AN ARCHITECTURE LECTURE WITH A DIFFERENCE
Thank you very much.
I would like to say a few things, but firstly I would like to express
my heartfelt thanks for the invitation to perform in this setting
This idea, when it was conveyed to me,...
represented the completion of a circle,...
as already indicated earlier in the very kind
and thoughtful introduction to my performance.
In recent days, during the set-up work,
two things came to light:
Thomas Müller, who initiated this event,
is also a percussionist, a hobby percussionist.
Lorent, who is doing the visuals tonight, is also a percussionist.
Henrik, who produces this beautiful art, is also a percussionist.
I was not aware of this beforehand.
From this moment on, I would like to say
that while the drum is an instrument,
I am also an architect.
And although I am not an architect of spatial dimensions
I do not shape space, but instead time
I do use the same tools
in order to shape time:
rhythm and tempo.
Rhythm exists spatially as well as temporally,
that is, in the graduation of time, the tempo.
I can shape the tempo in very different ways,
with a great number of different forms of expression
which are also echoed in the art of architecture.
The drum has existed for almost as long as there have been human beings.
It was developed by all of humanity as a communication instrument.
Primarily in Africa and India,
and since around 100 years ago in the occidental world as well.
In the beginnings of jazz,
this instrument, a combination of different drums,
was invented.
I would not play this instrument
if there were no jazz or rock.
It is the music which inspired me to become a musician.
Anyway,
these tools which provide structure for my space are:
dynamism, tempo, stylistics
and aesthetics.
Overlaps, moving within the given boundaries
but also crossing them,
this is what makes it all become interesting.
My voice must be authentic
with regard to what I ultimately want to express.
I believe that this applies in any art form,
be it music, architecture or the fine arts.
To create a classic...
I have noticed that all works which I perceive as classic,
have something in common,
whether in music or architecture.
Each work reflects the spirit of the era in which it was created,
but at the same time it also influenced and changed the spirit of the era.
I have always had a close relationship with architecture,
even though,
as I learnt to play the drums,
I oriented myself toward musicians and other percussionists.
Upon discovering that I had to make an authentic contribution myself,
I simultaneously reached a point where I stopped
orienting myself toward other percussionists.
I started finding people like Andy Warhol or Zaha Hadid interesting;
I learnt from them.
I try to decipher the instruments that they use,
and to apply them to my instrument.
For 15 years, this has been a key with which I develop my own language
and set myself apart from other percussionists,
whose contributions I respect, and go my own way.
The notion of thinking outside the square
is very close to my heart.
I have played the drums since I was 2 years old.
My radar always picked up signals from America,
from this new world,
maybe because this instrument was invented in the new world.
When I emigrated to New York,
in just a few days I learnt something about the music
which I had played all my life,
as I drove through this city.
The architecture of this city made total sense to me.
It became clear to me why American music is how it is.
This totally consistent rhythmicity from left to right,
despite being so simple in a fundamental structural sense,
has something magical.
I do not know who among you has lived in New York,
or knows this city.
For those who have been there,
it is not surprising that every day on the street,
in a city where 8 million people live,
you meet people you know,
people you see every day, or people you have not seen for 20 years.
This architecture,
the possibilities for getting from point A to point B,
is so compelling, that a certain magic comes about
as a result of this simplicity.
To a very great extent, I have learnt to understand how this city
was built via rock and jazz.
This could be discussed for a very long time,
but I would like to finish off here.
With Henry and Lorant, already during the set-up work,
we went on flights of fancy
and discovered what each of us is interested in
and where our influences lie.
I never used to think outside my own square.
I only began to do so when I had no other option.
(Translation: Simon Thomas)
