{"id":13742,"date":"2024-10-29T08:40:37","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T07:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/?p=13742"},"modified":"2024-10-29T13:49:58","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T12:49:58","slug":"microtonal-pop-songs-lisa-streich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/en\/blog\/microtonal-pop-songs-lisa-streich\/","title":{"rendered":"MICROTONAL POP SONGS"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On November 23<\/strong><\/a>, we will present Lisa Streich’s new piece VOGUE at the WDR Funkhaus. We recorded this conversation with Lisa Streich and Hannah Weirich for our half-year brochure this summer.<\/em><\/p>\n

HANNAH WEIRICH: DEAR LISA, IT\u2019S SO GREAT THAT YOU\u2019RE WRITING A PIECE FOR US. CAN YOU TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT IT?
\nLisa Streich: Basically it\u2019s \u201cmicrotonal pop songs\u201d. That\u2019s what I call them, anyway. They\u2019re simple songs that I write, complete with texts. They\u2019re composed microtonally, arranged for instruments and harmonised.<\/p>\n

DID MUSIKFABRIK INSPIRE YOU TO WRITE POP SONGS? WHERE DID YOU GET THAT IDEA FROM? I HAVEN\u2019T HEARD OF YOU DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.
\nI thought to myself: with Musikfabrik, I can do anything [laughs], and I have the feeling that I know them all at least a little bit, so hopefully I can do a good job of capturing their personalities.<\/p>\n

WHAT ARE YOUR SONGS ABOUT?
\nEverything and nothing…typical pop music subjects. The texts seem to me to have some depth, but they\u2019re very open, and taken from real life, although not my own.
\nA BOY WHO SINGS
\nA BOY WHO DREAMS
\nA BOY WHO DIES
\nA BOY WHO SELLS
\nA BOY WHO SPEAKS
\nA BOY WHO SEES
\nA TAILLURED MAN
\nANOTHER CRA Z Y.<\/p>\n

AN EMPTY STOMACH
\nA HEAV Y HEART
\nTHE PERFECT PAIR
\nON THAT SPECIAL DAY
\nHE KEPT IN HIS HAT
\nA UNIVERS OF DEMOLITION.<\/p>\n

HE\u2019S ASPHALTED BY DESTINY
\nHE EXHALES LOVE
\nAND INHALES TAR
\nWHO IS THIS BOY
\nWITH SAD CONSONANCES?<\/p>\n

HE NOTICED HIS SHADOW
\nIS GREEN LIKE DISPAIR
\nGREEN LIKE FEAR
\nABYSS AND OBLIVION
\nGREEN LIKE THE VIOL ATION OF RED
\nGREEN LIKE THE SL AP AND THE L AST OUTRAGE
\nGREEN LIKE THE BODY
\nHANGING ON HIS GALLOWS.<\/p>\n

HIS HEART BECAME RED
\nRED LIKE PRIDE
\nRED LIKE BLOOD
\nRED LIKE PAIN AND SHAME
\nRED LIKE A LOBSTER
\nBL ACK LIKE A HUMMER
\nWE LOVE GOOD CONSCIOUS.<\/p>\n

MY T WELVE YEAR OLD BOY
\nWAS NINE TIMES FUCKED
\nAND RED WAS SUCKING
\nTHEIR APOCALYPSE FINGERS.<\/p>\n

A BOY WHO SINGS
\nA BOY WHO DREAMS
\nA BOY WHO DIES
\nA BOY WHO SELLS
\nA BOY WHO SPEAKS
\nA BOY WHO SEES
\nA TAILLURED MAN
\nANOTHER CRA Z Y.<\/p>\n

SO WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT? DOES SOMEONE STAND UP, GO TO THE MIDDLE AND SING?
\nL: No, not quite like that. There will be various different scenes on stage, and always a soloist, who sings together with their instrument. There\u2019s no single lead singer, but instead, everyone is linked to their instrument. And then there\u2019s the \u2018band\u2019 behind them. There isn\u2019t just one song, but sometimes two or three at once. There are various layers of songs.<\/p>\n

SOUNDS EXCITING! YOU OFTEN USE PRE-EXISTING HARMONIC SEQUENCES. WILL YOU DO THAT HERE TOO?
\nExactly. I\u2019m using my chord catalogue.<\/p>\n

YOU\u2019RE GOING TO HAVE TO EXPLAIN THAT TO ME.
\nIt\u2019s a catalogue that will be published in book form this summer. It consists of moments from youtube: recordings of amateur choirs who sing a bit out of tune, so I hear major and minor chords, thirds, sixths, as though I\u2019m hearing them for the first time. The expression is even more intense because it doesn\u2019t sound like what I\u2019m used to. At the same time I can recognize both a minor third and the expression of a minor third.<\/p>\n

SO IN THE NEW PIECE THERE AREN\u2019T ANY EXTENDED HARMONIC SEQUENCES THAT YOU\u2019VE IMPORTED FROM ELSEWHERE? IN \u2018SAI BALLARE?\u2019, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS AN EXCERPT FROM A HAYDN TRIO IN AN EXTREMELY SLOW TEMPO. INSTEAD IT WILL BE MORE A MATTER OF SINGLE HARMONIES…
\n…that I reassemble, exactly. And I have catalogued these harmonies according to various \u2018expressions\u2019 of my own, such as GLORIA, LES BAINS, LYS, REMEMORY, GEBET [prayer], APFELSINE [orange],
\nGOD WAS NOT A FEMINIST, and many others.<\/p>\n

WHERE DO THESE SUBJECTS COME FROM?
\nThe catalogue comes from various pieces I\u2019ve written where I was looking for exactly these kinds of expression. And now I can go back to them. But I\u2019m still collecting.<\/p>\n

DO YOU HAVE THE SOUND OF THE CHORDS IN YOUR EAR OR DO YOU HAVE TO KEEP REFRESHING YOUR MEMORY BY HEARING THEM AGAIN?
\nBy now I have almost all the chords in my head. They\u2019re my treasures, my chocolate box, or maybe they\u2019re a cupboard full of perfumes. [laughs]<\/p>\n

WHEN YOU\u2019RE COMPOSING, IS IT HELPFUL FOR YOU TO KNOW WHICH MUSICIANS ARE PLAYING? DO YOU WRITE FOR SPECIFIC PEOPLE?
\nYes, that\u2019s a big influence, especially for this project. It\u2019s absolutely crucial who gets what song. For example, I can hardly imagine. Florentin\u2019s song being sung by anyone else from the ensemble.<\/p>\n

ARE THERE EXTRA-MUSICAL THEMES THAT FIND THEIR WAY INTO YOUR SONGS?
\nYes, my \u2018expressions\u2019 are closely connected to my life. They reflect, for example, experiences, the reception of texts, artworks, the influence of friends…<\/p>\n

ARE THERE PARTICULAR THEMES YOU WOULD LIKE TO MENTION?
\nNo, I would rather leave it abstract. \u2018Orange\u2019 for example stands for challenging, radiant sounds that are nonetheless a bit sour. I\u2019ve also written a poem for each expression. Here, for example, for ZUCKER [SUGAR]:
\nEMPTY EVERYDAY
\nHEAVENLY HAPPINESS
\nLIEBLING [DARLING]
\nHABIBI<\/p>\n

YOU OFTEN MAKE USE OF THEATRICAL OR VISUAL EFFECTS IN YOUR MUSIC. ARE THESE ELEMENTS IN YOUR NEW PIECE AS WELL?
\nThere will certainly be choreographic elements. I want to create duos that follow a choreography together, or influence each other in their playing. But that\u2019s not fixed yet. The central point of it will be that I want to feel the electronic character of pop songs while mostly using traditional instruments. There will be one or two synthesisers at most, but otherwise it will just be acoustic instruments. I\u2019m very curious how that will blend, or whether it will blend at all. That might be the biggest challenge, or maybe even the nicest moment, if it doesn\u2019t \u2018work\u2019. Or if it only just works, just to
\nthe point where you start to enjoy this hybrid situation.<\/p>\n

YOU LIKE TO USE VERY UNUSUAL BOW SPEEDS FOR THE STRINGS, EXTREMELY SLOW OR EXTREMELY FAST, WHICH BRINGS OUT A VERY PARTICULAR KIND OF TONAL BEAUTY\u2014FOR EXAMPLE, BOWING AT A BARELY PERCEPTIBLE SPEED, WHICH DOESN\u2019T CORRESPOND AT ALL TO CLASSICAL IDEALS OF A BEAUTIFUL SOUND. BUT WHEN I LET MYSELF BE OPEN TO IT, I FIND IT INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL, POETIC, MUCH MORE COLOURFUL THAN A NORMAL \u2018BEAUTIFUL\u2019 SOUND. HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS? WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO DO IT?
\nI think it all started with me wanting normal major and minor sounds in my music. [laughs] When the bow moves incredibly slowly, that then gives rise to other, somehow \u2018dusty\u2019 chords. And then came the choreographic aspect. With string instruments, I always see winged creatures. I see the music stand as the feet of a bird, and the arm of the player becomes the wing. It\u2019s a complete object that I\u2019ve always seen when the strings are playing. On top of all that, I also use bow speed to bring in a certain kind of imperfection. To incorporate the fact that one is never totally in control of the piece and that it can be shaped in the moment.<\/p>\n

IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, YOU\u2019VE WRITTEN FOR ALL POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS, FROM SOLO INSTRUMENTS TO CHAMBER MUSIC TO FULL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. WHAT\u2019S SPECIAL FOR
\nYOU ABOUT THE ENSEMBLE SETUP?
\nLarge ensemble is fascinating because it can be soloistic and at the same time sound like an orchestra. So you really have the whole spectrum, and that\u2019s particularly challenging. With an orchestra you can (and must) write more simply, and at the same time you get a lot of things as a bonus. With chamber music you can (and must) write with more differentiation. A large ensemble lets you shift between these two worlds.<\/p>\n

WHAT YOU YOU MOST LIKE TO WRITE FOR?
\nOrchestra. Big. The more the merrier. More is more.<\/p>\n

[LAUGHS] WHY?
\nIt\u2019s because of the chords. They have up to 32 parts. And to convey the full structure of these chords, more players are better. Some notes stick out, some are loud, some are in pppp, for example. And that\u2019s incredibly hard to balance when you only have 16 musicians. Everyone interprets mezzo-piano differently, so it\u2019s incredibly easy with smaller formations for the chord to turn into something else. Bigger groups just give you a certain safety margin. There you can give the prominent note to ten players and everyone plays in the same dynamic, but despite that the notes are louder because more people are playing them.<\/p>\n

SO YOU DON\u2019T JUST ANALYSE THE HARMONIES OF THE CHORDS, BUT ALSO THE BALANCE BETWEEN THE NOTES?
\nYes, I also reinforce partials in the spectrum, which for me makes an enormous amount of expression possible.<\/p>\n

HOW DID YOU DISCOVER THESE AMATEUR CHOIRS IN THE FIRST PLACE?
\nI\u2019ve always listened to a lot of music. And when I lived in Rome in 2016-17, I got to a point where I suddenly didn\u2019t feel anything any more. I wanted to find really new music, that brings joy, that makes you feel alive. And then I stumbled on these choirs in youtube. And it really was as though I was three years old again and heard Mozart for the first time, and got to experience these simple harmonies for the first time. And since then I\u2019ve been seeking out and collecting these moments.<\/p>\n

WHAT KINDS OF MUSIC DO YOU LIKE TO LISTEN TO?
\nEverything. I love classical, early music, but also pop and hip-hop. My daughter has discovered K-Pop. That\u2019s completely new for me. It\u2019s similar, but completely different in expression. Most of all in the texts. It\u2019s so exciting to see what kinds of feelings there are in this world and what differences there are alongside the parallels.<\/p>\n

DOES WHAT YOU\u2019RE LISTENING TO INFLUENCE WHAT YOU WRITE?
\nThere are moments when I\u2019m completely in love with certain pieces, and then it\u2019s hard not to engage with that to some extent. Because at that moment I feel that there\u2019s nothing better than this one particular piece. And I have to incorporate this love, this piece, even if it ends up being completely unrecognisable.<\/p>\n

WHEN DID YOU START COMPOSING?
\nI first wrote something at 14, but I threw it out straight away, because I thought being a composer was for men, you can\u2019t become a composer as a woman.<\/p>\n

WHAT MADE YOU START COMPOSING?
\nLoving music. But I had never seen a piece written by a woman. In my world, something like that didn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n

SO THEN WHAT HAPPENED?
\nThen, when I was 18 or 19 years old, I moved to Berlin, and there I heard a piece by Rebecca Saunders. And then I realised that a woman can be a composer. And that all came together with the fact that I wanted so much to make music, all my life, but absolutely didn\u2019t want to be on the stage.<\/p>\n

AND THEN IT WAS CLEAR THAT YOU WANTED TO BE A COMPOSER?
\nYes! I think it\u2019s great that you can make music without having to make an entrance and stand up there on the stage. [both laugh]<\/p>\n

HOW LUCKY FOR US! MANY THANKS FOR THE INTERVIEW\u2014WE\u2019RE LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR NEW PIECE!<\/p>\n

June, 2024<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n

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\u00a9Ricordi_Harald Hoffmann<\/em><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An interview with Lisa Streich<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":13751,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[119],"class_list":["post-13742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview-en","tag-musikfabrik-im-wdr-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13742"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13761,"href":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13742\/revisions\/13761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musikfabrik.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}