Backed by years of experience as a pianist and programmer, Hungarian composer Niclas Tamas unique approach delivers a spellbinding arena of vastly contemplative escapism.
The ambient pieces are built with intentional restricted and minimal resources influenced mainly by Eduard Artemyev, Igor Savin, Károly Cserepes and Biosphere. His music speaks volumes, connecting for its imaginative qualities as much so as its profoundly human reflections.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Niclas about the music, the challenges, motivations and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
What’s something you’d like readers to know about your latest project?
Interstellar Surveillance is the fifth part of my ambient series ”The Lullabies for explorers of the permanent extension of life beyond Earth”. I got the thematic idea from a tweet by Elon Musk about colonising Mars.
My basic story for this 11 part series is: ”Translunar humans travelling on vessels in deep space. The human mind is so advanced that it has lost its ability to fall into a dream state. Instead, mysterious yet beautiful never-ending lullabies plays. No one knows where they came from or who composed them. But they are there, a constant reminder of the unknown.”
How does this project compare with your other releases?
Interstellar Surveillance is done the same way as the predecessors and the upcoming monthly releases (until March 2023) of The Lullabies.
In MUSE 8.0 (my own music process program) I have a database with all instances of the free LABS series from Spitfire Audio (365 at the moment and counting). With every new piece MUSE generates 5 LABS instances, a theme, 4 chords with harmonies and a key. I plot everything in my Logic-template. A LABS instance is used only once which means I get a unique setting for every piece.
What motivates you to create music?
I think is has to do with some kind of escape mechanism. I always preferred my own company ever since I was a child. Compose, play and listen to music is the perfect escape to other worlds.
These days I’m perfectly content with putting on head phones and sit infront of my computer, at the key board or a café (that don’t play music AND have good coffee) to work. I have marked the silent/good coffee places on Google maps. So on my daily walks in Budapest I always have a silent café to go to.
What’s one of your first or most powerful music memories?
I grew up in Scandinavia and in the 60’s and 70’s and there were not much classical music on the state radio.
I had a radio in my child hood room. A one with tubes that had to get warm before you could hear anything. By slowly turning the station handle I got a glimpse of an outside world. I found Radio Moscow, Radio Warsaw and the BBC and they all played lots of classical music.
But I had to keep the volume down. I was not allowed to listen at night. So I put a blanket over the radio to muzzle the sound and to hide the light so I wouldn’t get caught!
I think that those early experiences along with my piano practice bonded me with music creation. The urge to create music and other worlds has always stayed with me. Either with pen and paper, on my iPhone3, laptop or desktop.
If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be?
Eric Satie 1866 – 1925. French composer best known for the piano pieces Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes. A very strange man who didn’t let anyone into his home during his life time. Friends with Debussy, Picasso, Ravel, Stravinskij…Inventor of what we call ”ambient” music today.
Béla Bartok 1881 – 1945. Hungarian composer, folk music collector and outstanding pianist. I wish I could accompanied him on his music collection travels in Hungary, The Carpathian Basin, Algeria and Turkey. But most of all I wish I could of visited him in his exile in his New York apartment in the 1940-s when he wrote Concerto for Orchestra.
I could not, on any level, be able to collaborate with any of them. But maybe we could have have a coffee at a nice café, I could ask questions and listen very carefully to their answers.
What was the last song you listened to?
I listened to a live concert on YouTube with Swing á la Django from Budapest. World class musicians mixing harmonies of authentic Hungarian folk music, French chansons, world manouche swing, tango and jazz! One on my favourite live bands!
I found (on Youtube) a series of videos from 2015 with traditional gypsy café music from Százéves étterem. Genuin places like this are getting more and more rare. But the music is still alive and flourishing! You just have to look for it!!!
Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?
The best way is to sign up for The Sketch, my studio diary. It takes you behind the scenes and you get a little closer look at my life (Budapest, Hungary) and my creative process in pictures and words!
Other places are my Instagram, drop me a mail at niclas [at] niclastamas [dot] com, support my music on Bandcamp, listen on Spotify or visit my homepage!
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
A HUGE thank you to all people that support me by listening and in other ways encourage me to keep making music. You are the best!!!! Once again, a BIG thank you.
