Music Web
Express 3000 Magazine presents an interview with Kevin Kastning, Sándor
Szabó, and Balázs Major
Music Web Express Magazine; May 2013 (USA)
KEVIN
KASTNING,
SÁNDOR SZABÓ AND BALÁZS MAJOR |
||
![]()
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
mwe3.com presents an interview with KEVIN KASTNING, SÁNDOR SZABÓ AND BALÁZS MAJOR mwe3: Where does Becoming find you in 2013? Can you fill the readers in on the story behind the making of the Becoming album? It’s such a masterpiece of improvised guitar work. How would you compare your sonic and compositional approach and sound on Becoming to that of your earlier albums including Returning released in 2010, Book Of Crossings and Triptych, the latter of which also featured a trio sound. Where and when was the Becoming album recorded, mixed and mastered? ![]() To compare both of these new records to Returning (2010) is difficult for me. Returning was recorded in the US in 2008 in a recording studio, so the setting, environment, and atmosphere was quite different. Not better or worse; just very different. The spirit between Sándor and I was very strong as ever during those sessions, but The Book of Crossings and Becoming saw four years of growth, development, and forward momentum in each of us since the recording of Returning. SÁNDOR SZABÓ: Actually the 2012 Hungarian tour called Kontaktus was based on the music and sound ideas of the Triptych, our first trio album, but while we played the concerts on the tour we felt that we are different persons and different musicians since the Triptych recording. We had different ideas in our mind and a different feeling to make recordings in a different approach. It is hard to describe but we all became higher level improvisers and we could utilize our chemistry in such an efficient way that we could never do before. The recording session was made in Hungary in a silent small concert hall in my hometown Vác, the environment the vibe was just perfect for the session. The mixing and mastering was done in my own studio. BALÁZS MAJOR: The Becoming’s release is a great feeling, I was looking forward to it. It is a rare thing for a Hungarian musician that he can be a part of such a high quality release which appears in the States. Though this is not the first one for me. It is a great pleasure to share the music with such artists as Sándor, with whom we are partners more than 30 years ago. He was present at all my projects I was involved. We can create in a fantastic freedom. He introduced me to Kevin whose playing made a big influence on me. After he left Hungary (in 2009) I just started to miss him. Then when I heard that we can work again I prepared very intensively to the concerts and the recording sessions. I wanted to play and sound in a different way than on the Triptych. The Triptych was a very spontaneous session where we just wanted to know our limits. On the Becoming, I was much more conscious, I created new kind of grooves and textures. I also introduced a double udu set with some special cymbals. This new approach and setup can be heard on the Becoming. mwe3: How would you describe the chemistry and balance between the multitude of guitars and added percussion sounds on the Becoming CD? It sounds like there’s a ton of musical information changing hands in the air. The interplay on Becoming is quite impressive. In the CD liner notes, Kevin adds that the trio “achieved a higher level and extended our reach”. In what ways do you feel has Becoming broadened your musical horizons? It certainly sounds like a happy, free spirited kind of album with lots of sonically pleasing guitar soundscapes. What do the artists feel? KEVIN KASTNING: I think part of what you’re hearing on Becoming is due to the deep soul connection shared by the three of us; plus three years of development and growth we’d experienced since the recording of Triptych. Also, Becoming involved an entirely different set of instruments for each of us. None of the instruments you hear on Triptych were used on the sessions for Becoming. Both albums were recorded on-location; in other words, not in a recording studio. However, the locations, the environment, and the atmosphere of each were pretty different; Triptych was recorded in fall 2009 during the 2009 European tour, in an old church in the tiny and ancient village of Nograd, Hungary. This village is located at the base of a small mountain, and at the top of that mountain is a castle dating from circa 800 AD. You can see the castle looking down on you from the church where we recorded. When we took breaks from recording, we would hike up to the castle. So we were deep in music while recording; then we found ourselves time-traveling back over 1,000 years in this castle. The imprint of those that had lived and died ![]() SÁNDOR SZABÓ: Speaking about the chemistry between musicians is a metaphysical topic for me. Briefly I can say, because this is my experience, that when we improvise in trio and the music flows we are ONE soul. Our individual souls just being unified and