Interview with Theodor Bastard
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Galleries:
- Castle Party 2014 - 2014-07-22 (Festivals)
- Theodor Bastard - 2012-08-22 (Concerts)
- Theodor Bastard - 2011-06-17 (Concerts)
North East Magic - Theodor Bastard
Vesper: Can you introduce the project to our readers? How did it all start, what is the story behind Theodor Bastard?
-Theodor Bastard: First, there was Fedor, who had a passion for experimenting with sound. Periodically, he drew into it some other musicians. There were many live performances in many queer places in St.-Petersburg. One of them still exists, it's the Gallery of Experimental Sound. This is a place where the most radical projects can be put into practice. We used to burn the apparatus there, while experimenting with ultra- and infra-sound. Once we had a dental drill machine as a musical instrument there. That was incredibly cool! That time we listened to noise and avant-garde. Now we could name that time as a period of search and experiment.
There were many musicians who took part in it, and nowadays they still make music, but not as members of THEODOR BASTARD. Anyone could join that group with Fedor in its centre. There were different persons with different tastes. But in fact THEODOR BASTARD was found just when Yana came. She wasn't interested in music as much as Fedor and his collaborators. She had lived for some years in Pomorye (Northern Russia). This is a region where old-believers traditionally have lived for ages. You know, this is quite an original ethno-confessional group, their culture is rooted in their lifestyle, which was typical for Russians in the 17th century. They preserved rites of Russian Orthodox Church which were changed and reformed in the time of patriarch Nikon, in the middle of the 17th century. So they keep the most orthodox orthodoxy. But at the same time they don't admit the existence of clergy, which is totally false after Nikon, as they think. So laymen serve as priests. In fact, they are living symbols of archaic, medieval Russia with its religious traditions and specific way of life. Yana gave a new breath to Fedor's music. It became more spiritual, so to speak. At that moment Fedor and his collaborators realised the necessity to change the attitude to music. Yana started to sing, and experiments were finished.
V: ...and, most importantly - why such a name?
-TB: In a sense THEODOR BASTARD is a translation of Fedor Svoloch. If you look at the vocabulary, you'll see that word BASTARD has several meanings: illegitimate child, hybrid, mixture. All these things perfectly fit in the conception of the band. A mixture of hardly combined elements has always been important for us. And we try to get a hybrid of Oriental music and European pop sound.
V: Your music seems to bridge tradition and modern influences. The website says that a "significant part of TB's concept is polystylism at subconscious level". I can hear the many styles of TB consciously - what's your "hidden" trick about? Is there some kind of artistic philosophy to your music?
-TB: We explore elements in the context of a whole unity. It could be defined as polystylicism that is opposed to eclecticism. You know, we live in a polystylistic country. We have more than 100 nationalites. And indeed it's hard to identify Russia as a truly European country. Very often the Russian way of life reminds Turkey, China and Syria. If you visit a typical Russian family, you'll see carpets on the walls, multi-coloured curtains, gloomy rooms etc. - even underwear that is hung on the balcony. So we can't help but making something polystylistic. This is the influence of our motherland.
When Fedor was working in the institute of geological researches, he found out one remarkable fact - the exactness of the determination of geological age varies +- 10 thousand years, not less. Imagine scholars of the future! All our personal history will be just a tiny point on their geological ruler! As though we had never existed at all! We're all temporary people among temporary things and this is the feeling we're trying to keep in ourselves when we compose music.
V: TB's music is dedicated to people who are "victims of the modern world", to put it shortly. Are you trying to be political through that? Is there more to TB than just entertainment (even if it's concentrated around a rather complex idea mentioned above)? Do you think it's possible to create music that's detached from all the bad things that happen to people?
-TB: We have an idea about it. Even if we imagine a person who composes music being absolutely isolated, not thinking about things around - there will be no true integrity in this work. We live in this world, a real world and we are the real people. Music like any other work of art is the expression of thoughts and feelings. As naive people we believe that art can change the world.
V: Being a musician is surely something not many of us can experience. Since you're creating unusual music, is your life outside music also unusual (not to say "magical")? Who is the man behind TB? Who would he be if not for TB?
-TB: A musician is an infantile person in a some way. This lifestyle is a myth from magazines and TV. And this myth dissapears right when you come closer to this. If we were serious about music and a music career, we would be self-loving egoists, infantile people mad about fashion and images. But this is not so. We appreciate the energy we get from what we do. Theodor Bastard consists of 5 persons and it hadn't been changed since the beginning. And if the line-up changes it won't be Theodor Bastard any more.
