Interview: Misinterprotato's Sean Foran
October 2nd 2008 04:09
:
Trans:mission Adelaide Festival Center
Misinterprotato are one of Australia's most inventive contemporary music ensembles. Much loved by the intensely creative Brisbane music scene they are so much more than a traditional jazz trio. The group expands the capacities of the classic piano/bass/drums combination with elements of the avant-garde and a fresh attitude they bring to their music.
Truly captivating for a variety of audiences, Misinterprotato skillfully blend dense, exciting improvisations and delicate atmospherics, conjuring up sounds of modern jazz, ambient music, avant-garde rock, free improvisation and contemporary classical music.
Formed while studying at the Queensland Conservatorium, the group's sound is driven by pianist Sean Foran, teamed with John Parker on percussion and Patrick Marchisella on the double bass.
Adelaide News' David Jobling posed a few questions to Sean Foran in anticipation of their appearance as part of the Trans:Mission program at the Adelaide Festival Center Thursday 2 October.
AN: What's the process you went through to find the bands name 'Misinterprotato'?
SEAN: It was the classic long list of names, some added by us, others by friends. A friend of mine added Misinterprotato to the end of the list, which we all just really liked! He was quite surprised as it was added as a joke name, not really expecting it to be used. But it has stuck. It's just an absurdist word really, no deeper meaning; we get a pretty good reaction to it usually, although sometimes it's no fun spelling the email address.
AN: (Ha ha!) You are heading quite close to the 10K 'hit' mark your MySpace site, do you think it's a useful tool for a band to use My Space?
SEAN: Its a really useful tool. You really can organize tours, sell records, make collaborations etc, quite easily. We're pretty active on there but not as much as we should be. It's something you need to spend a lot of time on to make the most of it. I suppose we just try to keep it fresh with interesting audio and video. If people want to know what you look and sound like they can do it in 5min on My Space, so you gotta make it good! I'd say it's almost essential in todays music environment.
AN: What kind of impact would you say it has to keep a My Space site?
SEAN: We've made some contacts in Europe and it's been helpful in getting gigs in different places. Mainly though it has a huge impact in widening your fan base. It's really amazing when you get these messages from people in japan or wherever saying they dig you stuff and have just ordered the album.
AN: How long has it taken to develop the work you are touring?
SEAN: It's a mixture. Some of the pieces we've been playing and working on for a couple of years ! some were written specifically for the new album Variations , some I've been touring over here in the UK with other musicians, and some are brand new tracks written for this tour. It's quite exciting to have a diverse mix of material, and it's really going to keep us switched on. Even the older tracks that we know well should be fresh for us because it's been a year since out last gigs together.
AN: Do you bring much of the casual and happily grounded Queenslander attitude with you when you tour?
SEAN: I think definitely. John and I always have a bit of a relaxed chat to the audience and each other during the show, talk about our day, that kind of thing. It's nice when everyone's relaxed, we don't want an uptight audience, because we certainly are not!
AN: You've appeared all over the world on tour - what do you learn on tour, what sort of feedback are you gathering?
SEAN: You always learn a lot on tour. Things like how do deal with different venues, promoters, flat tires, media, that kind of thing. It's also really interesting to play for audience in different parts of the world. Many of them have said the music sounds quite Australian, well I'm not sure what that means exactly, although somebody said they could see the wide open spaces of the land in the music. so, really interesting feedback. Generally people are quite into the music and appreciative.
AN: Adelaide is an isolated but also highly sophisticated audience as far as music goes what with Womad and the regular Transmission Series at the Festival Centre and I wonder if you have much experience with the Adelaide audience to date?
SEAN: This will be our first time to Adelaide! It really does seem to be an ultra-hip place for music with some amazing festivals. It's nice to be finally getting down here to play, plus it's the first gig on the tour so it's bit of a treat for the Adelaide audience
AN: What's the motivation to experiment with music?
SEAN: The desire to say something, to create interesting sounds that move us and the audience. To create something new that contributes to the world of music.