the music is born in this state. For this tour and recordings, Kevin had to cope with a big problem, he could not bring his usual instruments and he had to use my 12 string bass/baritone guitars. He actually prepared to a different sound but finally his inner strength was the winner, he played brilliantly on those monsters and it did not destroy the chemistry. We also decided that at last we try all the given possibilities. Since the recording was in my hometown I could use many of my guitars, we could use my huge guzheng and a concert piano. This created a very prolific music situation at that moment. Of course we all were in good mental shapes and due to it the recording session brought up something of us that we could never reach before. Actually the music was there and we just had to “touch” it to bring it up. It was kind of magic. We started to have certain forces work. ![]() mwe3: What is it like as a trio playing with each other? How is the chemistry and how do you interact; it seems so different from the duo works of Sándor and Kevin. KEVIN KASTNING: For me, the chemistry is very similar in both settings. There is a deep connection with Sándor and I, and with Balázs and I, and between the three of us. It’s been there since the first time we met. That strong bond and the chemistry allows the music to flow. Even though we all come from such divergent backgrounds and influences, we speak the same artistic language; we may be coming from different places, but we’re headed in the same direction. I think you can hear that on Becoming. SÁNDOR SZABÓ: The chemistry is very strong with Balázs and also with Kevin. When we started to record the Triptych in 2009, Balázs and Kevin met and saw each other for the first time and I had a little fear if they could play together at all, but it turned out in the first minutes that no reason to fear because they felt each other’s reaction so well. As for me and Balázs we have been playing since 30 years and we have a really telepathic contact on stage and studio. With Kevin we have a very deep and sensitive chemistry which is very inspiring for me. When we met first time (in 2006) and started to play my first impression was that Kevin reacts in a merely different way while improvising than any other guitar player. I was kidding with him and asked if he ![]() The interaction is different in duo and trio situations. In a duo, the music can flow to any direction with a big freedom but demands a very serious control and responsibility for the end result. We always sit down to improvise with the inner need that the piece should sound as if it were composed, after all the improvisation for us is actually real-time composing. In trio we have less work and we have bigger discipline to build the music with the best notes and there is no competition in such a creative process. In duo and trio situations we have to get to a creative mental state where our souls unify. From this point the improvisation is a much deeper and complex process and it cannot be described with learning and using all scales and all chords. mwe3: Can you say something about the various guitars and the various percussion instruments featured on Becoming and what other instruments did you use to further color the sound? How about the microphones used to capture, color and enhance the recorded sound? KEVIN KASTNING: I was at a bit of a disadvantage on the 2012 tour and for the recording sessions, as I had none of my own instruments there. The Lacey Act in the US is having a very negative and restrictive effect on American artists that tour abroad, so I was unable to take my usual instruments with me for the tour. Sándor was kind enough to make his instruments available to me for the tour and recordings. His 12-string bass-baritone is based on and modeled after my own 12-string bass-baritone, so there was some familiarity there. In fact, he has a pair of them, so I was able to keep one in octave tunings, and one in my own altered tunings. However, this is no longer my main instrument; nor an instrument I’ve used at all since 2010 when I moved to the 16- and 17-string Contraguitars. Had it not been for the fear and uncertainties of the Lacey Act, I would have been on tour with one of the Contraguitars, but sadly this was not to be. The lack of my Contras made me feel a bit restricted and limited; not really at home, but I don’t think the recordings suffered; in fact I think both records turned out pretty well. I also used an instrument of Sándor’s which is a baritone (long-scale) classical guitar, tuned a fourth lower than concert classical guitar. The sound of it is deep and sonorous, but before that day in the concert hall recording sessions, I had never played it. Sándor asked if I’d like to use it, and as soon as I heard it, I knew I wanted it to be part of these recording sessions. It has a rather unique texture, and I knew it would meld into the trio fabric. So it was a bit of a strange circumstance for me, being in a recording studio without any of my instruments, and performing