Review by: Kristen Tilbury
I thought this website needed something else besides tons of my reviews, so I thought I'd ask a dear friend of mine, Jesse Sola (a.k.a. Numina), to do an interview with me. Jesse is a wonderful ambient musician, plus he is a great person to work with when you need him! None of the other musicians I contacted were as nice to me as Jesse was. If you love his music, you'll love the man behind the music even more. I know it's a long interview, but I really wanted to give this guy the attention he deserves.
Kristen: First of all, could you give us a little background info on your music? How did you get started? What were you influenced by? Any natural influences as well as musical ones?
Jesse: I was lucky to grow up in a musical household with a musician father who had a few synthesizers in the house. Over the following years growing up in the 80s, I had grown to love all types of electronic, new wave, and alternative music styles, particularly instrumental electronic music and soundtracks. I was, and still am, fascinated by synthsizers, the unique and infinite number of timbres, tones and manipulations of natural sources via synthesis that can be created. With a good dose of personal emotion and creativity, nearly anything's possible to convey the meaning within the music.
When I began to record serious works of music I had a backlog of introspective and emotional messages I wanted to release in the form of electronic music. Many of the personal influences were inspired by nature, the earth, violent thunderstorms, mountain views and the mysteries of life while not holding back inner turmoil, frustrations and pain.
My personal musical influences include the venerable Steve Roach, Robert Rich, VidnaObmana, and various artists I've heard over the years on programs like Hearts of Space and Echoes. And now I'm here creating my own musical aura.
Kristen: In my opinion, your music is much more free-form than Steve Roach's or Vidna Obmana's, but I find this to be a very positive thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm an avid fan of both Roach and Obmana, but I sometimes find Roach's work to be overly expansive, and I find Obmana's to be quite cold and impersonal. Your work is much more sentimental, even intimate at times.
I like the way you personalize your music instead of merely creating an expansive soundscape. Is sentimentality a driving force behind your music?
Jesse: Excellent observation. In the early years, I was more structured and tightly sequenced with my music, but I found that to be much too restricting for me and I really wanted to be able to sit down with an idea in mind and just let it flow and work without too much studio set up. So, I took that approach and find this way of recording music to be much more liberating. Currently, my typical approach to recording is more "free-form" and in-the-moment. The only pieces of my music that are structured would be anything inviolving a rhtyhmic pattern or arpeggiated loop of some sort.
Kristen: You're what I like to call a "quiet" musician. You don't give many interviews, you don't perform live as often as many other musicians, and your official website is solely devoted to the music itself. You really seem to care about what your fans think about your music, and you allow those fans to express their own opinions about what you create. You don't show off at all. Here's the question: Does being so reserved help you to sit back and let the music speak for itself? What are your ideas behind this?
Jesse: Very interesting question. When I first started out composing music (and was unknown) I was eager to see what others thought of the works, hoping for approval and praise. Fortunately the feedback was usually in my favor. Right now, I'm at a point where I've been fortunate enough to have established myself in this genre and I don't need to prove myself to the electronic music community. Looking back on that, I am glad I made those contacts, gathered feedback, and observed the oberver (i.e. the listener), but it did not change anything I would have done, or now do. In the past year, I've found myself becoming less involved in the internet forums and promotion because I simply don't have the time, but I have established a good foundation of repeat customers and I can focus more on the music and less on the public appearance.
Kristen: You seem to really like working with guest musicians. Tara vanFlower recorded vocals for your 2001 release Evolving Visions and your 2004 release Sanctuary of Dreams. What was it like to work with her?
Jesse: Tara is the sweetest. I couldn't work with any other female vocals now after working with hers. I've always loved her voice and when she offered to collaborate with me I couldn't have been happier. Tara's voice evokes a sense of innocence while simultaneously it is sensuous and sophisticated.
Kristen: Would you ever collaborate with her again?
Jesse: Of course! She's the best. I have a library of samples of her voice which I am allowed to use at any time. So, don't be surprised if you hear Tara's voice in my music again.
Not to forget the collaborations I've done with solo artist IXOHOXI and Stephen Philips. I am quite proud of those collaborations and at the time of thie writing (April, 2006) I'm about to embark on the third collaboration with IXOHOXI titled Megaliths and Monoliths. This is new news at the time of this writing.
Kristen: You started to incorporate darker elements in your music after you started working with Caul on Inside the Hollow Realm. Your recent release The Eye of the Nautilus is quite similar to your work with Caul, only a bit brighter and more personal in places. Do these influences help you to create more "thematic" music?
Jesse: It helps to collaborate with others at times when I feel musically stuck or uninspired. The collaboration with Caul was interesting in that I think that Brett Smith (Caul) expected a completely different outcome to develop out of it. I think it was expected to be even more dark, but not knowing what would come out of me when I collaborate, it just turned out the way it did and both Brett and I are quite happy with the results.
Eye of the Nautilus was, for me, somewhat of a "sequel" to Sanctuary of Dreams. When I recorded Eye of the Nautilus I remember being very emotionally liberal and open and the time and things in my life were good, so I think that is why it sounds a bit more brighter, perhaps a bit more of a message that conveys a sense of hope and a journey to somewhere mysterious yet familiar and comfortable.
Kristen: Solace was probably your greatest achievement in blurring the line between light and darkness. When I listen to this work, I feel neither joy nor sorrow; the music just sort of dances with all of my emotions. How were you able to create music that is so beautiful and stunning, yet so approachable at the same time?
