12/10/2007 10.55.56
Aranis interview

1. Could you please tell us a brief history of the band (the beginning, influences, experiences, records, future projects)

We started to play together during our studies on the Conservatory of Antwerp. We first played some Piazzolla pieces but soon I started to write new music for the group. Before that I played with the band Troissoeur (for more than ten years, we will play our final concert on october 4th 2007). In the beginning Troissoeur was kind of experimental folk - chamber rock band. After the first cd (Trah Njim) the other bandmembers wanted to play a different style of music, at that moment I started a new band Aranis.
When I was a teenager I listened a lot to all kinds of music: balkan music, ECM jazz, swedich folk, cross over jazz like Rabih Abou-Khalil, Renaud Garcia-Fonds, the first cd of Die Anachistische Abendunterhaltung (later they changed their name into DAAU, they where very succesfull during the nineties till they started to play a different style of music, a bit the same story as Troissoeur; but DAAU still play a lot of concerts and the sound is more chamber rock again).

2. In Belgium there's a very active chamber/RIO music scene (one name for all: Univers Zero), could you describe it? which relations do you have with the other local bands?

Actually almost nobody of the journalist, promotors of concerts, booking agencies, radio stations, even most of musicians... here in Belgium knows anything about the chamber rock/RIO music scene. I think bands like Univers Zero deserve much better than that. I try to discover this kind of bands all the time. There's a big difference between the french speaking part of Belgium and the Flemisch speaking part. UZ is french speaking, we are flemish. We never played in the french speaking part of Belgium.
I have a lot of respect for UZ. For me they are one of the best bands ever. I wish we could play toghether on the same evening one time. That would be great. Actually I saw them live in Brussels (during the live recording sessions), before that I didn's knew them.
It's hard to find the audience and good promotors for this kind of music. But we'll keep on trying. I think a lot of people like the music but they just don't know it.

3. Which process do you use to compose your music?

It's a bit like a puzzle. I start with small musical ideas and then try to build it up by arranging, trying, deleting, thinking, try to combine different musical ideas till I'm satisfied. I also try to change the methode during the composition process. During the rehearsal proces (also takes a lot of time) we also changes some things in the form or the arrangement.

4. how can you conciliate the different styles that are parts of your music?

I try to make a nice piece of music. I don't try to combine different styles of music. At the end of a recording I sometimes try to find the influences, and yes sometimes I can find them.

5. What do you think about improvisation? Is it present during your live performances?

For me improvisation is very important during the composing proces, during the rehearsals and during a live performance. It keeps the music alive.

6. Which are the main differences between your 1st and you 2nd record?

I think the comositions of our second album are more worked out than the first. We learned a lot as a group by rehearsing a lot and playing a lot of concerts. I think the second album sounds more like we play live. We also won some prices in Belgium. That's why we have more confidence in what we do. It makes the spirit better during the concerts and the recording sessions.

7. Will you tour in Europe?

We want to play outside Belgium but it's difficult to find the right places to play and it's hard to convince organizers or bookings agents. We're working on it.

8. Which kind of music are you listening now?

I listen to a lot of chamber rock bands, contemporary jazz-, folk- or classical music, or the combination of it.

9. What about the future of the band?

We will try to grow as a band. We'll have a lot of concerts this year in Flanders. In the meantime we will work out a new project with female voices. We're also planning a project with contemporary dancers.

10. Do you want to add something?

Female voices for one project in 2008-2009 is quite sure; also some percussion is possible, maybe some electronics but that's dangerous. If I add electronics to Aranis I want to be shure that this is much better than the original sound of Aranis. I think it can take for more than 5 or 10 years before this will be worked out.