on three instruments which I’d never played. Fortunately, I ![]() SÁNDOR SZABÓ: This is a very special album for me because I can hear only my guitars on this CD. I used a newly developed tuning on my old 16 string guitar and also on a small Brazilian 10 string guitar called viola caipira. These guitars really stretched the harmony possibilities which was very inspiring to Kevin and Balázs. He got his new udu drum which has a very deep sub-bass range and that made the sound almost hypnotic. Balázs was deeply inspired of his new sound and new possibilities because he worked years to combine the Indian, African clay drum techniques with the cymbals. By now he created a very distinct sound which is a mark of the sound of the Becoming. We used close microphone settings. For the percussion we used a pair of DPA 4011 and for the guitars we used Gefell 930s through an RME mic preamp. As for the recordings and the mixing, I have a special simple conception and I keep it every time. This conception goes completely against the current recording habits and fashions. I never use EQ, limiter, or compressor. Many sound guys state that it is not possible to make a decent mix without them. My opinion is opposite: it is possible and highly recommended if we want to capture something of the fine details of the music. I used to mix 36 tracks without limiting and compression. It is possible but the world is going to the loudness… ![]() mwe3: Can you let the readers in on news concerning any new guitars, percussion instruments or other gear that you’re using now or planning to feature or would like to feature on upcoming recordings? KEVIN KASTNING: A couple of months ago, I received an instrument on which I’d been working for a long time and of which I’d been dreaming for years: the double neck 30-string Contra-Soprano guitar. You can see it here. This instrument was a collaboration between myself and Emerald Guitars in Ireland. I’ve already used this instrument on two album projects; you’ll hear it on the forthcoming albums of myself and Carl Clements, and the next one of Mark Wingfield and myself. Both of those albums will be released on Greydisc in 2013; the recording sessions for both are completed. Of course I’m using the 16- and 17-string Contraguitars, 12-string Alto guitar, classical guitar, fretless, and a few others on both of those recordings, too. The 30-string Contra-Soprano guitar has already had and is having a massive impact on my music and my is altering my thought processes. It is really three instruments for me: an 18-string Contraguitar, a 12-string Soprano/Alto guitar, and a single 30-string Contra-Soprano guitar when I utilize both sets of strings on both necks simultaneously; in other words, instead of approaching it as two single instruments, I approach it as a single instrument with 30 strings. This obviously requires an entirely new technique for 30 strings, especially for the right hand, along with new tunings and new compositional approaches, forms, directions, and thoughts. One of the differences in the approach with the 30-string is that I play the instrument positioned vertically, like a cello. The 30 has two sound holes, and as such is a natural stereo instrument. It requires a different microphoning approach in the studio, but sounds glorious on tape. I will be using the 30-string on a very special album project with Sándor later this year ![]() I’m also working with Dan Roberts at Daniel Roberts Stringworks on a highly unusual classical guitar. I love the voice of the classical guitar, but I feel restricted on 6 strings. This guitar won’t have that restriction. Dan is the brilliant luthier that made both my Contraguitars. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without Dan; he’s like my unseen partner; a collaborator. He and I have been working on instruments together since 1999. And with the advent of the 30-string, Alistair Hay at Emerald in Ireland has become a contributor to what I do as well. I am deeply grateful to them both; they are true artists and adventurers. SÁNDOR SZABÓ: Actually I ordered a 16 string lute and playing it will be a big challenge to me to match it to my music and sonic world. I have to work out a special recording method because the lute is very silent and radiates the sound waves differently than the guitar. On the top of all I use the same finger nail picking on the lute as on my guitars, so due to this my lute will be somewhat different than a traditional lute. BALÁZS MAJOR: As for future musical plans, I am working on very special new grooves and textures preparing to a new trio recording when Sándor wants to play his 16 string lute and Kevin his double neck 30 string monster... These instruments demand a very special approach from me. mwe3: What was it like recording the Becoming album in Hungary and how did the recording of Becoming that day color and influence your concert performance that same night in March 2012? Also can you say something about Hungary for those of us who have never been there? What’s the