Jesse: Solace wasn't planned to be that way. Solace was actually a set of tracks from a pool of several songs I had composed but didn't know what to do with, and it was also the last compilation of Numina works I had put together when mp3.com was around. I did use songs that I felt fit the mood and flow and it all worked out quite well. It has been suggested that I release Solace as a real CD release. Maybe some day. Looking back on things though, the perios in which Solace was recorded was just a good time in my life, things were fresh and new and comfortable for me. The mood on Solace is deep and moody yet I think it conveys a positive outlook. Solace also marked a time when I went deeper with experimentation and more free-form ways of approaching the music.
Kristen: This is not a question. I just wanted to tell you that I think you are a truly talented person. You are a wonderful musician, there's no denying, but I love the way you can bring your music down to our level.
There's so much more to your recordings than the same old "ethereal" sound.
I mentioned that your music possesses a certain thematic quality that can evoke a certain feeling, instead of just a mood. I think the term "mood music" would be an insult in this case.
Jesse: Well thank you. I have to say that the support and comments I receive like this truly add to my pool of inspiration. Without the kind words, support and contact from people around the world I don't know that I'd pursue the music as much as I do.
Kristen: When did Mike Griffin sign you on with the Hypnos label? Has this had any effect on your music in any way?
Jesse: I was signed to Hypnos in 2004. Being signed to a well known and respected label like Hypnos did encourage me to focus on the quality of the recordings and forced me to continue to make the music interesting. One of my fears had been that I would repeat myself with the music, that the music would sound too much like Numina. I think the music has a Numina sound, of course, but I conscientiously continue open new doors, push the limits of sound design and maintain creativity because I want to keep the interest in the music and in the Hypnos label.
Kristen: I know I'm getting technical, but what sort of equipment do you use?
Jesse: There's not enough space to include everything I use in my studio.
Primarily, of course, I center my work and sound design using synthesizers.
I prefer hardware synthesizers and samplers over virtual computer-based programs because of the immediate physical interaction that can be achieved.
For the synth geeks reading this, my favorite synths are my Microwave XT, Access Virus TI, and I love the choir samples in the expansion boards for Roland synthesizers. I use a PC for multi-track recording and mastering. I have had Mike Griffin master my releases on Hypnos.
Kristen: So many musicians nowadays are solely interested in creating dark ambient soundscapes using harsh, distorted sounds, twisted electronics, and even pure white noise. (Yes, I'm referring to both Lustmord and Merzbow.) Of course, many of your albums cross over into dark ambient territory, but even your collaboration with Caul retains some melodic structure that is missing in most dark ambient music. What are your opinions on this?
Jesse: I personally don't like "noise" music. It doesn't work for me and I don't consider it "ambient" really. I classify my music as dark ambient though - because it does convey dark overtones but at the same time it can be calming or meditative. Caul's tracks in our collaboration were very dark and metallic, almost noisy at times, so I felt I brought the balance to the table by bringing in some melody and atmospheres that equalize the dichotomy of dark and light which gives the listener two ways to interpret the music.
Kristen: I know this is going to sound silly, but I think it would be to see a future album with Numina and Mike Griffin! Deep ambience with stark minimalism! That would be so weird!
Jesse: I think that it's a plan. I've spoken with Mike Griffin about it and it's definitely a possiblity. The only obsticle in both of our lives is time, or lack thereof. Some day, though, I would love to work with Mike Griffin.
Kristen: I had the pleasure of hearing some of the tracks on Sanctuary of Dreams on Hearts of Space. Was this exciting for you?
Jesse: Making it to Hearts of Space was a wonderful achievement for me. It was a great experience to have had the airplay on that show after having listened to it for close to 20 years and to follow in the footsteps of so many other great electronic and ambient musicians.
Kristen: I know the release Dreamsleep is out of print, but would you ever record another album featuring some of it's tracks?
Jesse: Dreamsleep was sort of a pre-Numina experiment. It was sort of a mix of music exhibiting what it was I could produce and where it may take me. It wasn't structured right at all and shouldn't have been put together the way it was, but it did seem to appeal to a lot of people. The first few tracks on that release are almost industrial in nature while the second half really pins the nail down as to what Numina was and became to be. I think some of the best tracks I've done were recorded at that time including "Asleep before the End of the Story" and "Beyond Infinity", both which can be found on some of my re-released albums available at my website.
Kristen: What does the name Numina mean to you? Any sort of personal connection with that name?
Jesse: Numina, as defined in the dictionary is the idea or belief that life exists in inanimate objects. I identify with that definition in many ways - that there is life in a stone on the ground or the vast reaches of space or the life that resides in the instruments and music I make and listen to or the life that resonates from the vibration of a violin string. The music is alive.
Kristen: Finally, what's new for Numina?
Jesse: At the time of this writing, a new album has been submitted to Hypnos Recording for a release some time in early Summer 2006. Additionally, I have received some long overdue material for a collaboration with IXOHOXI.
this will be our 3rd collab together. I've also got a very tribal-ambient oriented album in the works. Likely not released until 2007 though.
Kristen: I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to talk with me about your music.
It feels nice to have a personal connection with a musician. It's been a real pleasure!
Jesse: Thank you for the interview. It was a pleasure corresponding with you.
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