Alec Berlin walks us through Minir Maad

New York-based virtuoso guitarist Alec Berlin flaunts his guitar chops and musical genius in the title track of his EP Minir Maad. This instrumental piece is a tasteful blend of classic rock with a hint of the wild west. With twangy guitars and scintillating melodies accompanied by frolics of guitar runs the listeners have just as a good time as Alec on the fretboard. It puts a picture of you galloping or driving through the desert into the sunset. The song definitely highlights the versatility and musicality of Alec Berlin with each passing bar. Recently we had the privilege to discuss this song with the man himself. Check out the Conversation below:

1. First of all, interesting name! As the title track of the EP, one can easily guess its significance. Could you tell us a bit about what is Minir Maad, and what does it mean? What’s the story and inspiration behind it?

ALEC BERLIN: When I wrote this song, I was reading “The Sheltering Sky”, by Paul Bowles, which takes place in the Sahara Desert in Africa. So there are lots of exotic sounding place names throughout the book. That kind of language, that kind of sound, was resonating in my ears at the time.

Then one night I started to write this song out of nowhere. From the beginning it had sort of a desert vibe to it. And it was a very minor-based song – lots of minor chords involved throughout. Pretty early on in the writing process I knew that I wanted to modulate between different unrelated keys, while keeping the same chord progressions (again, using minor chords).

When I finished the first writing session for this song, I made a recording of my progress, using the voice memo app on my phone. I had to give the file a title, something descriptive so that I would remember it. So I thought I’d call it “minor mod” – minor because of all the minor chords, and mod because of all the modulations.

But I made a typo and instead of “minor” I typed “minir” – and suddenly my brain kicked in with all of those exotic sounding names from the Sahara as described in The Sheltering Sky. So I thought I’d keep the mis-spelling, and then I just invented “maad” instead of “mod” to try to extend the sense of the exotic. And that’s how I came up with the name.

2. What was your creative process like for this song? Did you have any specific theme in mind? Were you chasing any particular sound and did you face any creative challenges in the making of this song or EP?

ALEC BERLIN: This was one of a handful of songs that I wrote in the middle of the night. I’d wake up after only a couple of hours of sleep with music in my ear – and so I’d go to the guitar to see if I could figure out what I was hearing, because maybe it was something good. Even if it wasn’t something good, maybe the quiet and the solitude of the middle of the night would inspire something to come to me. That’s what happened in this case. I honestly don’t remember the music I was hearing when I woke up, but before too long my fingers happened upon the main theme for Minir Maad.

I used the idea of modulation just to generate some sense of development and tension – because the main idea is pretty “inside”, harmonically speaking – so to add some additional colors I thought I’d modulate to different unrelated keys.

3. In what aspects do you think your audiences are gonna connect with the song? Were there any personal messages you were trying to get across and do you think is it important for fans of your music to understand the real story and message driving each of your songs, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret your songs in their own personal way?

ALEC BERLIN: Well, my music is instrumental, so there’s A LOT of room for interpretation. I can direct things only so far. But I do try to use the various elements of music – melody, harmony, rhythm, dynamics, timbre, contrast, development, narrative structure – to try to tell as compelling a story as I can.

4. As an instrumental artist, do you ever feel your audiences are not exactly getting the message you’re trying to convey through your music because of its lack of words?

ALEC BERLIN: You know, I don’t really have a message to convey. I just hope that my music makes people feel SOMETHING. My music is pretty varied – I hope some songs make people want to dance, but I hope other songs calm people down, and everything in between.

People react differently to the lack of words. Some people tell me that they want to write their own words. Other people tell me that they think the music SHOULD have words. I hope the lack of words is provocative – I want people to WANT to sing along and be a little frustrated that there aren’t words that they can sing. That tells me that songwriting is connecting with people. And that’s my goal!

6. Do you have a favorite motto, phrase, or piece of advice, you try to live or inspire yourself by? And do you have a specific vision or goal set in your mind that you would like to achieve in the near future?

ALEC BERLIN: I recorded 12 songs in 2021, and in 2022 I began releasing them one per month. Minir Maad is release number 8. Release number 9 came out on January 12 – it’s called LaNoise and it’s available on all streaming platforms.

So goal number 1 for me is to release the 3 remaining songs that I’ve already recorded.

I also recorded basic tracks for 3 additional songs, so goal number 2 for me is to finish those songs and release them.

That’s about as far ahead as I’ve planned anything specific.

Thank you so much for your interest and your time. I’ve loved chatting with you.