The Eighth Note is 8 quick Questions with Wellington Musicians. A chance for us to catch up with people & see what they’re up to, or introduce you to a new musician/band and their music. New Album is where a band or artist answers some questions about their latest release. Up next is Wgtn-based American Jazz musician Dave Wilson, whose latest album ‘Ephemeral’ was released at the end of last year.
Who are you? Tell us a bit about your music:
I moved to Te Whanganui-a-Tara in the middle of 2016 after being based in Los Angeles for 11 years and several longish stints living in Skopje, North Macedonia. But I grew up right outside Chicago, where I played piano as a kid and took up the saxophone and started learning to improvise when I was about 10 years old. I’ve been involved in a lot of different kinds of music communities over the years, and I think my music reflects that in its diversity of styles and approaches. For my new album Ephemeral I brought together musicians from a variety of musical backgrounds in an improvising ensemble. They all have different ways of listening when they play. Some of the musicians have experience playing in orchestras, some in indie rock bands, some in jazz big bands, some in jazz small groups, and some in classical chamber groups. What musicians listen for in each of those kinds of ensembles is different. Bringing all of those listening skills together in one group is part of how the music reflects the range of music communities that I’ve been part of and that have influenced the music that I write and play.
What’s your favourite Wellington venue to play in?
The Rogue & Vagabond and Bedlam & Squalor are the homes of so many important music scenes in Wellington. I love supporting the Rogue and Bedlam by going to hear music at those venues, and by playing there as well. They are crucial spaces for the development and growth of some of Wellington’s most active scenes.
When/where was the new album recorded?
We recorded ‘Ephemeral’ in late 2022 at Ahumairangi, the studios at Massey University in Wellington. The music I wrote for the album is intensely interactive, and all of the musicians are constantly listening and responding to one another in different ways. So being able to record all at the same time, in separate rooms, was key to the album coming together the way that it needed to. We recorded all nine tracks in two days, which was pretty intense, but everyone brought their full energy to the sessions, which is part of what makes the album so special.
Who produced/engineered the album? How did the tracks come together in the studio, or at home?
I produced the album with Thomas Voyce. It was an absolute honour and pleasure to work with a real legend of Wellington music. Since then we’ve produced another album together with the Wellington guitarist and composer Callum Allardice, his record Cinematic Light Orchestra which is due out in March 2024. Hopefully we’ll have many more projects together. Mike Gibson engineered ‘Ephemeral’, with Robbie Pattinson as assistant engineer. I went to Nashville for the mix, which was done by my friend Satoshi Noguchi who I know from my LA days. Satoshi has developed a wonderful career as a film score mixer, and did the mix of the Son Lux score to the film Everything Everywhere All at Once that won all the awards last year. The album was mastered by Oscar Zambrano in New York, and the vinyl was cut by Bobbi Giel at Welcome to 1979 in Nashville, her work is excellent.
How did the songwriting happen? Are there any overall themes within the songs/album?
These compositions took shape over a number of years, and they all are attempts to encapsulate moments, feelings, and relationships that are in some way temporary. Each composition is connected to a personal story that speaks to a larger theme. “For Olivia” and “Liv’s Theme” are based on a tune that my niece was humming one day over and over, when she was around two years old. I thought it was an interesting tune, so I asked her parents if I could have permission to turn it into a longer composition, and they said I could. The tune didn’t conform to the pitches of the piano, but it was closer to some of the tunings of the Arabic maqam system, which I’ve been trained in at a beginner level. So these two compositions gesture towards those kinds of tunings and a type of musicality that is not conformed to the harmonies built on the piano’s tuning system. Of course my niece forgot the tune soon after she sang it, so at one level these tracks are about letting forgotten moments reverberate into the future in different forms. At another level, they are meditations on childhood – how it passes so quickly, and how it is full of complex emotions for children as they figure out how to be humans in the world.
Is there a particular single/track that you feel captures the essence of the album?
The second track, What shines is a thought that lost its way, features some gorgeous and intense improvisation on the violin by Amy Brookman, a close friend and member of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. It also features the whole ensemble improvising through a melody together, and some groove-based interlocking parts at the end. Musically those types of elements are present throughout the record. This composition is also a reflection on the long-term relationships that came to an end in the first year or two of the Covid-19 pandemic. I had friends in different parts of the world go through this experience of loss, and for various reasons I decided to think through this kind of painfully ephemeral relationship through the metaphor of the aurora (borealis or australis). I learned later that on the day of the album’s release (1 December), the aurora was visible from Wellington’s south coast, which added a special element to the experience of putting out this record.
A poem by Rita Dove called “Aurora Borealis” from Thomas and Beulah inspired the title and some of the sense of the composition as well, and she graciously gave me permission to include the text of an excerpt of the poem in the vinyl liner notes, where I also wrote some of my own poetic thoughts on the song. This theme, and a happy/sad hope-tinged melancholy is also present through all of the music on the record. Other kinds of loss the music deals with include the impending loss of elements of the natural environment (Speak to me of yesterday and tomorrow (elusive as the dead)); loss of childhood (For Olivia and Liv’s Theme; death of loved ones (A Hundred Glowing Clouds which I wrote after the passing of my grandmother); and the loss of a relationship alongside the joy that can emerge later (Dissipation).
Is there a physical copy available? If not which digital platforms is it available on?
The ‘Ephemeral’ double vinyl LP is available in the record shops around Wellington and on Bandcamp. Otherwise people can find my music on all the streaming services online (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon, etc.). The gorgeous album artwork was done by Wellington designer Wallace Gollan, with photos by Wellington photographer Nick George and a few landscape photos that I took.
Are you working on a video/videos for any of the songs? Are you doing any gigs or promotion for its release?
My YouTube channel features two of the tracks with stunning visualisers by the Wellington artist Erica Sklenars, “For Olivia” and “speak to me of yesterday and tomorrow (elusive as the dead).” It also features an in studio video of “What shines is a thought that lost its way” edited by Wellington designer/photographer/videographer Jenn Hadley (folkyeah.co.nz). All of those videos really capture some of the essence of what the music is about in a beautiful way. We did two release shows at the Newtown Community Centre Theatre, which was recently redone and now has top notch sound and lighting systems. It will serve the community very well for years to come! We had a large screen as a backdrop to the stage, with visuals projected by Wellington artist Rachel Neser, who designed a system where visuals respond to live sound in real time. It was a magical experience for everyone there.