Ann Shenton (Add N To X) 2007 interview for Zoot Magazine(never released)

The beautiful and charming Ann Shenton (Add N To X), from White Label Music, did this interview for Zoot Magazine on 2007 (which never been released)..i recovered this and i felt a warm sensation, so i put it on the blog as a sweet memory....

LA JOVENC

INSECTS-JAZZ-ELECTRIC-LADY-BUGS-OPPOSITES-ORANGE AND LOVE.

La Jovenc is sitting in an English country garden, wearing winter attire and shivering ever so slightly. This young Italian barely notices the spring heat wave, while all around him the great British public are making the most of the sun. Men have ripped off their tops bearing their maggoty white bellies and girls show off their mottled thick ankles. .. we begin to discuss his musical ethos.

ZOOT: can you give a synopsis of your musical career?

‘I am mainly self-taught. I played in bands in ....Italy.... in lots of genres with lots of different people. This practical experience mainly taught me about collaborating with other musicians. This practical experience also opened me up to lots of musical influences. Particular situations and people give you particular inspirations and make you grow musically and spiritually. During this period for example I was turned onto people like Billie Holiday and Charles Mingus – who remain major references for me.’
[[This was the period when La Jovenc was concentrating on jazz compositions; his area of specialisation, but he felt that something was missing. It was at this point that he introduced the electronic element into his work, it breathed new life into it: a random & uncontrollable element that gave way to unpredictability & excitement.]]

ZOOT: tell me a bit about your other work [restoration]

‘I studied history of art and professional study in art restoration. For 12 years I ran my own studio specialising in restoration of paintings and frescos. At first I loved this work.
But Italian bureaucracy and clientelismo became stifling and made it feel impossible to continue.
Now I work in an office to earn a living. The work is boring but it doesn’t occupy mental or emotional energy and leaves me free to dedicate myself to what interests me: reading, seeing dance performances, making and listening to music, seeing good and not so good cinema.’

ZOOT: when did electronic music become part of your composition methods?

‘Electronic music didn’t come to me through clubbing or dance music.
Dance performances by companies like Pina Bausch or William Forsythe opened me up to the possibility of putting all kinds of music together – electronica alongside tango, blues or Sicilian folk songs. This is where I first considered how to use and perform electronic music. Electronic music represented to me a new stream of creativity – to be able to make my music in new and more creative ways. Before I introduced the electronic element into my music, it was like a tree without flowers- the branches were very exposed’

ZOOT: Tell me about the experiment with beetles/insects and their response to certain notes and chords [guitar]

‘My first composition using recorded sounds of birds and insects was produced to accompany an exhibition of gigantic photos of insects featuring photos of my friend.
We are all aware of the use of inanimate sounds and other sounds created by humans to create musical rhythms and structures. Then for example Matmos used sounds of plastic surgery. Insects already communicate with each other using noise and rhythms which are musical so it felt obvious to capture and manipulate that further. My album ‘Birds Make Love…’ is made from recordings of birds and insects calling and singing to each other. I turned it into a human language, for example burlesque tango.
I also believe that insects hear and respond to our music. When I was young I used to play guitar in the garage at home. I noticed that when I played an A note the beetles and cockroaches moved to the left. If I played a D they moved to the right and if I played a C they went in between. If the changes were too quick they waited for me to play another note. I should add, I smoked a lot of grass then too.’

ZOOT: How important is the accidental element in your compositions?

‘All art forms and particularly music can be enjoyed in many forms and for many reasons. Music can respond to our passionate instincts as well as to our rational thoughts – the Dionysian or apollonian forces. It all depends on what you are searching for from music – energy, contemplation, suggestion or evasion etc and this can change every time you listen to music.
The accidental element in my music depends on the type of music, the moment and what I am searching for at that time.
Making any music involves some elements of accident but it is always an accident which occurs within an opportunity created by someone.
Creating music can be influenced by a thousand factors. Listening to the same music can be influenced by another ten thousand factors.
I enjoy accidents within music but it has more impact when it comes within a determined structure. Ultimately it is the structure that convinces.’

ZOOT: How does nature, natural occurrences effect your work?

‘Nature and natural sounds are great inspiration. But so are sounds from manmade things. ‘When I’m not in My Lab’ from the album LoFi Apocrypha is me imagining all of my art tools playing music to each other when I’m not in my laboratory. Or ‘Mother and Nephew’ from Opposite of Orange is the beautiful noise I snatched of my mother singing a 1920s classic Italian song to my young nephews but then transformed into another musical piece.’

ZOOT: We spoke about nano rhythms (Bjork recorded the sounds of ice melting and natural rhythms in ....Iceland....) what in your opinion constitutes a nano rhythm?
Are nature’s rhythms and sounds pre determined or accidental, which elements to you decide to incorporate in your music?

‘Some natural sounds come to us as accidents like thunder. Other natural sounds come to us and are determined by other beings like insect noises. I like when pre-determined noises become accidents when they coincide with other noises. Like the sound of being on a boat splashing against the water at the same time as a bee passes by. Sound collisions can give good surprises. I try to use all kinds if possibilities in my music.’

ZOOT: Are you interested in mathematical sequencing [John Cage, Fibonacci] as a basis for composition?

‘Yes. The Choice (on Opposite of Orange) uses two chromatic sequences – one crescending and one descending.
I enjoy creating my own formulae – hearing the results of mathematical formulae transformed into music and combining with each other. I love to hear all 12 notes on the scale playing at the same time. My album, ‘Sulla Natura delle cose’ was very mathematical.’

ZOOT: What is random?

‘Some things are completely random some are not. My album ‘Lo-fi Apocrypha’ is a random heterogeneous collection, others, like the earlier ‘Sulla Natura Delle Cose’ is a deliberate attempt to collect together songs from my past and to update them and connect them to my electronic music. My most recent album ‘Opposite of Orange’ is not random. It is a cohesive collection based on an electronic interpretation of jazz as blues.’

ZOOT: Is sexuality random?

‘It seems strange to me to apply random to sexuality. Sexuality can be irrational and compulsive. I know people who is random about their sexuality. I am curious, flexible, perverse and polymorphous, i love all sex, but i always decided when to have it..Having sex with other people is never random for me..but always welcomed.’

ZOOT: What interests you about jazz compositions? Is it the controlled chaos? Is it the spontaneity of the moment, the musical conversations between the players and their instruments that intrigues you?

‘All of the above interest me about jazz. But first and foremost I look for a clear composition within a structure or architecture. The spontaneous conversations between players and instruments is an added value if it can be felt within a clear architecture. I like controlled chaos like ‘Mama Too Tight’ by Archie Shepp which grows from a simple groove into a free, chaotic sound and then returns home to the structure. My track ‘Syncopython Jam’ on ‘Opposite of Orange’ is like that. You appreciate the lack of structure and chaos more because you know where it comes from.’

ZOOT: Why does La Jovenc make music?

‘I’m an art historian and I am interested in all forms of expression. I’ve made music since I was young because I felt the need to express myself and it was music that emerged. Music touches me emotionally. I even presume to have something to say through music, to create something that doesn’t exist anywhere else.’

ZOOT: Is your music designed for live performances or do you see your music as a private experience for the listener, to be consumed at home?

‘Making music is a personal urge. But you always make it with a listener in mind. You imagine an ideal listener who will appreciate what you make.
Live performances are important to me. That’s the opportunity to see your imaginary listeners in the flesh.’

ZOOT: Or is your music better suited to film?

‘My music is really suited to film. I like the idea of creating an acoustic landscape or a timescape to accompany the listener on a journey. That’s how I understand music.
I have performed live to accompany classic silent cinema like ‘Lulu’ by Pabst two years ago. I saw a cinema programme for ....Edinburgh.... earlier this year that is doing the same thing. I also composed and performed a soundtrack to accompany ‘Nosferatu’ by Murnau. (I did this ten years ago and I heard some big musician did that only a couple of years ago.)’

ZOOT: Tell me about the recent film your composition is being used for.

‘One my pieces ‘Going Home’ from Opposite of Orange have been selected by Bruce ..La Bruce.. for inclusion in his new film which he expects to have in film festivals in January ..2008.’..
To hear La Jovenc go to itunes and check out ‘The Opposite of Orange’ & ‘Birds make love with Electric Ladybugs’.