Samuel Rohrer - Between Jazz and Modular

Samuel Rohrer is a seasoned Swiss percussionist, based in Berlin since 2003. Samuel has traveled the world, performing at major festivals such as Punkt in Kristiansand, Norway, CTM in Berlin, Nuits Sonores in Lyon, and the renowned Jazz Festivals of Vancouver and Montreal. He has also worked with formidable musicians such as Sidsel Endresen, Ricardo Villalobos, Skuli Sverrisson, Nils Petter Molvaer, Laurie Anderson, Nan Goldin, Eivind Aarset, Max Loderbauer, Mark Feldman, Jan Bang, and recorded for labels of the caliber of ECM. As a solo artist he has released records that balance rhythmic experimentation and electronic research, creating something unique and intriguing. We caught up with him on the occasion of his latest work, "Range Of Regularity", through which the Bern-born musician attempts to explore the possible connections between regularity and irregularity of movement, starting from astronomical observations.

More than twelve years have passed since your first solo album. What's your assessment of that time? Do you have any regrets, or did everything go smoothly? What do you still stand by, and what could you have done better?

Well, I've been involved in over 50 records in the last 12 years. And I released another album under my own name in 2012, which was the first release on my record label Arjunamusic, and since then I've collaborated with many different musicians and projects. In recent years I've changed shape, playing in a completely acoustic way for an increasingly hybrid set-up, where electronics merge with acoustic sounds and instruments. It's quite demanding, and there are a lot of new instruments to learn.

You've played with some truly great musicians. Kim Efert and Peter Ehwald come to mind, in the Kim3 project, but also Claudio Puntin and Max Loderbauer in the Ambiq trio. What have these intense collaborations left you with?

They haven't left me with anything, so to speak. We still work and play together in Ambiq, including on new music and recordings. Other projects come and go. There's a time for everything, and some things last longer than others.

In your latest work, you can sense a kind of escape from the world, organized through lunar, exotic rhythms. It reminded me a lot of some things by Burnt Friedman, but also Jon Hassell. Who are your guiding lights?

All of that is always constantly evolving. In my early years I was very inspired by John Coltrane or Wayne Shorter. Later on I became more varied, and I could mention Stravinsky, John Cage, Bartok, György Ligeti, Hannah Arendt, Anselm Kiefer, Sebastião Salgado, the writings of Castaneda. I've discovered Georg Friedrich Haas lately. In the end, inspiration has endless names, it's impossible to narrow it down to just a few. Mostly I find inspiration through the process of creation itself, while immersing myself in something. And above all, I find inspiration through encounters with people.

On the album you play a bit of everything - besides percussion, you also take on cymbals and fortepiano. What else can you play? How do you choose your instruments?

I work with many sounds from different sources - electronic and acoustic instruments. My main instrument is obviously the drums. But during my studies I also learned to play piano, which I basically use for composing. In my live solo setup, I use synthesizers to add some tonal/melodic content. I'm always looking for new kinds of sounds to draw fresh inspiration from.

On tracks like "Nimbus", but especially the more subdued "Sunclue", a darker, more nocturnal climax also emerges. How did this track come about?

It just comes from darkness and light, where everything comes from. But above all, from all my musical experiences. As a musician I tend to be as transparent as possible and let things happen. There are endless possibilities. I chase the balance between the intuition of the moment and awareness. An album is always a collection of decisions, like everything you create. You make decisions by following the ideas you have in mind and what you hear in your inner ear. But for me the most relevant decisions always happen intuitively, on a subconscious level.

Will you be coming to play in Italy? What connection do you have with our country?

Nothing is planned right now. Oh, I love Italian coffee. And I like the music of Giacinto Scelsi.

Where does regularity begin and where does it end, for you? What does this word mean, and why did you decide to title the album this way?

I'm interested in the space between regular and irregular repetition, in how it appears and in how we're able to perceive repetition within change. The expression is used in astronomy. Planets follow the same paths, in slightly irregular circles. These small differences within the same patterns are called "range of regularity". Compared to planets we're obviously talking about much smaller scales. These small changes have a big impact. I used it as a conceptual idea, to create regularity within irregular movements and vice versa. Obviously it's also a play on words. I come from a kind of music where you barely find any repetition at all. Creating more repetitive, minimalist music, while at the same time playing with constant changes, made me think about the possible freedom of movement within regularity. Also, as a musician, even if you feel a regular inner rhythm, you don't need to play it the whole time. You can play around it. Even if an inner pulse is constant and regular, what you express sonically can appear in many different ways.

Jazz and electronic music are increasingly going hand in hand. From Cobblestone Jazz to Soulphiction, not forgetting the ever-reliable Four Tet and Floating Points. When did you decide to combine, even if just lightly, these two ways of making music?

It was a natural process. I probably started around 10 years ago, with contact microphones on the drums. Over the years it's become more sophisticated. I've added more and more electronic sounds and instruments. Right now I'm working with modulars and a Moog triggered by the drums.

What have you been listening to lately? Could you put together a list of five records you'd take with you to a desert island?

Here are a few things I've been listening to lately:

“Lontano” by György Ligeti, “Percussion Solo” by Iannis Xenakis, “Comfort” by Punkt, “Santa Teresa” by the Vladislav Delay Quartet, “Scuro” by Arve Henriksen, “Diamond Turning Dream” by Craig Taborn, “pt2” by Aphex Twin, “String Quartets” by Georg Friedric Haas, “Scale” by the duo NSI, “Stone – Reciprocal” by Scott Gibbons/Lilith, “Angels” by David Sylvian, “Time Is Rhythm” by Steve Arguelles, and finally “6” by the Moritz von Oswald Trio.

What do you have in mind for the future? Do you already have any new projects in the works?

My big project is the label, where I try to bring all my work together into a single picture. Right now I'm focused solely on my own music and on how to perform it live. With Ambiq we're slowly starting to record new music, and I've been invited into a new project by the Budapest label BMC to record an album next year. I'm really excited to work with two Norwegian musicians and record music with them. There are new duos and new trios on the way. There's a lot of unreleased music waiting to come out.

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