Clair de Lune à cet égard est, pour moi, une perfection. Il y a des centaines de musiciens ou groupes que j’aime, Zappa, Bowie, Gentle Giant, Can, Neu !, Bartok, Reich, Terry Riley, King Crimson, Moondog, Daevid Allen, Weather Report... etc. etc. Par dessus tout. Un homme, Robert Wyatt. Un album : Rock Bottom.
As I said, the minimalist rigor. Which requires a concern for very precise composition. But you can find that in Commercial Album Residents too. I particularly like harmonic ambiguities of Debussy. Clair de Lune in this point of view is, for me, a perfection.
There are hundreds of musicians or bands I love: Zappa, Bowie, Gentle Giant, Can, Neu!, Bartok, T. Rex, CCR, Vivenza, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, King Crimson, Moondog, Daevid Allen, Weather Report... etc. etc. Above all, a man, Robert Wyatt. An album: Rock Bottom.
Q:
I’m a big fan of your collaborative album with Eric Chabert, Sing John B Cornaway: Dealings. However, there seems to be very little information on the internet about John B Cornaway, his life, and his work. Could you talk a little bit about Cornaway’s life, his connection to Klimperei, his works, and where they might be found?
A:
Cornaway est maladivement discret. L’essentiel est là :
Nous nous sommes rencontrés au milieu des années 80, publiant dans les mêmes revues de poésie. Nous appréciions notre travail respectif. Nous sommes restés en contact. Quand j’ai accompagné Éric pour ses derniers mois de vie, j’ai pensé qu’il serait bien d’avoir « quelque chose à faire », un projet. Et j’ai repensé à ces poèmes que JBC m’avait confiés pour des chansons et dont je n’avais rien fait. À noter qu’il y avait eu quelques morceaux antérieurement, mais sans Chabert:
We met in the mid-80s, publishing in the same poetry magazines. We appreciated our respective work. We stayed in touch. When I accompanied him with Eric during his last months of life, I thought it would be good to have "something to do", a project. And so I thought of those poems that JBC had given me for songs and I did not do anything about them. Note that there had been some songs previously, but without Chabert:
You manage to create an impressive variety of sounds via a mixture of regular instruments, toy instruments, and other objects. If you had the chance to work with a large orchestra, would you want to? Would there still be toy instruments in the mix?
A:
Vraiment, je ne sais pas. J’aime travailler seul et vite, je ne suis pas très à l’aise pour écrire la musique. Je suis parfois impatient. Mais j’avoue que j’ai (au moins) deux rêves à cet égard : composer pour une fanfare, et écrire des quatuors à corde. Le jouet musical n’est pas une nécessité absolue. C’est comme si on disait à un cuisiner : mettrais-tu du poivre partout ?
Really, I don’t know. I like working alone and quickly. I am not very comfortable with notating music. I am sometimes impatient. But, I admit that I have (at least) two dreams related to this idea: to compose a fanfare, and to write string quartets. The toy instruments are not an absolute necessity. It's like saying to a chef: Would you put pepper in every dish?
Q:
Much of your work makes prominent use of pianos, toy pianos, and other keyboard instruments. Did you ever take piano lessons when you were younger, or are you mostly self-taught?
A:
Principalement autodidacte mais j’ai travaillé le piano à certains moments de ma vie plusieurs heures par jour tous les jours, pendant des années. J’ai également étudié l’harmonie théorique de manière approfondie. Il y a deux aspects dans la question : jouer de l’instrument, et composer.
Mostly self-taught, but I practiced the piano at certain times in my life for several hours a day, every day, for years. I have also studied theoretical harmony in depth. But there are two aspects to the question: playing the instrument, and composing.
Q:
Are you familiar with the short animation Sunnipaev by Janno Poldma? I feel like it’s something that you would appreciate.
A:
Oui j’aime ! J’ai d’ailleurs pas mal composé pour l’image...
I noticed that
Lewis Carroll, the opening track from
Improvisation WIth Myself, Vol. 2, makes beautiful use of a musical theme that appears several times throughout your 2000 release
Alice au pays des merveilles. Do you consider the work of Lewis Carroll to be a significant influence on your music?
A:
Pas seulement sur la musique, mais probablement sur ma vie, ma pensée. Ou plutôt comme s’il y avait eu confirmation de quelque chose: je ne suis pas fou, je ne suis pas seul...
Not only on my music, but probably on my life, my way of thinking. Or rather, it was as if there had been a confirmation of something: well, I'm not crazy, I'm not alone...
Q:
Are there any pieces of children’s media (TV shows, books, maybe even albums) from your childhood that played a part in shaping your toy-based aesthetic?
A:
Pas tant sur la question du jouet (il faut se méfier de cet aspect qui peut être trompeur : on peut faire des choses très chiantes avec des jouets) que sur la façon de penser la musique : Chapi Chapo (François de Roubaix) et Les Shadocks (Robert Cohen-Solal) ont joué un grand rôle, musicalement.
It is not so much the question of the toy (it is an aspect that can be misleading: we can do very boring music with toys) but on the way of thinking about music: Chapi Chapo (François de Roubaix) and Les Shadocks (Robert Cohen-Solal) played a great role for me musically.
Q:
Is there anything else you'd like to say to the readers?
A:
Je ne sais pas trop, n’hésitez pas à poser quelques question supplémentaires su vous le souhaitez. J’ajoute cependant que la littérature a joué aussi un grand rôle (et j’ai aussi écrit quelques livres), dont hommage avec
I don’t know, but don't hesitate to ask some additional questions if you wish. I will add, however, that literature has played a big role for me, which I paid tribute to here: