Interview mit Antoine Fafard im Oktober 2014

                        


ragazzi: Six years ago, 2008, the last Spaced Out album came out. Three albums followed under your own name. Now "Ad Perpetuum" as the third in 2014. Spaced Out is gone into history? What are the other Spaced Out member doing today? And what do you now think about the music of Spaced Out? Is there any future with the band?

I would say that Spaced Out is probably gone for good. The essence of Spaced Out was that it was a band with a permanent core of musicians with Martin Maheux on drums and Mark Tremblay on guitar. Mark now releases his own music and Martin took break from music but I’m sure he’ll be back. When I listen back to Spaced Out, I think there were some interesting ideas and a raw energy. But the main focus was on rhythmical elements and riffs and perhaps not enough time dedicated to chord progressions and melodies. The production aspect was also sometimes weak. I had a good time creating under that umbrella, but I now focus to produce greater music.

ragazzi: In a relatively short time you put out a lot of music, a lot of creation. Where does it come from? Was it a hard job to create the new songs? How do you feel with the result? Are there any ideas, maybe that lot of musicians like a big band to play with? Or another music field you are interested in? Why this sound - jazz fusion - in this brilliant complex way? Where does it come from?

I’m always composing and recording music… creativity is in itself a fundamental need which requires to be fulfilled. Some songs are relatively easy to compose and others are a real challenge. I find that it’s actually the mixing process that is the most demanding and draining part. I’m rarely totally satisfied with the result… I think most musicians are like that.

Out of all the music I create, I eventually have to decide what I want to share with the world. I actually have music that is piling up and that I might never release as I’m becoming increasingly picky towards my own creation. I’m open to a lot of music as a listener, but as a composer and performer, jazz fusion seems to be the most appropriate style to express my creativity.

ragazzi: You are working with well known musicians. Is it because you are a significant name in the world of jazz/fusion so contacts where made easy? Is music your daily job? It's a lot to do create a new album... When do you do that all?

It wasn’t too hard to get in contact with the musicians who collaborated on my albums. There weren’t any obstacles to deal with like agents or anything like that. I don’t believe any of the players I contacted knew me before, but they seemed to be interested in the project.

Creating music for an album is something that lives within me on a daily basis. Even if I don’t work on it for a couple of days or more, it’s still there constantly in my head. It’s a continuous focus that has been part of my DNA for years. Unfortunately the music I create for myself doesn’t allow me to make a living so I’m involved with commercial music for television and anything that allows me to survive. But my only expectation is that the reward is in the music itself… if it eventually pays off, that would be a bonus.

ragazzi: How successful do you feel your career as a musician? How are the reactions of the public and other musicians do you know? Do you feel good with the reaction you get back? How many copies of albums do you sell? Enough?

Success is normally attributed to financial wealth or a high level of respect within a profession. Consequently, I would not apply this term to me… and it’s not what drives me anyway. My goal is to create the best and original music I can possibly make. If success comes, that would be a bonus, but that is not a driving factor.

The reaction to my music is very positive I must say. I’ve been receiving some great feedback from those who bought my albums and the reviews of Ad Perpetuum have also been very positive. Once an album is released, it becomes a product and I’m doing my best to get the word out there. My albums do sell on CD and digital download formats with the stream going on as well... but it’s hard for me to claim if my sales are doing well compared to other similar artists.

ragazzi: About the years and albums I can hear a very personal style of your own. From album to album there is a difference. The first Spaced Out albums was very complex and heavy progressive rock. Now it isn't less complex but less heavy - more gently and lyrical. How do you compose your music, where do you find the ideas and musical themes? And how much of your ideas you not use for your songs and albums? How do you will sound in the future?

I didn’t incorporate heavy elements in my recent albums because I thought it wasn’t the sound I was going for at this point in time. The source of inspiration may come from a beat, a chord, a melody, an orchestration, a sound or many other things than can trigger an idea. Once you have this first idea, you can build around it. It is interesting because you sometimes forget what the original idea was behind a given composition. This is why I decided to write a little background on each piece in the booklet provided with the Ad Perpetuum album… it gave me the chance to remind me on the origins behind each song before I forget! As for the future, I will continue to challenge myself and really focus on the quality of the music I want to put out there.

ragazzi: Do you play live in concerts again?

I might… but nothing planed at the moment. This is all down to two elements: musicians that want to perform this music, and having the opportunity to perform it… I have tried the solo performer route before but I don’t think it gives my music justice. It’s not impossible that I will be playing live in the future, but for now I can only focus on what I can do which is to compose and record.

VM



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