Blaine L. Reininger - The Alchemist of Paranoia

Karel Music Expo is a music and culture event curated by the Cagliari-based association Vox Day. A small miracle that every year turns the city into a cradle open to every art form. Cinema and music are the stars of this ninth edition, titled "Giallo" after its representative colour, as has been the tradition for the last three years. And it's an email from the festival's press office, this year held in the first three days of October, that arrives unexpectedly just days before the event's launch. It reads: an opportunity to interview Blaine L. Reininger, founder of Tuxedomoon. A quick mental recap immediately brings to mind "Pink Narcissus", last year's grand-scale comeback, and the subsequent tour that took in Italy last summer. "Commissions" also springs quickly to mind, the latest collection of some of the many pieces that Reininger, like his partner Steven Brown, has scattered solo across theatre, film, ballet, installations and exhibitions. There the flow stops, though. No Reininger solo tour comes to memory, simply because it's been twenty years since the man has performed without a partner. A careful reading reveals that this new round of concerts is no exception either: joining him will be Georgio Valentino, a veteran, the Californian leader of the francophone Société des Mélancoliques, author of schizoid sketches that have bewitched, among others, even Piero Ciampi. One of the most unpredictable pairings, born by chance and out of very different backgrounds, so much so that their concert setlists are split evenly between the past glories and present certainties of each. The wonder of it has only just run its course, but in the meantime we're already on our way to meet Blaine virtually for a chat. He turns out to be not particularly talkative, though by no means mysterious or reluctant to answer directly, as some rumours suggested. The fact is that the Cagliari date on October 2nd, set at the Teatro Civico di Castello as part of the ninth edition of the Karel Expo Festival, promises to be unmissable. Not least because it will be the only one, in Italy.

After twenty years of intense recording activity but no solo concerts, you've decided to return to the stage. Can I ask what drives and what energies led to this decision?

It's just that it had been a long time since I'd played solo, but actually I've been performing non-stop for forty years, one way or another. It's only recently that my new agent in Belgium managed to find me some solo dates, that's all.

Actually this isn't strictly a solo tour, since you'll be on stage with Georgio Valentino, who's followed something of the opposite path: few records and tons of live shows. How did your artistic relationship come about, and what do you think you have in common in terms of approach and sound?

Georgio reached out by email and introduced himself, first as a journalist and then as a musician. Then he came to see me in Athens so we could play together on one of his tracks. I really enjoyed working with him and liked him personally, and we found a great musical understanding. I've often played as a guest with his band in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Then last year I was invited to do a special show by some friends in Amsterdam and I invited him along too. Then Pieter (the agent, ed.) found me a few dates in Europe and I brought Georgio into the project. We'll even be playing Hong Kong this month!

From some videos I've seen, in this set you move between the instruments you've always played, while he stays fixed on the 12-string. How did this particular instrumental set-up come about? What kind of dialogue happens between you two on stage?

Actually I physically play very little, because all my synths and rhythms are pre-recorded on the laptop and I control them from there. That's why I wanted to adapt many of my songs for guitar performance, even ones that were originally written for keyboards. The violin is always there, as it should be. Georgio has worked his 12-string into the arrangements really well.

As for the setlist, which mixes your past and present material with a few of his songs, did you work on it together? And how did you manage to put together the right technical set-up to handle such a variety of genres and moods?

The set is made up of material I've sown throughout my career, with and without Tuxedomoon. I'm happy with it. And there are also five Georgio songs in there.

You started this tour shortly after finishing the one with Tuxedomoon for “Pink Narcissus”. What pieces do you think you've added to your “artistic puzzle” through these two experiences? Which ones do you think you want to pick up next?

I'm happy to say I'm still learning new things, that new artistic paths keep revealing themselves in my work, despite my not being so young anymore. Maybe that's exactly why I appreciate it so much. Feeling that you've matured in your art, discovering you're more capable rather than less as time goes by — that's what separates maturity from mere survival.

By the way, I've noticed that unlike many of your contemporaries, you've never stopped playing some gems from the Tuxedomoon past live. Often those who do that only aim to please the audience, but you seem still strongly attached to what you were, almost as much as to what you are now. What's your relationship with your artistic past?

I like to include my newest material whenever I can, even though not much of what I've worked on in recent years fits well into a live setting. On the other hand, I often find joy in performing an old song that might reveal some new side of itself today. I also find it's a great way to judge your past in hindsight, to take stock of who you were, who you are now, what you've learned and how much has changed. And then yes, it should also be said that a lot of people who come to our shows because they've known and followed us for a long time would be disappointed if there weren't a few old songs in the set — that's for sure.

A few quick questions to wrap up: after your latest collection “Commissions”, are you working on anything new? And in what direction is the Tuxedomoon experience evolving after “Pink Narcissus”? Any chance of a joint record between you and Georgio Valentino?

There are plans upon plans. I'll keep working on my own material every day, every hour. What comes of it remains to be seen. I've just finished working in Switzerland on a video project called “Angels”. I'd like to release the music I composed for that. As for Tuxedomoon, we'll be together again in the first months of next year to work on new material. We're also planning a tour where we'll perform “Half Mute“ in full. And as for Georgio and what we might do together... well, who can say?

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