music scene there like and how does the country itself impact the music, as well as your music and can you say something about other musical artists from there? Hungary seems like a very musical kind of place with lots of history and intrigue. KEVIN KASTNING: The day we recorded Becoming was a bright and warm spring day in Hungary with perfect blue skies and flowers blooming everywhere. Coming from my home in New England where it was still very much winter and snow was on the ground; then to be suddenly immersed in spring was a pleasant turn. The setting for these sessions was in a small concert hall in the large performance complex where we were to be performing in the main hall later that night in Vac, Hungary. This small concert hall became our recording studio for the day. It was very informal and relaxed, and in a way, it felt as if the warmth and the spirit of spring was there with us inside the hall, not just outside. We tracked for most of the day, taking tea breaks and stepping outdoors into the welcoming Hungarian spring. Time evaporated, and before I knew it, it was time to pack up and head over the large hall for the show. The performance that night almost seemed to be a continuation of the recording sessions, even though we were performing pieces from and based on the Triptych album. ![]() SÁNDOR SZABÓ: As I mentioned those days we were very inspired by a lot of things, each other, new instruments and the nice weather and vibes. This of course influenced also the concerts where we played with two contact dancer women. Everything was just perfect. Well Hungary is a very special place. There are very strong magic forces here and sensitive people feel it. The music life is very vivid and intense here in spite of that almost nobody plays guitar music in such ways as we do, but all other kind of music is played. The guitar music has not much respect in this country, that is why I started to focus my entire career to abroad from the beginning. Unfortunately everything is going to a commercial direction and the real music values are hidden. The Hungarian culture is over globalized and that is why the rap for example is much more popular than our folk music, not to mention the guitar music. BALÁZS MAJOR: After we recorded the Becoming we had a completely new approach on the concerts. It was interesting that we actually toured with the Triptych material but the Becoming was already there. It was a magical tour. As for Hungary this country is really beautiful but it is not so easy to be a musician in this country. The real artists are in the periphery and only some lucky working musicians can get along fighting with each other and the circumstances. That is why I do not want to take part in this constant fight, so I try to earn money by doing other things, I do not want to compromise my art after all I spent almost a lifetime to get to this artistic level. So very similarly to Sándor I just do what I have to do and I do not take part in the Hungarian music scene. Of course this is not a complaint it is just a way of life; a possible approach to live here as an artist. Apart from this I feel happy especially when I can play and record with such guys. mwe3: What about other musical plans, current (regarding Becoming) as well as other future plans, from the three musicians on the Becoming album? And what are your hoping that guitar lovers, musicians as well as music lovers and CD fans in general, will come away with after listening to Becoming? KEVIN KASTNING: With the three of us living in different countries, it is difficult to make concrete trio plans, but I know we’re all committed to continuing the trio. That said, I am certainly looking forward to the next trio recording project. If that doesn’t happen as a “live” in-studio performance like Triptych and Becoming, we can still do it by tracking in separate studios at different times. There is a European tour in the works for 2013 or 2014, and part of the tour schedule will include recording sessions for one or more new album projects in trio, and in duo with Sándor and I. On our next tour, I will be touring and recording with the 30-string. ![]() SÁNDOR SZABÓ: We did not make long term plans for the trio project like the Becoming album. It just happened and I hope something similar will happen in the future. We have to face the problem that the ![]() BALÁZS MAJOR: I believe that the Becoming sounds very special like no other records in the world. I really want to add even more from my ideas to a next recording which hopefully can happen in 2013. I am able to listen to Sándor’s and Kevin’s duo albums like an outsider. These guys created a new sound and a new style in spite of the music world does not want to notice this fact. This new genre is very inspiring for me because it demands a consciousness from me as the third member in a trio which really creates a new genre in these days. Photos above from the recording sessions for Becoming; March 22 2012; Vac, Hungary. Thanks to KEVIN KASTNING, SÁNDOR SZABÓ and BALÁZS MAJOR |