V: It seems you are a global project, far from limiting your art and travels only to your homeland. Do your travels expand your creative horizons? Is there a place on Earth that fits TB's music and mood in the best possible way?
-TB: Despite the fact that we travel much and we get great impressions from various places, we can be inspired only in Northern Russia. We feel a real spiritual connection with this place.
V: Keeping that in mind, would you say that music can be used as a means of dialogue between cultures, or rather as a marker of the differences and elements unique for a given culture?
-TB: Both. We live in a multicultural country, and here we don't see a great difference between cultural influences. Because they are all integrated.
V: Would you say that TB's music can be the source of "hit" songs? Is there any potential in it for such a song? And what is a "hit" to you - does it mean commercial success or an eternal fame among the listeners?
-TB: Hit is the term lying outside music. This is the term from show business. We don't look at the music as a kind of business, so that we can't say anything.
V: You said before that "if the line-up changes, it won't be Theodor Bastard". So, are you never going to add new musicians, for example to enrich your sounds?
-TB: We collaborate with various musicians. We always like to work with new people, changing ideas, but there all are just invited musicians.
V: Now, a poetical question - if TB was a landscape, what would it look like - Northern Russia you mentioned as your "spiritual connection"? Sky-high mountains? An enchanting lake? Maybe a thick magical forest?
-TB: There is an island here in Finnish Bay, Kronshtadt, we like walking there. There are old citadels 300 years old, all covered with grass, and many pieces of old ships there. Because of constant construction works, there are huge mounds of yellow sand. And this all is surrounded with a cold, unfriendly Baltic sea. This is the landscape.
V: What should a person going to your concert expect? Are there any special elements in a TB show?
-TB: We work with light a lot. We often change instruments. Sometimes a girl with cello plays with us. And sometimes all the band members take an ethnic percussion and play. The most important thing for us is the feeling that we want to bring to the listeners.
V: Let's take a look into the future for a moment - what is going to happen in the kingdom of TB in the coming year? Are we going to see you live in Poland, eventually?
-TB: It depends on promoters. Very often promoters change their plans, they declare something and then change their minds. If you invite us, we'll come!
V: Finally, it's time for a message to your contemporary (and future) Polish fans ;)
-TB: Sometimes there is a lack of understanding between cultures and civilizations. This was well described in the "Fiasko" by Stanislav Lem. Let's be more sensitive!
Visit the band's website at: www.theodorbastard.com
Other articles:
Vesper: Can you introduce the project to our readers? How did it all start, what is the story behind Theodor Bastard?
-Theodor Bastard: First, there was Fedor, who had a passion for experimenting with sound. Periodically, he drew into it some other musicians. There were many live performances in many queer places in St.-Petersburg. One of them still exists, it's the Gallery of Experimental Sound. This is a place where the most radical projects can be put into practice. We used to burn the apparatus there, while experimenting with ultra- and infra-sound. Once we had a dental drill machine as a musical instrument there. That was incredibly cool! That time we listened to noise and avant-garde. Now we could name that time as a period of search and experiment.
There were many musicians who took part in it, and nowadays they still make music, but not as members of THEODOR BASTARD. Anyone could join that group with Fedor in its centre. There were different persons with different tastes. But in fact THEODOR BASTARD was found just when Yana came. She wasn't interested in music as much as Fedor and his collaborators. She had lived for some years in Pomorye (Northern Russia). This is a region where old-believers traditionally have lived for ages. You know, this is quite an original ethno-confessional group, their culture is rooted in their lifestyle, which was typical for Russians in the 17th century. They preserved rites of Russian Orthodox Church which were changed and reformed in the time of patriarch Nikon, in the middle of the 17th century. So they keep the most orthodox orthodoxy. But at the same time they don't admit the existence of clergy, which is totally false after Nikon, as they think. So laymen serve as priests. In fact, they are living symbols of archaic, medieval Russia with its religious traditions and specific way of life. Yana gave a new breath to Fedor's music. It became more spiritual, so to speak. At that moment Fedor and his collaborators realised the necessity to change the attitude to music. Yana started to sing, and experiments were finished.
V: ...and, most importantly - why such a name?
-TB: In a sense THEODOR BASTARD is a translation of Fedor Svoloch. If you look at the vocabulary, you'll see that word BASTARD has several meanings: illegitimate child, hybrid, mixture. All these things perfectly fit in the conception of the band. A mixture of hardly combined elements has always been important for us. And we try to get a hybrid of Oriental music and European pop sound.
V: Your music seems to bridge tradition and modern influences. The website says that a "significant part of TB's concept is polystylism at subconscious level". I can hear the many styles of TB consciously - what's your "hidden" trick about? Is there some kind of artistic philosophy to your music?
