Jazznet Denmark : Where did the name Rational Diet come from and does it have a deeper meaning ???
Rational Diet : Talking about the name-"Rational Diet", we must confess: it means nothing. It was found by the band using the method of selection/assortment, looking in a dictionary and laughing in year 1998. No any mystic sense was included in it. We are indifferent to symbols and words.
Jazznet Denmark : How did the adventure of Rational Diet begin, how did you meet and decided to start you awesome band ???
Rational Diet : We was young(17-18 years students of local music college), we wanted to shock the province public using new music. We met in nonconformist cinema club "Air" leaded by one of the RD member. It was behind the "Iron Curtain" in pre-internet times. In that times in such a small city as our Brest(300.000 inhabitants) almost all peoples didn’t listen and didn’t wanted to listen to the complex progressive music. We could not "kept the silence" knowing RIO/minimalism/aleatoric/etc. We played at the cinemas and exhibitions, schools and museums but these concerts were not serious it was the shows a-la circus. After 1 year of the musical accompany the old movies and lectures of the street madman we reduced our social activity and focused on our music. So, in autumn of 1998 was ready our first "serious" piece –"From the grey notebook".
Jazznet Denmark : What music do you yourself listen to, and is there some kind of music that inspires you???
Rational Diet : About music we listen to. Variously . Some of us don’t want to listen anything but academic music (as old as modern), some of us may tolerate or even love RIO or Canterbury scene. We try to be severe, and to prefer the silence rather than an empty music. There are an evident tendency : rock music (as progressive as not progressive) drops out from our TOP LIST gradually. Is it possible to find music we listen to in our compositions? Differently. For example Olga Podgaiskaja do like the works of Arvo Part and Palestrina. But: you may find Palestrina’s influences in her compositions and can not detect the Part’s elements.
Jazznet Denmark : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be???
Rational Diet : 10 records for 8 person it’s too little ,but let’s try. (Messiaen "Turangalila", Stravinsky "Persephone", Henry Cow "Unrest", Univers Zero "Heresie", Arvo Part "Fratres " , Steve Reich "Different trains", Shostakovich "Quartet n.8" …. )
Jazznet Denmark : You are in my ears a group of musician who are in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track on your releases. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one)???
Rational Diet : About movement. We knew what we want to play 5 -10 years ago (variously for each member). But in early years of the band we could not realize it with the satisfying results. For example "ariel’s last dream" was written in 2002 but we made the satisfying record of this piece only in 2007. The skills, the techniques, human factor allows us to express themselves today more precisely than yesterday. We don’t change the directions in our creature. The movement of the form of our music is constant.
May be the secret is simple and common for any artist : your work can’t be the "product of a stingy heart" (as Isaac Babel said). It’s a great pleasure, but it’s not a game. It costs a lot for us. You must to "invest", to sublimate something into it generously. What can push into this process? Such an excitators as a movie you saw or a book you read doesn’t work good. It must be something from real life and it must "touch" you really (Byelorussian society and state is rich in the excitators). And of course you must know how to build this complex musical body(training and training) . You should be careful with erudition: you must have it, but it may as help you, as disturb.
Every RD’s piece has an author (one from 8tet) but also has co-authors (the rest of 8tet).
Jazznet Denmark : Are you all full time musicians in Rational Diet or is music your second job ???
Rational Diet : Rational Diet is our main creative "matter". A kind of the obsession. We spend the biggest part of our free time just for it. But officially RD it’s only a hobby , because all of us have to spend a lot of hours per day at their job only in order to survive( anyway in sphere of culture/education: as musician, teacher , soundman…).
Jazznet Denmark : What are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from Rational Diet ???
Rational Diet : Plans are simple . To work, to create , don’t stop, with no compromise . There are a lot of pieces in mind. We must realize it the best way, rejecting all the empty and alien elements. It doesn’t matter how many time it will costs us and will it be sold or not. Actual plans are: to finish new album. Some demos from it you may listen at myspace/rationaldiet. We work on it during the last 1,5 year. It’s recorded by 75%. We may let ourselves to "stretch" this work, because we do it in own studio(very unpretending, but own).
Jazznet Denmark : If a new listener were about to buy his first recording with your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music???
Rational Diet : We advise "At Work". Why? It’s a solid work. The are the minimum of the hollow places. It was the first our record satisfied us. RD actual sound (including the contribution of the new members) is demonstrated just on this record. It was recorded live-in-studio (the skeleton part ), so it preserves the energy and emotionality and transmits it the listener.
