Jonn Serrie - An Aesthete in Space

Regarded at home as one of the all-time great visionaries of the ambient and new age genres, Jonn Serrie, a Connecticut-born composer of the class of 1951, is a name that hasn't been sufficiently embraced in Italy, hampered by the Anglo-dominated BrianEniana and, as a consequence, the partial overshadowing of the American scene that, for forty years now, has been offering up ethereal beauty by probing the depths of the unknown.

Jonn, what is the ultimate goal of your music?

Through the power of music, I mean to invite listeners to experience the magic of being in Space.

The relationship between composition and improvisation?

I see them as two similar, closely related concepts. I'd say that for me composition is improvisation in ordered form, and, conversely, improvisation is composition in free form.

Which is your most accomplished album, from a creative standpoint?

"And The Stars Go With You", because of the emotional impact the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster had on me, and its subsequent effect on people all over the world.

The tenderness of "And the Stars Go with You" is indeed tied to a tragedy...

The album is based on the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. At the time I was writing music commissioned for NASA's Teacher In Space project, through a client in the planetarium industry; the disaster affected me deeply, and so I decided to honor the legacy of the Teacher in Space program, the astronauts involved, and, above all, the figure of Christa McAuliffe.

As a composer, are you drawn more to simplification or to complication?

Both are necessary. But it depends, case by case, on the demands of the musical expression I'm working on. In general, I strive to give my pieces a quality of simplicity and purity. To achieve that, though, I often have to rely on the many, complicated synthesis and recording tools at my disposal.

With "Lumia Nights" you reached a new level of elegance. Aren't you afraid of being branded a formalist?

I see that as a compliment. With "Lumia Nights" I was indeed after a very specific state of elegance and romanticism, and to get there I used technical solutions aimed precisely at achieving those results.

"The Stargazer's Journey" is an atypical album in your discography, with clear references to the kosmische musik of the 1970s.

My goal was to give listeners a musical painting of what I was observing in the night sky at that time; that comes from my deep appreciation for cosmology and astronomy, subjects I've been passionate about ever since I was a child.

"Ascendant Destiny" has just come out: how does it differ from your previous albums?

I see it as being in line with my albums devoted to deep space, like "Planetary Chronicles" and "The Sentinel". "Ascendant Destiny" was inspired by images from the James Webb Space Telescope, as well as by a science-fiction novel, Larry Niven's "Burattinai nel cosmo".

How does your compositional approach change when you're writing on commission for planetariums, as opposed to writing for an album?

Actually, it doesn't change. It's more of an evolution of my style, adapted to a specific musical purpose. Both in my planetarium creations and in my album work, I use different compositional strategies and different approaches to sound design, so as to open the sound up to ever-wider atmospheres. And it seems to work well in both fields.

Is there something typically North American about your space music?

Well, I grew up in the era when the United States created NASA; at the time the country was caught up in the Space Race and the first explorations. I've always thought that this kind of exploration of the unknown is a typically American trait. I still remember my father pointing out a little dot in the sky to me, the Sputnik 1 artificial satellite, launched into orbit in October 1957. And I also remember watching the Apollo 11 moon landing on television in 1969, and the powerful impression that event made on me.

Technically speaking, what are the indispensable elements of your sound?

That's confidential information. I can tell you that I have a mix of analog and digital machines that I use depending on what the composition calls for. The must-haves for me are reverb and echo-generating equipment, which are essential for providing a spatial backdrop to all the other elements.

The actor David Carradine. How would you like to remember him?

For his contribution to the wellbeing and health of people all over the world, thanks to a series of instructional videos on Tai Chi and Qigong, for which I provided the music.

If you could change something in the music industry, what would you change?

I stubbornly maintain that artists should be the sole owners of their recordings. Fortunately, I've had that opportunity for most of my recording career.

During an interview, the legendary Iasos told me that you were one of his favorite composers.

Iasos was one of the founding fathers of new age music. I was honored to know him and to have received such praise, coming from him of all people.

This one's from Pete Townshend: The day you open your mind to music, you're halfway to opening your mind to life. Is that an exaggeration?

I completely agree with Townshend. You need to have an open mind when creating music, as well as an equally open heart, in order to correctly sense its direction.

Many ambient/new age composers tie their music to specific religious or otherwise spiritual beliefs.

In my case, meditation is an absolute necessity for creating. It helps me start from a blank canvas, so that all ideas can be recognized and weighed on equal terms. Add to that the fact that I grew up in a strongly ecclesiastical environment, where music was presented as sacred and treated as such.

Should art always contain a political/social aspect?

In my experience, I'd say no; social and political aspects don't have a place in my music; in fact, I hope it makes people curious enough to consider the bigger picture, going beyond the issues you've mentioned.

What's the hardest part of being a musician in 2024?

Adapting to today's distribution methods through downloads and streaming has been a challenge for someone like me. I was used to traditional methods, but time and technology move forward, and like everyone else, I have to keep up.

During a performance, what do you consider an "error," and how do you handle it?

An unexpected power outage would be my biggest worry during a performance. Beyond that, I practice constantly in order to eliminate the possibility of other kinds of mistakes, the ones that depend on me personally.

What's the next barrier that electronic music will break down?

The sky's the limit. And yet, it's also possible to go beyond the sky, to push toward the edges of the universe, and that's exactly what I've always tried to do, in my own small way. I see no limits to music or to the strategies used to conjure it. I believe telepathic contact between two brains is one of the next possible steps.

What contribution do you feel you've made to the world of ambient music?

Having often worked in the planetarium industry, I believe the influence of the universe and its expansive nature has contributed significantly to shaping my stylistic traits.

Little is known about your private life: what are the ingredients of your perfect day?

I begin and end my day with meditation, giving thanks for what I have. I believe creativity is a gift, and it should be used with good intentions. Beyond that, spending time with my wife Annie and exploring new musical ideas in the recording studio are essential parts of my perfect day.

Many artists dream of composing their masterpiece. Can you tell me what your masterpiece would sound like?

I'm convinced that my catalog, in its entirety, is my so-called "masterpiece." Everything I've composed and released contains a kind of special nature and meaning in itself that unifies my discography, so it wouldn't make sense to speak of it in terms of separation.

What's the most extraordinary aspect of being an artist?

Being master of one's own time and using it wisely, in the pursuit of creative perfection.

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