Piotr Benjar:  An interview with the Melodyman

Piotr Benjar:  An interview with the Melodyman

9 October, 2008 | 8.23AM

• Written by: Dylan Joseph
• Filed under: Music News : ocr, piotr bejnar

Hailing from Olsztyn, Poland, Piotr Bejnar is as much a force of nature as he is a performer or recording artist.  Anyone that has seen and heard him perform knows that he is a free spirit.  An escape artist.

Truth be told, there is not a stage that is big enough to contain him.  For Piotr, the stage is an imaginary boundary - on that is quickly crossed on the way to overcoming that which lies between the performer and the audience. 

His home is on the dancefloor - in the eye of the tornado.

D:  What are your first memories of music as a child?

PB:  In my childhood I used to listen to Beethoven, Michael Jackson and a lot of Jazz vinyls which my dad used to give me.  As I go back in my memories I find Beethoven’s 9th Symphony being a strong reminiscence.

D:  Did you play any instruments growing up as a kid?

PB:  No,I never played any kind of acoustic instrument.

D:  Who were your first musical heroes?

PB:  My first true hero was Michael Jackson.  The fascination did not get weaker through the years.  Another important influence was Tomasz Stańko (a Polish jazzman) and his record called “Peyotl”.  After I reached out to the electronic, I was strongly moved by Aphex Twin and “ Richard D James” album.  I find it deeply magical - even today.

D:  What about these people captured your imagination?

PB:  I guess, it all happened by a lucky accident and due to my musical l sensitivity.  Innovation is for me a great value.  Following strict trends and rules is not my thing, it does not get my attention.

D:  Can you talk a bit about the way that electronic music made it?s way into Poland?  Obviously it depends on what era (70?s, 80?s, 90?s) we are speaking about, but from YOUR perspective, how did you see it happen?

PB:  First there was Techno, or wait ….the story starts with rave from behind the western borders.  It was smuggled piece by piece, beat by beat.  In my hometown there was a strong desire for music.  I remember, when I was 14 and Marusha came for a gig, it was a big thing - my first party of that kind.

Two years later I turned the decks myself.  Hard Techno, Nu School Techno and all of the hard flavor.  I was into different things at that time.  The harder it got, the more complicated - the more it moved me. 

It was the stage of Squarepusher and Richard James.  When it was time to push the people out of the dancefloor, they called me to play.  After two tracks the crowd was gone.  But, well, it was the music I felt for.  After hard Techno, the time for the tastes of Electro came.  Now everything has become softer.  Minimal is a pleasure for the ear, it’s more Housey – this is how I see it.

D:  How would you say that the people of Poland interpreted this music and are now making it their own? 

PB:  If I were to try and express some of the differences I see, I would say that maybe there is something a bit more whimsical and an effort to be different from others.  Is there anything about being from Poland that leads an artist to think differently about this music?

Back in the days it was not acceptable to be different. Now it changed. I think it is the way it goes. The more unknown corners of music have been opened to the audience. When there is action in on of the music areas it gets harder to be seen.  But it’s not that difficult to be a forerunner. 

When I was starting to play, there was nobody to show me how to mix, no press about DJing - no media hype.  For the first half of year, I did not know how you’re supposed to mix records.  I was using the crossfader without thinking about the rates - and still there was a good reception from the people.  I see it that way, also as it comes to making music, when there is not much of examples, when you have a unwritten spot – there so much that can be done.

Poland has a rich music history.  It’s a tricky and fiddy country.  Art is prices, here, when a status is reached.  There is not much of help for the upcoming artists.  It’s a hard field – but the struggles make us strong.  We have a couple of great artists here in Poland.  Our ‘national team’ is spiking upward.

D:  Outside of music, give me 3 people - dead or alive - that you look up to and why.

PB:  John Paul II for the love and the timeless wisdom, Salvadore Dali for the alterity, madness and lunacy, Jean Michael Basquiat for the freedom.

D:  Musically, what is influencing or inspiring you these days?

PB:  Miles Davis, Tomasz Stańko and still Richard D James.  Those are the artists to whom I will always look up to.  I draw inspiration from the escape from music, from repose.  It works like a sine wave for me.  I have to fag to lean towards refuge.  Recently I noticed an inspiration from organic tunes.  I love the melodies which come from my feelings.  I like to look at the sunshine while making music, as it bursts through my window.  Or the vibe that I get from taking my laptop out into the countryside.