Jazznet Denmark : Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In my opinion you belong in the progressive/rock/experimental part of the music world. Do you agree with that? And what are your opinions on that genre, and genres in general???
Rational Diet : You see, Henrik. It’s often when we are accepted as avant-prog rockers. But it’s not truth. All our pieces(made since year 2000) are written for chamber ensemble(strings/reeds/ piano/guitar/ voice). We are in such situation because: our band is divided on two parts living in various cities: main (classic) one--in city Minsk and rock division (drums/bass) –in Brest. So…every new opus is created , rehearsed and performed initially as a piece for chamber 5tet. And only at the stage of recording (studio together with rock wing are in Brest)-- when our drummer compose the drum line-- such new piece acquires the features of something looking like rock. But it doesn’t change the essence of the music.
So, the question about the genre of our music is still open.
As for me, it’s not good symptom, if the results of creature(in music/literature/cinema/theatre..) are ideally fit the requirements of some genre. A creative person (if it’s not a job for money) should develop own style and not look back at the rules of some genre.
Jazznet Denmark : At your concerts and on your records as well, how much is improvised and how much is planned before you start?
Rational Diet : We reduce the improvisation in our music as possible. We reserve a little space for intuitive music in a couple of pieces. But sometime we play whole concerts consisting of improvisation. Such gigs are the sound design for movie or exhibition…and we don’t treat it seriously.
Jazznet Denmark : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians?
Rational Diet : Don’t try to sell yourself. Nobody will buy you , but you’ll loose your time and may be yourself.
Jazznet Denmark : What are your funniest and worst experiences performing in front of an audience?
Rational Diet : We may remind such a comedy… 5 years ago approx. we played a gig in Minsk. Suddenly our keyboards "died". The only way we found was to sing by a choir the score of piano and organ. It was in a luxury club. And in the eyes of decent public it was the insult, it was taboo. Shouting: "Unheard audacity!" they kicked us away. It was rather funny story, or may be sad…
Rational Diet : Talking about the name-"Rational Diet", we must confess: it means nothing. It was found by the band using the method of selection/assortment, looking in a dictionary and laughing in year 1998. No any mystic sense was included in it. We are indifferent to symbols and words.
Jazznet Denmark : How did the adventure of Rational Diet begin, how did you meet and decided to start you awesome band ???
Rational Diet : We was young(17-18 years students of local music college), we wanted to shock the province public using new music. We met in nonconformist cinema club "Air" leaded by one of the RD member. It was behind the "Iron Curtain" in pre-internet times. In that times in such a small city as our Brest(300.000 inhabitants) almost all peoples didn’t listen and didn’t wanted to listen to the complex progressive music. We could not "kept the silence" knowing RIO/minimalism/aleatoric/etc. We played at the cinemas and exhibitions, schools and museums but these concerts were not serious it was the shows a-la circus. After 1 year of the musical accompany the old movies and lectures of the street madman we reduced our social activity and focused on our music. So, in autumn of 1998 was ready our first "serious" piece –"From the grey notebook".
Jazznet Denmark : What music do you yourself listen to, and is there some kind of music that inspires you???
Rational Diet : About music we listen to. Variously . Some of us don’t want to listen anything but academic music (as old as modern), some of us may tolerate or even love RIO or Canterbury scene. We try to be severe, and to prefer the silence rather than an empty music. There are an evident tendency : rock music (as progressive as not progressive) drops out from our TOP LIST gradually. Is it possible to find music we listen to in our compositions? Differently. For example Olga Podgaiskaja do like the works of Arvo Part and Palestrina. But: you may find Palestrina’s influences in her compositions and can not detect the Part’s elements.
Jazznet Denmark : If you should mention 5-10 records that have meant something to you and your music, what would they be???
Rational Diet : 10 records for 8 person it’s too little ,but let’s try. (Messiaen "Turangalila", Stravinsky "Persephone", Henry Cow "Unrest", Univers Zero "Heresie", Arvo Part "Fratres " , Steve Reich "Different trains", Shostakovich "Quartet n.8" …. )
Jazznet Denmark : You are in my ears a group of musician who are in constant movement and going in many different directions from track to track on your releases. Where do you get your ideas from and what is your secret (if you have one)???