AN: Do you have a plan for the next few years in terms of expanding your activities.. new album.. new music etc??
SEAN: Yes, well there's a bunch of new material that needs to be recorded soon. Where and when we don't know. Plus we're looking at touring again in May with guest saxophonist from Norway, and then there's plans for some Norwegian shows in July.
AN: Is it difficult to be in a Trio?
SEAN: I don't think so, it would have to be one of the easiest bands you could be in....any smaller and it doesn't exist ! But we are generally all pretty easy going and get along really well so I'm sure that helps.
AN: Does one person take the lead and direct.. is it a more collaborative process or something you don't define too clearly?
SEAN: It is a collaborative process, although pieces are usually composed by one member of the band and then we work them all together. we think it's really important to have equality in the music between the instruments, The last thing I want to hear is PIANO, then bass and drums following it.
AN: You've been described as (providing) "emotive" material/music - how would you describe that aspect of the work you offer and can you tell me something about the way music and emotion 'work' with an audience in your experience?
SEAN: The emotive and emotional aspect of our music is so important. It's more important than playing some fancy stuff to impress. I think the most important thing people are going to take away from a gig or listening to an album is the emotional impact it has. So we try to play music that connects with the audience, be it through melody, textures, interesting rhythms and interplay. Whatever we're doing we are really trying to say something.
AN: What is there venue and festival wise in Australia to sustain you?
SEAN: There's a substantial festival and club scene, and good gigs to play in most major cities. The good thing for us is that we really fit most molds, we can play outdoor festivals or small clubs. it makes it easier to book gigs. I suppose it's more about planning the shows to make it financially viable to tour given the large distances you need to cover; hence the reason we've never been to Perth or Adelaide
AN: Are you planning on staying in Australia and remaining based in Q?
SEAN: Yes we are planning on staying in Australia. I have been living in the UK for the past year, but John and Pat still live in Brisbane and I'll be moving back there at some stage. I still think it's quite important to develop the scene in Brisbane. Plus there's an array of amazing music in Australia, so it's a good place to be.
AN: Your current tour schedule seems quite frantic going from one end of the country to the next ever other day - what kinds of things come in to play on tour along the lines of caring and transporting equipment and finding the right sound in each venue?
SEAN: Thats the centre of the challenge of touring. Sometimes with booking dates in various towns you find yourself in that situation where it's Cairns, then Melbourne. So it's hard. We try to travel light, and sometimes source gear from reliable sources in the cities we're playing it. That does make it easier. Traveling with a double bass is also difficult when you're flying, the airlines don't really get it when you explain the fragile nature of the instrument. Finding the right sound is always hard, especially as a piano player, a different instrument each night. We just try to make sure that there's time to really work on the sound, and a good engineer!
AN: The influences on your music as listed on line at your website are quite broad - how do those influences come into play?
SEAN: Well, it's like we draw on elements of these influences to create our sound. We really don't see ourselves as a strictly 'jazz' group, so we don't feel like we have to conform to any kind of style. I think that we're interested in many kinds of music and that just naturally comes out in what we do.
AN: Do you have any way of describing or identifying the way these influences manifest?
SEAN: Ahhhh, well I suppose there's musical ways of describing it, like minimalist style rhythmic ideas, harmonic changes more inline with avant rock and soundscapy texural stuff that you could liken to more ambient music. Plus more standard jazz improvisational techniques. Is that what you mean ?!
AN: Yes for sure, I'm always interested in hearing how any musician describes music; it gives me a chance to figure what to expect I guess. What can an audience expect from the band in terms of an emotional journey at your gig?
SEAN: Hopefully they will be engaged, surprised and challenged. And for many it won't be 'jazz' as they know it. There will be a range of emotional experiences from intense to calm. The wide range of dynamics and intensity is central to our music.
AN: Let's finish with an open question; is there anything we should bone up on before you arrive to entertain us?
SEAN: No, you certainly don't have to get your jazz chops up. We've come to find that many people who don't listen to or even like 'jazz' really enjoy our gigs. So just come and enjoy.
What: Misinterprotato - Sean Foran (piano), John Parker (drums) and Pat Marchisella (acoustic bass)
Venue: Piano Bar, Adelaide Festival Centre
When: Thursday 2 October, 8pm (doors open at 7:30pm)
Cost: Adults $25, Concession $20, Groups $20 (6 or more tickets)
Bookings: BASS on 131 246 or online
This performance is part of trans:mission, Adelaide Festival Centre's music program of universal beats, rhythms and grooves. Proudly supported by Lexus, trans:mission is just one stream in a year-long festival of theatre, dance and music.
October, 2008
Misinterprotato
AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Thurs 2nd - Adelaide Festival Centre Transmission Program
Adelaide Festival Centre Piano Bar
8pm (doors open at 7:30pm)
Sat 4th - Tank Arts Centre, Cairns
46 Collins Ave, Edge Hill
Cairns
7:30pm
tankartscentre.com ph 07 4032 6600
Sun 5th - Bennett's Lane, Melbourne
Bennett's Lane, Melbourne CBD
8:30pm
bennettslane.com ph 03 9663 2856
Tues 7th - Excelsior Hotel, Sydney
Forveux St, Surrey Hills,
Sydney
8:30pm
jazzgroove.com ph 02 9361 5257
Thurs 9th - Jazzworx! Club, Brisbane **LIVE RECORDING**
Exhibition St, Bowen Hills
Brisbane
8pm
jazzworx PH: 07 3216 1110
Mon 13th - Charles Hotel, Perth
8pm
perthjazzsociety.com ph 08 9444 1051
Thurs 17th - Conservatorium of Music, Newcastle
Harold Lobb Concert Hall
7:30pm
Fri 18th - The J, Noosa Heads
7pm
thej.com.au ph (07) 5455 4455
Wed 22nd - Blue Birdy @ the Buddha Bar, Byron Bay
8:30pm
bettybluebirdy ph 02 66 855833
Sat 25th - Brisbane Jazz Club **LIVE RECORDING***
Annie st, kangaroo Point, Brisbane
7:30pm
thebrisbanejazzclub.com.au ph 07 3391 2006
Truly captivating for a variety of audiences, Misinterprotato skillfully blend dense, exciting improvisations and delicate atmospherics, conjuring up sounds of modern jazz, ambient music, avant-garde rock, free improvisation and contemporary classical music.
Formed while studying at the Queensland Conservatorium, the group's sound is driven by pianist Sean Foran, teamed with John Parker on percussion and Patrick Marchisella on the double bass.
Adelaide News' David Jobling posed a few questions to Sean Foran in anticipation of their appearance as part of the Trans:Mission program at the Adelaide Festival Center Thursday 2 October.
AN: What's the process you went through to find the bands name 'Misinterprotato'?
SEAN: It was the classic long list of names, some added by us, others by friends. A friend of mine added Misinterprotato to the end of the list, which we all just really liked! He was quite surprised as it was added as a joke name, not really expecting it to be used. But it has stuck. It's just an absurdist word really, no deeper meaning; we get a pretty good reaction to it usually, although sometimes it's no fun spelling the email address.
AN: (Ha ha!) You are heading quite close to the 10K 'hit' mark your MySpace site, do you think it's a useful tool for a band to use My Space?
SEAN: Its a really useful tool. You really can organize tours, sell records, make collaborations etc, quite easily. We're pretty active on there but not as much as we should be. It's something you need to spend a lot of time on to make the most of it. I suppose we just try to keep it fresh with interesting audio and video. If people want to know what you look and sound like they can do it in 5min on My Space, so you gotta make it good! I'd say it's almost essential in todays music environment.
AN: What kind of impact would you say it has to keep a My Space site?
SEAN: We've made some contacts in Europe and it's been helpful in getting gigs in different places. Mainly though it has a huge impact in widening your fan base. It's really amazing when you get these messages from people in japan or wherever saying they dig you stuff and have just ordered the album.
