Tom Rogerson - In the studio with Brian Eno

"Finding Shore” is the first new project by Tom Rogerson and Brian Eno, exploring an evocative and unconventional approach to the piano, fused with electronics and processed sounds. A curious experiment that shows us this artist’s sensitivity and his way of expressing himself totally and freely on the piano and, consequently, the hard work of “defining” involved in shaping the album. A fusion of intentions that was originally unintentional, meant simply to seal a form of abstract, spontaneous music with no specific narrative background. “Finding Shore” nonetheless seems to be quite connected to experiences and memories from its authors’ past. Those who know Brian Eno’s work very well can therefore understand just how deep and intimate “Finding Shore” is. The interview that follows with Tom Rogerson reveals many curious details about the making of this great album.

Hi Tom, thank you for sharing some time with us for this interview dedicated to “Finding Shore”, your album made in collaboration with Brian Eno, officially released on December 8, 2017 through Dead Oceans. Listening to you and watching you play, there seems to be a fascinating balance between a very instinctive, almost “primordial” force and the difficult attempt to control that energy on the instrument. Can you tell us something about this particular (and undoubtedly unconventional) approach of yours to the piano? How did it all begin? Why did you choose the piano as a child?

To be honest, I didn't choose the piano at all; my sister, who's eleven years older than me, used to play it, and I was 3 or 4 years old, always getting up and trying to copy what she was doing without thinking much about it. This soon became my pastime instead of running around in the garden or things like that; I improvised right from the start, and I loved making a loud noise, like most kids do when they're put in front of a piano. I think I was really lucky to enjoy that feeling enough to get attached to it, and at that point my parents sent me to lessons. Anyway, I don't know. I think you're right about “the attempt to control that energy” – it's a constant battle for me, but luckily it's an important part of the spectacle of a concert. Yes, my approach is certainly instinctive, that's how it started, and I always try to preserve that feeling of “powerlessness” in a show. It's a strange state to be in, the exact opposite of most performers, who want to be in control.

How did the “Finding Shore” project begin? Was there an intention to make an album of your own compositions and, above all, to work with Brian Eno, or was it one of those special, unique (and sometimes funny) coincidences that happen in our lives? I read that you met him under curious circumstances. Would you like to tell us more about that?

Definitely the latter. It was pure serendipity, though that's actually rather typical of Eno. I met him outside the toilets at a concert at the Roundhouse in London; basically I went up to him because I'm a huge admirer of his and because we come from the same small town in England. That was a good conversation starter; that's what I mean by serendipity, really.

While listening to your latest “singles”, “Motion In Field” and “Idea Of Order At Kyson Point”, I found myself thinking back to the peculiar, unique beauty of the English countryside, its colours, its atmosphere, its sounds and above all its silences. And I immediately understood how intimate this work must be for you and Eno. An intimacy and a simplicity that perhaps all of us have needed to rediscover lately. I think these tracks are like returning to Woodbridge (your hometown) in Suffolk, remembering the places, gathering memories, thoughts, sounds, scents. Would you agree? Can you tell us something about this aspect and about the other tracks on the album?

Ha, well, you're right. I think we can read all too much into this interpretation – I'd rather start by saying that none of the references are intentional. But deep down it's all subconscious, don't you think? Especially when you're dealing with improvisation, serendipity and instinctive creative processes. So I think you're completely right that I feel exactly the same things in these tracks, but we never planned to put them there. We simply made music in a fairly abstract way; only in hindsight is it possible to pick out something more descriptive or personal. That's why we then tried to make the titles evocative of those places.

Given this interesting background, I might be wrong, but looking back at Brian Eno's previous work, I think there could be a connection between “Finding Shore” and one of his most personal albums, "Ambient 4 On Land” from 1982, in which Brian revisits places he visited (or imagined) in childhood, like “Leeks Hills” or “Dunwich Beach”. I believe both records express a strong bond with personal memories and places from the past. Do you know this album? In general, how did you discover Brian Eno's work?

Yes, I know that record very well, and in my opinion it's one of his best, even more so than the well-known "Music For Airports”. I agree, I imagine it's a particularly personal album for him (we've never talked about it directly), and it inspired me in many ways, especially in how we structured our album, in the artwork and in the titles. It's funny because I listen to that record and I know those places so well; I drive past Lake Hills every time I go to visit my sister. From my side, if not necessarily from his, there's a connection between the two records. I'd even say there are some “audible” similarities that come from Brian's particular “language”, especially his skill at programming FM synthesizers, which are great at imitating bells and other equally complex sounds. The first sound on the record, for instance, is a digital bell that sounds like a bell, but a synthesized one – that's so typical of him. His sounds are often digital replicas of organic ones which, in my view, give them an inherent melancholy and strangeness, as if the whole landscape had been lost and could now only be found preserved in a digital copy. “Ambient IV” is the best demonstration of that. Another example on our record might be all the Marsh Chorus delays that sound like the birdsong you can hear coming from the reed beds around where we live. By the way, to answer your question, I discovered Eno's work through U2; my brother was really into them as a kid, and we couldn't believe that the guy who'd produced "The Unforgettable Fire” came from our town.

Going back to “Finding Shore”. You're primarily an improviser – I read that on your first day in the studio with Brian Eno you recorded 45 minutes of instinctive music, beautiful and moving, almost perfect for the record, but Brian suggested you “focus on the details” and try something different. How did that go? Where did you record the album?

We recorded everything at his studio in London. I'm not sure he actually said to focus on the details or try something different. What he basically did was isolate and cut out the last 45 seconds of the track, turning it into something completely different – an immediate demonstration of his skill and creativity, but also of the beauty of collaboration, because you need both parts to get the whole.

Do the 13 tracks on the record come directly from subsequent reworkings of portions taken from that original “long piece”, or did you record further takes and tracks as well? Was this “album-building” phase a complex one for you as an improviser?

Yes, building the album is an absolute nightmare for me – that was basically the initial shape in which I brought the record to him. Essentially, I said: “I don't know how to record anything I do, because I'm always just playing pieces and I can't tell if there's anything good in there or whether it's worth releasing.” Brian managed to put a frame around it with the electronics, using the Moog/PianoBar, but above all he convinced me to commit to something, and I realise now that it's really not that big a deal. I think I've now written a lot more piano pieces, rather than just leaving them in improvised form. To answer your first question: we spent about fifteen days recording for many hours a day, then I spent some time shaping the tracks, choosing the ones that made sense together.

What was it like being in the studio with Brian Eno? Did you enjoy working together?

Yes, we had fun (I think I can speak for him too). All I can say is that this material came together naturally and with incredible speed – we tried not to overthink it, and I'd say that's one of his fundamental mantras as a producer. It's about doing, getting along, and trying to find ways around the usual things that block creativity. So I can't just say, superficially, “it was fun” – I really think that playing is a genuinely important part of the creative process.

As a musician, has something changed in you after this important experience? In your approach, have you discovered something else, or maybe you consider things from a different perspective now?

Yes, quite a lot, but honestly most of it has had to do with helping me get myself sorted out.

One last question: in "Finding Shore" is there also a reference to you as a musician? Have you both "found your shores", your rightful place, for such a beautiful work?

Yes, it has to do with reconnecting with home (the conceptual idea of home as something more than a specific place) and returning to what I've done longest, what is truest and, as a result, what I've struggled with most, namely making noise on the piano.

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