D:  When writing new music, do you typically go in with a theme or idea of what you want to do?  Or just capture a mood? or just go in and see what happens?

PB:  It is all up to the place and the stage.  Sometimes I fall for an idea while I’m traveling and I have to play it out as fast as it’s possible, otherwise it will fade away.  I often try to form my imagination, accomplish my ideas in my head.  Mostly it’s a planned process but it also happens that I put my hands on my equipment and start with one note - to see if it will work out as a good idea.

D:  What do you enjoy most?  Writing new music or performing it for people?

PB:  Definitely performing.

D:  When you play, you are VERY very active - out in the crowd and really getting people into it.  Almost like the crowd and the performer become one!  It’s an amazing story behind “Ty Jestes Melodyman” but I’m sure there must be some others.  Give us some stories of two of your most memorable or crazy performances:

PB:  There’s a story behind every idea.  I never think about for ex. The titles for the tracks - it comes to me naturally.  The idea of the interaction with the people came after a party played in Poland.  I’ve played from my laptop and configured the KORG ESX-1 as a controller.  There was a little place that I’ve decided to hold it in my hand.

After the gig my folks told me that I’ve looked like a ‘modern talking DJ’. I found that it was an interesting remark so I’ve minimized my setup and decided to try it out to perform from the other side - on the dancefloor. By doing this I’ve broke the pattern of a DJ being separated from the audience. The people mostly deeply appreciate it, although sometimes they look at me as I would be totally crazy.  They laugh, they play with me.  I always was the raver - the dancer.  I just can’t help myself, not to dance.

As it comes to funny stories, once when I have been playing in Warsaw, the audio cable fell to the floor, into a puddle of beer, split by somebody just before – there was a short circuit, I’ve started to fiddle with the situation, adding extra effects on to it.  The public went crazy.  After I put the cable into it’s right place and continued the performance.

The name for the release on Open Concept came to me, from the people. When I was playing title song in Sopot, a friend of mine came up to me with big finger and said “ You are not a minimalman you are a melodyman, Piotr”.

D:  Some musicians are firmly associated with a very particular instrument.  Jimi Hendrix played a Fender Stratocaster.  Django Reinhardt played his Selmer guitar.  You have a special connection with your KORG Electribe ESX-1.  What can you tell us about this instrument? 

What do you love most about it? 
What would you change?

PB:  Well, I AM not only playing by ESX-1.  Sometimes I use also other equipment.  But yes, there is something magical abort ESX-1.

I always dreamed abort a well tuned sampler.  ESX has a line in so that I can record sounds from everywhere, wherever I am.  Often I create samples on my computer and then add them to KORG.  It happens that I record sounds from the TV, or use a microphone. 

I love the idea that I can put into my equipment anything that comes to my mind.  ESX is the simplest example of such equipment that I ever used.  It’s trivial in handling and intuitive, so you can edict parameters in real time, that’s what most of Roland or Yamaha models lack.  Lately the infrared adapter cought my attention - it’s a new land to be explored.  Of course ESX has a lot of restrictions for example the swing-groove but, well you can’t have all that you desire, can you?

D:  Do those tubes really do very much for the sound??

PB:  Yes, of course, they add warmth into the sound, but the tube doesn’t do all the work for an artist. You have to galvanize it by the use of the effect processors.  What is special about ESX is the fact that you an combine effects into chains and then levy them.

D:  If you could work in the studio with any 3 musicians, who would you choose?

PB:  It would be Tomasz Stanko, Richard D James, Dylan Josef

D:  You’ve been making music and performing for quite a long time.  Do you think that you still have a lot of room to grow?  How will you get to that next level?  Or do you feel that you’re ready now and it’s time to take on the world??

PB:  I still have lots of ideas, in my live acts I want to use more organic instruments connected to the effectors.  My dream is to play an live act from scratch, without any preparation.  For ex. record the beat using my own lips, looping it and adding a hi-hat, then a bass (ex. from the sound of a teared piece of paper) and by long delays the sounds of a tambourine, triangles and rattles - and be sure, I will do it!

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