Music / contemporary jazz
(Un)commonly creative music
It takes all sorts of collaborations to make new music, but Kevin Figes‘ joint venture with a green space in urban Bristol must rank among the more unusual. His new album The Common & Other Short Stories, to be released at a Fringe Jazz performance in the Bristol Music Club on October 5, comprises a mix of ambient found sound, solo semi-classical piano pieces and electronic improvisation. It’s all inspired – and to some extent generated – by Horfield Common, the open space near his home where he took his permitted outdoor times during lockdown.
Finding himself restless while unable to gig or rehearse his usual jazz and Latin saxophone music Kevin began exploring new creative territory, starting with those found sounds: “I had been wandering round Horfield Common with a disguised microphone just seeing what sounds I would pick up. I hadn’t really thought about how I could use them at that stage. Listening back there were some particularly nice noises like a fly buzzing past, a panting dog coming over or little kids playing in the distance.”
At the same time as pondering how to make use of these noises he also began experimenting with piano music, something else he hadn’t tried before: “It had never occurred to me to write for piano before. I can only play piano at a very low level – I know what the notes are but I couldn’t sit down and play from written music. However, I realised I could play things slowly and then enter them into (computer music programme) Sibelius and play them back at a reasonable speed. It was all a bit of a revelation when I realised I could write these pieces and have a good pianist play them back.”
is needed now More than ever
Wallpaper Music: Jim Blomfield (keyboard), Brigitte Beraha (vocals), Kevin Figes (Flute) (Pic: Tony Benjamin)
His regular piano playing bandmate Jim Blomfield put him in touch with classical pianist Steven Kings who provided a vital insight into the music: “Steve was really, really helpful. Once he began playing the pieces his approach contributed some changes and then I also made suggestions – it was a real collaboration. As he went through them we inevitably found a couple of moments that proved impossible to play but given my own lack of experience I’m quite pleased there were only two!”
It was those regular walks on the Common, though, that had brought the two ideas together: “The piano pieces I was writing were about the common: Grass, Sky, People, Foxes … you see all those things up there and hopefully the music reflects them well.” So after Steven Kings had recorded them each of the semi-classical pieces was paired with a found sound introduction, something Kevin aims to provide at the launch gig on October 5.
Kevin Figes communing with the common (Pic: Miles Figes)
If there’s one track that stands out from the rest of the album, however, it is Feeling Rough – a piece of prose writing read aloud by a child yet reflecting a very adult point of view: “As the title suggests, I’d written the piece when I felt I couldn’t work at the piano or even do anything. I felt it would sound better if somebody else read it and having someone so young read it you do get that juxtaposition between what is clearly an adult experience and a childish voice. Gracie (the reader) is nine, the daughter of a friend, and she’s a great speaker with a love of words. She was with her mum and it was so easy to record – she did a really great job.”
Despite the privations of the pandemic Kevin obviously found lockdown inspirational in diversifying his creativity – as well as The Common he’s been writing a load of new material for his Wallpaper Music project, inspired by left-field jazz legends Henry Cow, there are plans to turn a screenplay he has written into a short film later this year and he’s looking into a range of other avant garde ideas in a variety of media. But the first and most important thing is to get the album launched with an evening that will feature a range of improvisatory projects including Jim Blomfield on piano and vocalist Brigitte Beraha as well as Steven Kings performing the piano music from The Common. Kevin is looking forward to the night enormously: “It should be good – plenty of variety. There will be quite a few things going on and whatever you might feel about it hopefully it won’t be dull.”
Kevin Figes launches The Common & Other Short Stories at Fringe Jazz on Wednesday October 5
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
