There are no straight lines, only curves. This is the idea behind the Dimitris Kakavoulis Quartetโs debut album, which was recorded in the studio more than ten years ago and is now being officially released in association with Thinkbabymusic Collective. Check out the new album and exclusive interview below
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?
DIMITRIS KAKAVOULIS QUARTET (DKQ):
I was born in Athens Greece. I started listening to Alice Cooper and Metallica through friends of mine at school in the fourth grade, I think. I listened to a lot of rock and roll and at some point I became friends with a classmate who was taking drum lessons. I was immediately very interested in that and highly motivated to learn as well. That was age 12-13. Through my first drum teacher I became aware of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and through the same process as with rock nโ roll โ where I was led from one musician/band to the next โ I bought and heard John Coltraneโs โA Love Supremeโ. That was it! I gave away all my other albums and was left with just a few jazz records.
2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?
DIMITRIS KAKAVOULIS QUARTET (DKQ):
I studied drums at Nakas music School in Athens for 5 years and I completed the Nakas-Berklee curriculum at the time at age 17. I subsequently studied drums at the Birmingham Conservatoire and in the Brussels Conservatoire for a short time as an Erasmus student. I graduated in 2004 with BMus Hons. I started playing piano early on โ probably at age 15 โ but became more serious about it when I turned 19. On piano I had a few lessons in Athens and learned a lot from other pianist friends and teachers at the music schools that I was attending, but I approached the instrument without strict guidance or a steady teacher.
3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name โDIMITRIS KAKAVOULIS QUARTET (DKQ)โ
DIMITRIS KAKAVOULIS QUARTET (DKQ):
There are really too many to name without being tedious! The band name though points directly to the 50s, 60s and 70s improvised music bands in the US and Europe also referred to as jazz.
4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
DIMITRIS KAKAVOULIS QUARTET (DKQ):
I am not sure about what should be happening when my music is played, but I would like to think that through the music โ even in the absence of vocals and words โ people can come to realize the vastness of their nature and existence and embrace the higher resonating emotions and situations like love, empathy, respect, justice, truth and so on. These are also in a sense some of the guiding principles with which I would like the band members to interact musically with one another.
5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as JAZZ?
DIMITRIS KAKAVOULIS QUARTET (DKQ):
There was definitely a phase of learning and emulating others. Out of the two, the learning phase is ongoing and I doubt that it will ever really stop! My development was marked by circumstances relating to music but very notably also by situations seemingly irrelevant in personal relationships and choices that I had to make. The musical style that I play and compose in is not very precise and there are โ besides the existing album that has been released so far โ many compositions that are quite different with each other or different to the jazz idiom. I never really consciously chose a style.
6. Whatโs your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles โ and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?
DIMITRIS KAKAVOULIS QUARTET (DKQ): Music is inevitably the product of the artist who in turn is inevitably the product of their world in the social, political, cultural and spiritual sense. For me the process is not so โpremeditatedโ or โintendedโ. I interact with the world around me and that influences everything I do including playing and composing music, but I also interact with the pure musical art form in a theoretical sense intellectually almost all the time. The result is what you can hear and I hope that it can be a place where these seemingly contradictory concepts and ambiances can co-exist and bind, for the benefit of the listener.
7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
DIMITRIS KAKAVOULIS QUARTET (DKQ): I do not have expectations per se, but I hope that I can be able to play and write for as long as possible.
8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process
DIMITRIS KAKAVOULIS QUARTET (DKQ): During my interaction with musical stimuli around me and with musical concepts in my head and through the course of my life there is sometimes a type of sync process, where a composition is produced almost in an instant. Most of the time it is like that. One may get the feeling that it is delivered whole from somewhere else. In some cases it is almost like that in the sense that there may be something missing which will come about at an undefined moment in the future to complete the work.
This will usually create the vehicle, the composition on which the band interactions can produce a beautiful musical result.
I have the tendency to write for the band that I am part of as well. Like wanting to write the best thing possible for that group of people to play (on, with, in).
9. What has been the most difficult thing youโve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
DIMITRIS KAKAVOULIS QUARTET (DKQ):
Having to work a day job!
10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
DIMITRIS KAKAVOULIS QUARTET (DKQ):
All collaborations I have had are important and all the musicians that I have studied and worked with have played a significant role in my life and musical career, but the creation of a musical work entirely comprised of my own compositions that pleases me to listen to is the most proud!
11. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?
DIMITRIS KAKAVOULIS QUARTET (DKQ):
I am trying to avoid getting into social media and I hope that more people would do the same. Inevitable and invariably โthe medium is the messageโ.
12. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?
DIMITRIS KAKAVOULIS QUARTET (DKQ):
Both are exciting for different reasons. Live performances are very exciting and there can be an unparalleled energy and feeling from playing music with an enthusiastic and attentive audience. The studio is also very exciting for me though because there is clarity and focus and also the chance to work on the sound.
13. 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?
DIMITRIS KAKAVOULIS QUARTET (DKQ):
Free to interpret definitely. Thatโs what happens in the end anyway.
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Photo credits: Fotini Romaliadou