AN: How long has it taken to develop the work you are touring?
SEAN: It's a mixture. Some of the pieces we've been playing and working on for a couple of years ! some were written specifically for the new album Variations , some I've been touring over here in the UK with other musicians, and some are brand new tracks written for this tour. It's quite exciting to have a diverse mix of material, and it's really going to keep us switched on. Even the older tracks that we know well should be fresh for us because it's been a year since out last gigs together.
AN: Do you bring much of the casual and happily grounded Queenslander attitude with you when you tour?
SEAN: I think definitely. John and I always have a bit of a relaxed chat to the audience and each other during the show, talk about our day, that kind of thing. It's nice when everyone's relaxed, we don't want an uptight audience, because we certainly are not!
AN: You've appeared all over the world on tour - what do you learn on tour, what sort of feedback are you gathering?
SEAN: You always learn a lot on tour. Things like how do deal with different venues, promoters, flat tires, media, that kind of thing. It's also really interesting to play for audience in different parts of the world. Many of them have said the music sounds quite Australian, well I'm not sure what that means exactly, although somebody said they could see the wide open spaces of the land in the music. so, really interesting feedback. Generally people are quite into the music and appreciative.
AN: Adelaide is an isolated but also highly sophisticated audience as far as music goes what with Womad and the regular Transmission Series at the Festival Centre and I wonder if you have much experience with the Adelaide audience to date?
SEAN: This will be our first time to Adelaide! It really does seem to be an ultra-hip place for music with some amazing festivals. It's nice to be finally getting down here to play, plus it's the first gig on the tour so it's bit of a treat for the Adelaide audience
AN: What's the motivation to experiment with music?
SEAN: The desire to say something, to create interesting sounds that move us and the audience. To create something new that contributes to the world of music.
AN: Do you have a plan for the next few years in terms of expanding your activities.. new album.. new music etc??
SEAN: Yes, well there's a bunch of new material that needs to be recorded soon. Where and when we don't know. Plus we're looking at touring again in May with guest saxophonist from Norway, and then there's plans for some Norwegian shows in July.
AN: Is it difficult to be in a Trio?
SEAN: I don't think so, it would have to be one of the easiest bands you could be in....any smaller and it doesn't exist ! But we are generally all pretty easy going and get along really well so I'm sure that helps.
AN: Does one person take the lead and direct.. is it a more collaborative process or something you don't define too clearly?
SEAN: It is a collaborative process, although pieces are usually composed by one member of the band and then we work them all together. we think it's really important to have equality in the music between the instruments, The last thing I want to hear is PIANO, then bass and drums following it.
AN: You've been described as (providing) "emotive" material/music - how would you describe that aspect of the work you offer and can you tell me something about the way music and emotion 'work' with an audience in your experience?
SEAN: The emotive and emotional aspect of our music is so important. It's more important than playing some fancy stuff to impress. I think the most important thing people are going to take away from a gig or listening to an album is the emotional impact it has. So we try to play music that connects with the audience, be it through melody, textures, interesting rhythms and interplay. Whatever we're doing we are really trying to say something.
AN: What is there venue and festival wise in Australia to sustain you?
SEAN: There's a substantial festival and club scene, and good gigs to play in most major cities. The good thing for us is that we really fit most molds, we can play outdoor festivals or small clubs. it makes it easier to book gigs. I suppose it's more about planning the shows to make it financially viable to tour given the large distances you need to cover; hence the reason we've never been to Perth or Adelaide
AN: Are you planning on staying in Australia and remaining based in Q?
SEAN: Yes we are planning on staying in Australia. I have been living in the UK for the past year, but John and Pat still live in Brisbane and I'll be moving back there at some stage. I still think it's quite important to develop the scene in Brisbane. Plus there's an array of amazing music in Australia, so it's a good place to be.
AN: Your current tour schedule seems quite frantic going from one end of the country to the next ever other day - what kinds of things come in to play on tour along the lines of caring and transporting equipment and finding the right sound in each venue?