Rational Diet : About movement. We knew what we want to play 5 -10 years ago (variously for each member). But in early years of the band we could not realize it with the satisfying results. For example "ariel’s last dream" was written in 2002 but we made the satisfying record of this piece only in 2007. The skills, the techniques, human factor allows us to express themselves today more precisely than yesterday. We don’t change the directions in our creature. The movement of the form of our music is constant.
May be the secret is simple and common for any artist : your work can’t be the "product of a stingy heart" (as Isaac Babel said). It’s a great pleasure, but it’s not a game. It costs a lot for us. You must to "invest", to sublimate something into it generously. What can push into this process? Such an excitators as a movie you saw or a book you read doesn’t work good. It must be something from real life and it must "touch" you really (Byelorussian society and state is rich in the excitators). And of course you must know how to build this complex musical body(training and training) . You should be careful with erudition: you must have it, but it may as help you, as disturb.
Every RD’s piece has an author (one from 8tet) but also has co-authors (the rest of 8tet).
Jazznet Denmark : Are you all full time musicians in Rational Diet or is music your second job ???
Rational Diet : Rational Diet is our main creative "matter". A kind of the obsession. We spend the biggest part of our free time just for it. But officially RD it’s only a hobby , because all of us have to spend a lot of hours per day at their job only in order to survive( anyway in sphere of culture/education: as musician, teacher , soundman…).
Jazznet Denmark : What are your plans for the future and what will be the next release from Rational Diet ???
Rational Diet : Plans are simple . To work, to create , don’t stop, with no compromise . There are a lot of pieces in mind. We must realize it the best way, rejecting all the empty and alien elements. It doesn’t matter how many time it will costs us and will it be sold or not. Actual plans are: to finish new album. Some demos from it you may listen at myspace/rationaldiet. We work on it during the last 1,5 year. It’s recorded by 75%. We may let ourselves to "stretch" this work, because we do it in own studio(very unpretending, but own).
Jazznet Denmark : If a new listener were about to buy his first recording with your music, which one would you recommend as the best introduction to your amazing music???
Rational Diet : We advise "At Work". Why? It’s a solid work. The are the minimum of the hollow places. It was the first our record satisfied us. RD actual sound (including the contribution of the new members) is demonstrated just on this record. It was recorded live-in-studio (the skeleton part ), so it preserves the energy and emotionality and transmits it the listener.
Jazznet Denmark : Your music is hard to put in any musical boxes, because it has so many different styles mixed with each other. In my opinion you belong in the progressive/rock/experimental part of the music world. Do you agree with that? And what are your opinions on that genre, and genres in general???
Rational Diet : You see, Henrik. It’s often when we are accepted as avant-prog rockers. But it’s not truth. All our pieces(made since year 2000) are written for chamber ensemble(strings/reeds/ piano/guitar/ voice). We are in such situation because: our band is divided on two parts living in various cities: main (classic) one--in city Minsk and rock division (drums/bass) –in Brest. So…every new opus is created , rehearsed and performed initially as a piece for chamber 5tet. And only at the stage of recording (studio together with rock wing are in Brest)-- when our drummer compose the drum line-- such new piece acquires the features of something looking like rock. But it doesn’t change the essence of the music.
So, the question about the genre of our music is still open.
As for me, it’s not good symptom, if the results of creature(in music/literature/cinema/theatre..) are ideally fit the requirements of some genre. A creative person (if it’s not a job for money) should develop own style and not look back at the rules of some genre.
Jazznet Denmark : At your concerts and on your records as well, how much is improvised and how much is planned before you start?
Rational Diet : We reduce the improvisation in our music as possible. We reserve a little space for intuitive music in a couple of pieces. But sometime we play whole concerts consisting of improvisation. Such gigs are the sound design for movie or exhibition…and we don’t treat it seriously.
Jazznet Denmark : What's your best advice for young aspiring musicians?
Rational Diet : Don’t try to sell yourself. Nobody will buy you , but you’ll loose your time and may be yourself.
Jazznet Denmark : What are your funniest and worst experiences performing in front of an audience?
Rational Diet : We may remind such a comedy… 5 years ago approx. we played a gig in Minsk. Suddenly our keyboards "died". The only way we found was to sing by a choir the score of piano and organ. It was in a luxury club. And in the eyes of decent public it was the insult, it was taboo. Shouting: "Unheard audacity!" they kicked us away. It was rather funny story, or may be sad…