SD: At the end of the day, I rely predominantly on being able to sing all the parts - drums, bass, melodies, harmonies - and recording them in a voice memo format. For each song I write, I usually have 50 to 150 voice memos, and of those, probably 30% actually get used in the final product. Really, it’s a game of getting ideas out and then taking a step back to see which ones fit together like a jigsaw puzzle or mosaic to create the overall image, narrative, or emotion I aim to create with the song. Once I’ve figured out what goes where, then it’s a matter of applying the head knowledge of music composition - often still through vocalizing the ideas in layers - and fine tuning the parts to make something that feels smooth and cohesive as a single entity.

Q: I loved reading the write-up your record label issued.  They describe Of Narratives & Nocturnes as having a deliberate and natural focus on the art of storytelling, and in this you provide the directive to “not think of each member of this group as just another soloist, but listen for them and their instrument as the role they play within the narrative as a whole.  Who’s the villain? Who’s the hero? And who’s the one distracting you so the rest of us can subtly build the world around you?” 

In light of this, what aspects of story and storytelling influenced you growing up in South Africa?  Was it books or music that swept up your imagination? Perhaps people you knew recounting aural stories? 

 

SD: I think the influence of South Africa is prominent in that the city I lived in, Cape Town, was truly so rich with live music seemingly everywhere. As a result, being exposed to genres and performances was easy and led me into the realm of music. As far as the musical imagination goes, I find the most inspiration from stories. This most often takes the form of written language, visual art, and stories recounted by people close to me. Every track on Of Narratives & Nocturnes fits into one of these three categories.

Q: Aside from your incredible musicianship I know you to also be a phenomenal verbal wordsmith and storyteller; I was spellbound hearing you describe your concepts for the album and painting for me the colourful pictures and characters of each track.  I could have listened to you for hours, it’s a delightful quality to encounter.  The readers can get a taste of your evocative writing in the descriptors you created for Eden, Pleaides and The Diver that are shown on the album art.  On that end, in addition to music do you have any thoughts on putting your hand to written projects as well at some point?  Or are you quite busy enough for the moment!

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A: Thank you kindly; words truly are dear to me. Down the line, I would love to publish poetry and have some large conceptual works of poetry that have been drafted and slowly fleshed out over time, but I do believe it will be a long time coming. In the non-fiction realm, I do work professionally as a press writer, both through the record label Outside in Music, and with the great NYC promoter, Lydia Liebman. In these capacities, my role is to take the stories of other musicians’ albums and lives and weave them into a running narrative to help them pitch their own music. I find this particular line of work a fun creative challenge that I have been able to see much growth as a professional.

Q: Several of the songs nod to Greek mythology; what aspects about these 2,700 year old stories capture your fascination?  Or have I just partially answered the question right there! 

 

A: I enjoy that mythology so often follows the same themes pan-culturally, and shows the lenses through which people understood the world around them. They provide adventures and tales of love and loss that both capture our imagination and reveal a depth of humanity that has been present in all human society for as long as we have inhabited the earth. Humans are designed as creative beings, and we see beauty and wonder everywhere due to that nature.

Q: Can you name a few of your musical inspirations? 

 

A: At the time of Of Narratives & Nocturnes, the artists who I was listening to most included Hiatus Kaiyote, Wayne Shorter, Maria Schneider, Tigran Hamasyan, Yotam Silberstein, Snarky Puppy, Adam Baldych, Hozier, and composer Chris Christodolou. Structurally, I took a lot of notes from Bob Brookmeyer, and Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor. I was also influenced by South African artists Nduduzo Makhathini, Moses Taiwa Molelekwa, and Abdullah Ibrahim on all the songs with strong South African grooves.

Q: Absolutely loved sitting down to chat about your work, and to end, what are your north stars for the future; what projects are in the works or will soon be for you?    Where can people catch you live? 

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A: Right now, I’ve found myself writing in a lot of different directions, particularly influenced by a lot of American Folk and Country music in ways that I haven’t been before. Some of the concepts I’m testing out for large-scale works look at combining these with many of the influences I’ve stated above. Recently, I’ve done large amounts of writing for Choir and creating a slew of backing tracks for performance, drawing on many folk songs, American spirituals, and traditional ballads from the British Isles. I still perform regularly throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but much of my musical time has been shifted to education and arranging music, due to the nature of my current job as a full-time teacher of music theory, history, and performance.

Q: Thanks Simeon!  You’re one of the great ones, truly a remarkable and inspiring artist and human being.  It was a genuine pleasure to bring the visual side of the project into form with you, and I hope that many more ears and minds get to buckle in and be swept along inside these beautiful musical journeys and adventures that wait for them inside the covers of Of Narratives & Nocturnes.    -HM 

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