an interview to rainman

When, how and under what circumstances was cadet sOn-ampulist born?

It was five years ago, I was looking at some pictures of my childhood years and it felt almost as regression. I suddenly could smell everything in there, as if I could hear every sound; toys, the ice cream van, the alluring - and (d)elusive melody of the carousel. But inescapably, I also sensed the invisible dark that lurks within this seemingly careless world. From there began the chemical experiment, on if and how can a simple infantile memory survive the gestures of an adult’s distorted heart.

When did you realize that music is a part and parcel of your life?

I wish I could give you a poetic answer to seduce your imagination but the answer is quite blunt I'm afraid. I was born into music, my mother is a pianist who also ran a music conservatory, so I grew up in a house with four pianos and all kinds of musical instruments. My toys, apart from dolls, balls and matchbox cars, were glockenspiels, xylophones, recorders, strings; all sorts of instruments; but in order to be fair, although I was sort of a jack of all trades, multi-instrumentalist whiz kid, I developed into a shameless drop-out, 'cos there’s one thing I lacked (and i’m afraid) still lack; Discipline, which in my opinion is an indispensable asset of being talented. Many people are gifted but only those who exploit their gift are really talented. So to answer your question, it was in my late adolescence that I realized  music is more than a game to me.

How did your family and social background influence your music education?

I guess I partly answered this question in the previous one but I would like to add, without meaning to sound ungrateful, that, had I not have the benefit of being a sort of musical funnel from day one, maybe I would have been more structured and disciplined as a musician (and person as well).

What made you decide that this is what you want to do for life?

The loads of money that I make from music! (laughs) Erm...no, it’s not that...it’s probably the fact that this damn thing is so deeply embedded in me that the inevitability of living without music is part of my genetic code. I tried numerous times redefining my course, in supercilious, experimental jet-set periods of my life, but I always returned to it, 'cos this is my biotope.

Who would you acknowledge as your masters and which are your music influences so far?

I owe so much to all the people that took the plunge and suffered, trying to tame me and teach me, from the music school to the conservatory and uni. I would also like to thank, among others, Gustav Mahler, P.I. Tchaikovsky, Franz Schubert, Gyorgy Kurtag, W.A. Mozart, as well as Henri Chopin, Luigi Nono, Syd Barrett, Nico and the early Legendary Pink Dots, for tuning my heart in that frequency and giving me the incentive to self oscillate.

You live and work in Prague, how does the city inspire your work and how does it clash with your temperament? Do you ever feel split?

Prague has been my playground for the last sixteen years. I have lived a second life here. It never really felt like home, only for a few years, but I suppose it was my life scenario at the time that made it feel like it. I can blend in as far as it concerns a social scheme but I never felt I belong here. It’s like growing fruits in a greenhouse, they grow, ripen, but never taste the same, do they?

Where is home?

In a “protestant” manner - no pun intended - I'd say that home is where your life happens and your work thrives. Where creativity is possible.  In a more sentimental tone, to which I tend to tune in, home is where your memories belong. It can be a city, a room, an affair. Where little insipid things have the ability to move you and inspire you; home is where your own god, and the language he speaks to you, resides. Where you feel close to being complete (but only close...)

How would you describe your work to someone who has never listened to anything from you?

This is a problem because I'm not exactly the cerebral type that can define something in one pure sentence. As you may have already realised, I'm the kind of person that takes long pauses in conversations; I tend to speak in colours, or using metaphors. Sometimes I really doubt my ability to come through as if I were illiterate. So, you may describe it for me, if you please.

How does a romantic manage to survive in 2010?

Mostly in his head, and by confiding his dreams in certain people. It’s an onerous process, especially when each day reality bites harder than before. But we shall prevail (laughs) if not we'll simply try to escape.

So how is the escape plan developing? Do you think you will make it?

It's a work in progress and it's constantly under modification; Suffice to say that there are times where I feel like a Frank Sinatra echo hitting the void, insisting that I'll do it my way. But circumstantial defeats in league with the vulnerable me, have proved me wrong a few times. In any case, the bags are packed and the destinations are locked....

Being an artist is a blessing or a curse?

It depends, which artist. Is it a profession or an identity...? Please forgive my nonchalance, but when it comes to this sort of questions, I feel that I'm expected to say something “deep”... so I choose to be your clown.

What is your current project?

Well, I'm not sure, my current project is too many projects clashing with each other creating a chaotic nothing. I'm working on it though, 'cos this has gone too far, and all I have managed is to become the graphic figure that keeps repeating its huge plans. It’s really difficult, and not funny anymore; in certain circles, I have met people that have heard of me but never heard any of the music I do. So I have a personal joke, that my reputation precedes me but I never manage to catch up.

Any plans for the future?

Yes, many(laughs). Well, I want to change my life; reconstruct the ruins, mop the floor and restore people’s faith in me.

Thank you