World music, in my experience, is very hit and miss. I’ve come across some music, mostly through the label of Peter Gabriel, that I really like. But I’ve also heard some that just rubbed me the wrong way no matter how many chances I give it.
I thought about those experiences when I received a copy of One. I’d never heard of the artist. Even after listening to the album five times I was mostly undecided. My favorite songs at that point were those that included American vocalist Paula Cole - one of four guest vocalists on this album - but my concern was I only liked those tracks because I like her voice and, more importantly, because that voice made the music more familiar and understandable to my ears rather than the unfamiliar sounds from the five other vocalists. The other vocalists are Hassan Hakmoun of Morocco, Yungchen Lhamo of Tibet, Vishal Vaid of India, Sussan Deyhim of Iran and Abdoulay Diabaté of Mali.
I listened to the album ten more times and now I have to say I like all of the tracks, especially the final one, “Requiem,” written about 9/11, and “Darfur Is Burning,” about the genocide taking place there.
Scott: What was your goal with this album, your second? Did you achieve it?
My primary goal was to make music close to my heart (as it was with A Prayer For The Soul Of Layla). A goal of nearly equal importance was to make a record with musicians that I admire and love. I definitely reached the second goal; I’ll have to see how I feel about the first in the coming years. For now, it’s still close to my heart.
Why did you title your album One?
In the world music community in New York City, musicians from all over the planet work together every day, respectfully and creatively. It always impressed me that none of the musicians I know draw boundaries between one music and another. It wasn’t that the boundaries aren’t there; they just aren’t recognized as a big deal, and they don’t impede the flow of ideas between players of different backgrounds and cultures, as far as I can see. The title refers to this sense of unity-in-separateness.
Who are some of your influences?
I’ve been very inspired by singers, in particular Baaba Maal, Salif Keita, Youssou N’Dour, Mohammad Karimi, Khatereh Parvaneh, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sali Sidibe, Kandiya Kouyaté, Hassan Hakmoun, and Yungchen Lhamo, to name a few. I’ve been deeply moved by the music of Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, Jon Hassel, and Laurie Anderson, especially in their understanding of space, ambience, and timbre. The work of Miles Davis still leaves me in awe, as do the records of Weather Report, and many of Joe Zawinul’s, Herbie Hancock’s, and Chick Corea’s recordings. I can honestly say I would not be a musician now if it weren’t for Herbie’s Headhunters. I am constantly surprised and moved by the music of Bach - it seems beyond time to me.
How long did you work on this album?
There were three major periods of work, each somewhat more than a year in length, spread over seven years. There was a lot to coordinate…
What was the hardest part about making this album? What part was the most fun?
The hardest part was scheduling everyone. The musicians on this record all have their own careers, and it was not always easy to get someone in to record. That said, the most fun part was working with them when I finally got them in. Composing, arranging, and production can be isolating work, especially with the technology we use now, but recording is a social and real-time activity. Each person brought something beautiful and personal to the project, and it was a joy to watch the songs come to life.
How does this album differ from your prior one?
One is different from A Prayer For The Soul Of Layla in several ways. First, there is a larger vocal presence. Secondly, it’s more acoustic. I’m a keyboard player, and one of the things I was trying to accomplish with Layla was develop and present a way of playing the synthesizer that is a little more organic and “juicy” than most of what we hear. So there is a fair amount of synth on that record. One has much less of a synthesizer presence; it’s there, but “in the corners”, and mostly out of the limelight. One is also more layered; sometimes in ways that aren’t obvious. For example, the first instrumental sound on the record is a fuzzy horn-like low drone, which is actually twelve tracks of me playing trombone (rather inexpertly, I might add!). It took three hours to create. There are a lot of things like that on the record; really, little sound-experiments that were hopelessly inefficient to make, but ended up sounding beautiful to me.
How did you get so many quality musicians to sign on for this project?
With the exception of Abdoulaye, I had worked with all of the singers on the record. I’ve been a member of Hassan’s group for nearly twelve years, and I also perform regularly with Yungchen and Vishal - I produced Yungchen’s last record, Ama, for Real World. I’ve known Paula since school, and I arranged strings for her record Amen, as well as playing a bit on her new one, Courage. I’ve worked with most of the instrumentalists even longer; Ole Mathisen, Ben Wittman, Skúli Sverrisson, Simone Haggiag, Carsten Tiedemann, and I go back more than twenty years now. Brahim Fribgane I met through Hassan; we’ve known each other over ten years. Michiyo Yagi I met fifteen years ago through the shakuhachi player, Akikazu Nakamura, who I met in school. So there wasn’t a lot of arm-twisting…
What are you working on next?
I’m just finishing the score for a feature-length documentary on the Tuareg of North Africa, directed by Kathi Von Koerber. I’ve been performing with Mamak Khadem, the former singer from Axiom Of Choice, as I produced her new record Jostojoo last year. That will continue throughout this year. I’ll be doing some shows in support of One - there’s a show at Joe’s Pub in New York on April 14th. I may do some more performances with Laurie Anderson’s Homeland - I did the Australia leg of her tour last fall. And I’m sorting out ideas for the next record, which will undoubtedly be another time-consuming labor of love.
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