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It’s
obvious that an artist’s life and output
are closely interconnected. If they’re really thinking openly,
the one can’t be separated from the other. Don Conreaux has
taken the mix of lifestyle, art and philosophy to an unusually
high alternative
level. Playing the gong (as on Johnny
Reinhard's Raven)
is just a reflection of his alternative, integrated, holistic way
of
life.
There is more to a gong than just making a sound. As you will read
or hear, it’s a very accessible instrument……..
Don Conreaux was interviewed at his home
in Greenwich Village, New York City, at 4pm on Saturday January
11, 2003
After
the interview, Don gave a performance, lights down and the audience
of two horizontal. You can download this
six-minute improvisation here as
an mp3. |
Streaming audio of Don's answers can be heard by clicking on the player alongside each question. For help in playing music, see our Playing Audio page in the Big Help Desk.
Mike Thorne: Why the gong?
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You speak of transformation, and you also spoke
of education.
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What first interested you
in music?
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You
can say that about music in general, but you’re pointing
out that the gong has a lower barrier to entry. Do you think there
are any other instruments with a similar access, which might also
be taken
to such a spiritual level?
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And, if you flow with the
gong, you presumably flow with its character. What
sort of individualities
do gongs
have? Do you
think their differences are greater or less than other
instruments' How do you describe them?
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You
mentioned that it’s
difficult to write music for a gong. But in the
middle of the twentieth century, people
like Karlheinz Stockhausen were experimenting extensively.
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You might
be suggesting that we listen more, rather than just
follow precepts?
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You
started off in a much more conventional media fields. At what point
did you
switch? Where
was your epiphany?
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When did that happen and
how dramatic was the change in your personal connection with the world around you?
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What do you mean by a secret
code?
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You use
a good deal of very elegant metaphors, which is in
the nature
of what you do and
what you are dealing
with.
How
do you
reconcile the way you
describe the world with the world
of material science? You referred
to quantum
theory.
What bridges do
you see with conventional means
of description? Do you regard them
as
incompatible?
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The
reason that a lot of mathematicians
and musicians are one and
the same person is because
of pattern
recognition. Don’t
you think that’s
a point of common ground
between regular science and
metaphysical science? Do
we share experience in different
ways?
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You seem to be reflecting
a piece by John Cage,
HPSCHD, where
he placed, I think,
six harpsichordists
around
a room, each with a
particular set of music
in front of them to play
as they chose (or, if they preferred, to stop and chat with a passing
audience member). The music was assertive music in the way that
you just
mentioned pop
music.
Do you
think that playing Bach
on a harpsichord is incompatible with somebody
else two harpsichords
down playing another
piece of
Bach?
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You
mentioned
earlier the difference
between a mystical experience
and
a religious experience.
Do we treat our metaphors just a little bit too
seriously. Do we take
them too literally? Or
is it, perhaps, just that one is the
most appropriate
way
of describing
a process?
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You’re
speaking in a very
communal way, as
if the music-like experiences of the audience and
the performers
were one. This seems
to be your approach.
That reminds me
of the punk attitude
while the people
on stage could
be the people in the
audience and vice
versa.
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You
speak from
a clear position
of sincerity,
but there
are
many musicians
who are imitating
a style
for career
reasons, or for whatever
personal
advancement.
But the people--the great public--have to distinguish
between
the
person
who’s
sincere and
the person
who’s
just using
music opportunistically.
How do you
think
we can do that?
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Again,
you’re
speaking
in a very
personal
term as
if we’re
sitting
in the
room
here and
you’re
playing.
It’s
a very
small and
intimate
circle.
Do the
possibilities
break down
once you
record
music and
disseminate
it on record?
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Home page of Don Conreax's personal site
http://holistic-resonance.com
To
purchase Don Conreaux's CDs
http://www.holistic-resonance.com/mysterious.html
Article
by Don about bronze singing bowls
http://dwij.org/forum/cerritomni/r4_conreaux.htm
Full
details of Starhenge, the contemporary circle designed by Don
http://www.starhenge.org
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