CELLIST AND COMPOSER PETER GREGSON
After acclaimed projects such as Bach Recomposed and scoring for some of the hottest series and films (Bridgerton, Blackbird, The New Pope amongst others) - renowned composer, cellist and Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, Peter Gregson is turning his attention to melodies on Patina, specifically focusing on the question 'what happens when you remove a melody?'
With Patina, Gregson wants to bring the listener right up close to the instruments, next to the cracks and scratches of the bow on the string, the fingers on the keyboard, the breath in the room. These sounds are, like your book with the creased spine and well-thumbed pages, your favourite shoes worn soft and scuffed; the stain on your table where your coffee cup sits, all essential to the intimate encounter Gregson is creating on Patina.
I feel very fortunate that my music gets used a lot in the ballet / dance world, and now the world is opening up again it’s exciting to see these collaborations start up again - at the end of September, Guillaume Cote is staging a new, ambitious piece in Toronto featuring some music from my new record - I just wish I could go!
Tell us about your greatest inspirations or influences?
I’m very inspired by visual art - I used to travel a lot with work and would love nothing more than a jet lag visit to an art gallery. The delirium of sleep deprivation and the visual saturation is probably what I miss most from regular travel…! I collaborate across a broad range of music, from mega-budget Hollywood to auteur films, in the pop world from people like Ed Sheeran to Rag n Bone Man, ballets… my own music is the result of all these collaborations, meetings, ideas. Sometimes people can think that being a classically trained musician is snobbish, that technical knowledge, rules of harmony and structure of composition, shadow the “raw emotion” of the music, but I strongly disagree - I think it’s like fitness. If you want to be strong, you don’t just lift dumb bells. That’s great if you want to have big biceps, but if you want to be all round strong, you need to challenge your muscles and keep active, mixing it up. I have the privilege of an amazing education and background in western classical music, but that’s for nothing if it’s not useful, and that’s where listening comes in!
Tell us about your creative process?
I’m very inspired by sound - whether that’s a cello technique, a synthesiser sound, a reverb… I like to “explore” sounds and keep going. Once there’s a sound, that tends to suggest a melody or harmony, and once you’ve got a sound and a melody, you’re well on your way! I love my audio hardware like reverbs and compressors, as well as synthesisers and microphones - I'm not such a fan of plugins, but I think that’s because with a physical unit there’s a tactility, a sense of performance perhaps, in using it which I struggle to recreate with the plugin.
How has the pandemic affected your creativity and how do you see the world changing?
I see the world being more accepting of “work/life balance”, I think mental health is no longer such a taboo subject, and I think we really appreciate, despite the incredible advances in technology which allowed so much communication and contact, how reliant we are on real human connection.
I’m not sure my ‘creativity' has changed during lockdown, but certainly my approach to work has changed - when I’m on my own projects, I only work in the mornings and spend the afternoons with my children. If I’m collaborating or doing work for someone else, like a film or something, that isn’t always possible, but that’s my new position, and I love it!
Who do you consider to be an icon of your time?
Darren Aronowsky, the film director. I just adore his films. "Requiem for a Dream” and “Black Swan” really moved me to want to work in film.
What does wellbeing mean to you and what do you practice?
I have two young children so I’m realising how important sleep is and, more importantly, what the lack of sleep does to you! I love walking and listening to music, but I find when I’m in the middle of writing, I can’t listen to anything - it goes into a part of my brain that is too active so I find it very unrelaxing, very cerebral and sort of unwinds the enjoyment I would otherwise get from listening!
Anything else you would like to share?
In the process of releasing a record, you have to choose focus tracks, singles, create some videos…that sort of thing, but actually my favourite tracks on the record are “Don’t Wake” and “Continuum”, so if your readers would like to listen to only two tracks from the album, those are probably the two I’d choose!