-TB: We explore elements in the context of a whole unity. It could be defined as polystylicism that is opposed to eclecticism. You know, we live in a polystylistic country. We have more than 100 nationalites. And indeed it's hard to identify Russia as a truly European country. Very often the Russian way of life reminds Turkey, China and Syria. If you visit a typical Russian family, you'll see carpets on the walls, multi-coloured curtains, gloomy rooms etc. - even underwear that is hung on the balcony. So we can't help but making something polystylistic. This is the influence of our motherland.
When Fedor was working in the institute of geological researches, he found out one remarkable fact - the exactness of the determination of geological age varies +- 10 thousand years, not less. Imagine scholars of the future! All our personal history will be just a tiny point on their geological ruler! As though we had never existed at all! We're all temporary people among temporary things and this is the feeling we're trying to keep in ourselves when we compose music.
V: TB's music is dedicated to people who are "victims of the modern world", to put it shortly. Are you trying to be political through that? Is there more to TB than just entertainment (even if it's concentrated around a rather complex idea mentioned above)? Do you think it's possible to create music that's detached from all the bad things that happen to people?
-TB: We have an idea about it. Even if we imagine a person who composes music being absolutely isolated, not thinking about things around - there will be no true integrity in this work. We live in this world, a real world and we are the real people. Music like any other work of art is the expression of thoughts and feelings. As naive people we believe that art can change the world.
V: Being a musician is surely something not many of us can experience. Since you're creating unusual music, is your life outside music also unusual (not to say "magical")? Who is the man behind TB? Who would he be if not for TB?
-TB: A musician is an infantile person in a some way. This lifestyle is a myth from magazines and TV. And this myth dissapears right when you come closer to this. If we were serious about music and a music career, we would be self-loving egoists, infantile people mad about fashion and images. But this is not so. We appreciate the energy we get from what we do. Theodor Bastard consists of 5 persons and it hadn't been changed since the beginning. And if the line-up changes it won't be Theodor Bastard any more.
V: It seems you are a global project, far from limiting your art and travels only to your homeland. Do your travels expand your creative horizons? Is there a place on Earth that fits TB's music and mood in the best possible way?
-TB: Despite the fact that we travel much and we get great impressions from various places, we can be inspired only in Northern Russia. We feel a real spiritual connection with this place.
V: Keeping that in mind, would you say that music can be used as a means of dialogue between cultures, or rather as a marker of the differences and elements unique for a given culture?
-TB: Both. We live in a multicultural country, and here we don't see a great difference between cultural influences. Because they are all integrated.
V: Would you say that TB's music can be the source of "hit" songs? Is there any potential in it for such a song? And what is a "hit" to you - does it mean commercial success or an eternal fame among the listeners?
-TB: Hit is the term lying outside music. This is the term from show business. We don't look at the music as a kind of business, so that we can't say anything.
V: You said before that "if the line-up changes, it won't be Theodor Bastard". So, are you never going to add new musicians, for example to enrich your sounds?
-TB: We collaborate with various musicians. We always like to work with new people, changing ideas, but there all are just invited musicians.
V: Now, a poetical question - if TB was a landscape, what would it look like - Northern Russia you mentioned as your "spiritual connection"? Sky-high mountains? An enchanting lake? Maybe a thick magical forest?
-TB: There is an island here in Finnish Bay, Kronshtadt, we like walking there. There are old citadels 300 years old, all covered with grass, and many pieces of old ships there. Because of constant construction works, there are huge mounds of yellow sand. And this all is surrounded with a cold, unfriendly Baltic sea. This is the landscape.
V: What should a person going to your concert expect? Are there any special elements in a TB show?
-TB: We work with light a lot. We often change instruments. Sometimes a girl with cello plays with us. And sometimes all the band members take an ethnic percussion and play. The most important thing for us is the feeling that we want to bring to the listeners.
V: Let's take a look into the future for a moment - what is going to happen in the kingdom of TB in the coming year? Are we going to see you live in Poland, eventually?
-TB: It depends on promoters. Very often promoters change their plans, they declare something and then change their minds. If you invite us, we'll come!
V: Finally, it's time for a message to your contemporary (and future) Polish fans ;)
-TB: Sometimes there is a lack of understanding between cultures and civilizations. This was well described in the "Fiasko" by Stanislav Lem. Let's be more sensitive!
Visit the band's website at: www.theodorbastard.com
Other articles:
- Castle Party 2014 - 2014-07-24 (Live reports)
- Theodor Bastard - 2014-07-14 (Interviews)
- Theodor Bastard - Beloe: Predchustvia i sni - 2012-03-29 (Music reviews)