SEAN: Thats the centre of the challenge of touring. Sometimes with booking dates in various towns you find yourself in that situation where it's Cairns, then Melbourne. So it's hard. We try to travel light, and sometimes source gear from reliable sources in the cities we're playing it. That does make it easier. Traveling with a double bass is also difficult when you're flying, the airlines don't really get it when you explain the fragile nature of the instrument. Finding the right sound is always hard, especially as a piano player, a different instrument each night. We just try to make sure that there's time to really work on the sound, and a good engineer!
AN: The influences on your music as listed on line at your website are quite broad - how do those influences come into play?
SEAN: Well, it's like we draw on elements of these influences to create our sound. We really don't see ourselves as a strictly 'jazz' group, so we don't feel like we have to conform to any kind of style. I think that we're interested in many kinds of music and that just naturally comes out in what we do.
AN: Do you have any way of describing or identifying the way these influences manifest?
SEAN: Ahhhh, well I suppose there's musical ways of describing it, like minimalist style rhythmic ideas, harmonic changes more inline with avant rock and soundscapy texural stuff that you could liken to more ambient music. Plus more standard jazz improvisational techniques. Is that what you mean ?!
AN: Yes for sure, I'm always interested in hearing how any musician describes music; it gives me a chance to figure what to expect I guess. What can an audience expect from the band in terms of an emotional journey at your gig?
SEAN: Hopefully they will be engaged, surprised and challenged. And for many it won't be 'jazz' as they know it. There will be a range of emotional experiences from intense to calm. The wide range of dynamics and intensity is central to our music.
AN: Let's finish with an open question; is there anything we should bone up on before you arrive to entertain us?
SEAN: No, you certainly don't have to get your jazz chops up. We've come to find that many people who don't listen to or even like 'jazz' really enjoy our gigs. So just come and enjoy.
What: Misinterprotato - Sean Foran (piano), John Parker (drums) and Pat Marchisella (acoustic bass)
Venue: Piano Bar, Adelaide Festival Centre
When: Thursday 2 October, 8pm (doors open at 7:30pm)
Cost: Adults $25, Concession $20, Groups $20 (6 or more tickets)
Bookings: BASS on 131 246 or online
This performance is part of trans:mission, Adelaide Festival Centre's music program of universal beats, rhythms and grooves. Proudly supported by Lexus, trans:mission is just one stream in a year-long festival of theatre, dance and music.
October, 2008
Misinterprotato
AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Thurs 2nd - Adelaide Festival Centre Transmission Program
Adelaide Festival Centre Piano Bar
8pm (doors open at 7:30pm)
Sat 4th - Tank Arts Centre, Cairns
46 Collins Ave, Edge Hill
Cairns
7:30pm
tankartscentre.com ph 07 4032 6600
Sun 5th - Bennett's Lane, Melbourne
Bennett's Lane, Melbourne CBD
8:30pm
bennettslane.com ph 03 9663 2856
Tues 7th - Excelsior Hotel, Sydney
Forveux St, Surrey Hills,
Sydney
8:30pm
jazzgroove.com ph 02 9361 5257
Thurs 9th - Jazzworx! Club, Brisbane **LIVE RECORDING**
Exhibition St, Bowen Hills
Brisbane
8pm
jazzworx PH: 07 3216 1110
Mon 13th - Charles Hotel, Perth
8pm
perthjazzsociety.com ph 08 9444 1051
Thurs 17th - Conservatorium of Music, Newcastle
Harold Lobb Concert Hall
7:30pm
Fri 18th - The J, Noosa Heads
7pm
thej.com.au ph (07) 5455 4455
Wed 22nd - Blue Birdy @ the Buddha Bar, Byron Bay
8:30pm
bettybluebirdy ph 02 66 855833
Sat 25th - Brisbane Jazz Club **LIVE RECORDING***
Annie st, kangaroo Point, Brisbane
7:30pm
thebrisbanejazzclub.com.au ph 07 3391 2006
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