Harmonizing Melodies and Memories: A Candid Conversation with the Matthias Spillmann Trio
How do you feel about tonight?
Moritz: It’s very nice to be at the same spot for days. I think it does a lot to the music. I am very excited to eat the food here and see what happens.
Tell me about yourself. How did you meet?
Andreas: Maybe that’s your story (looking at Matthias) I think it started with a session in Berlin…
Matthias: At the time I was often there. And I knew Moritz, but I don’t remember exactly how.
Moritz: I think we met in Cologne, at the music festival.
Matthias: And then I thought that we should meet and have a session together. And there should have been another guy who did not show up.
So there were just the three of us.
Andreas: And that kind of trio was not very common. Trumpet, drums and bass. It was sort of a surprise that it worked out. It felt really good.
So the guy who never showed up, you just left him out?
Moritz: He is very sad now, because he is not part of this band, haha.
Actually the music we are playing has a strong connection to Jazz, but we take a lot of freedom, cause it’s only 3 of us. And it’s fun to switch roles. Sometimes I focus more on the melody. What’s nice about the trio is that there are a lot of possibilities to discover the music we are playing.
Matthias: This band is kind of on and off. Because we live far away from each other and everyone is in demand. But when we get together every now and then, we have a lot of fun.
Moritz: Sometimes we chat through the phone and we have video calls. We actually know each other for a long time. It’s really nice to get together.
You all have different cultural backgrounds. Germany, Denmark and Switzerland?
Mo: I was actually born in Switzerland, but I grew up in Germany.
Ma: I actually grew up close to Zürich. On a farm. We had some chickens, potatoes, carrots and so on…
A: And I was born in Denmark, but now I live in Berlin.
How do you feel about growing up on a farm?
Ma: I think it definitely had an impact on me. Most musicians come from families who have academic background or have parents who are professional musicians. But I think I have a pretty unique view on jazz music, because I came from another perspective. My father actually played accordion and we sang a lot. He was also a firefighter and whenever they had a party, he played accordion. And he could naturally play music that he just heard from the radio. He could play it just by listening. I think this had also an impact on me in a way.
A: Both of my parents played music and I grew up listening to a lot of music. My parents also did folk music.
Can you tell me about your memories connected to food at the farm?
Ma: My grandmother was a chef in the kitchen. There is no way anyone else could do something in her kitchen. And we did not buy almost anything. It was all very self sufficient. Only meat we got from the neighbour.
A: It was pretty much the same for me. My neighbour was like “Hey, we are slaughtering a cow, anyone wants a piece?”.
I remember once my cousins came to visit us from the city and we were playing in the garden. And my mother asked “Do you guys want the carrots?” Then she went to get them from the garden and he asked “Why did you put the carrots into the ground?” Haha. They are so used to getting everything from the shop.
Mo: I heard they started a program in Australia where they teach kids more about farming, because living in the city, you don’t have the idea of where the vegetables come from other than the shop.
Do you ever look on the moon when producing music?
Ma: We actually have a song that is composed after a supermoon. Supermoon is a bigger moon than the usual one due to particular circumstances. And one night I remember walking home in summer and I was very inspired from that.
When was the last time you truly felt listened to?
A: I think like right now. Two seconds ago. This is the last time. Haha. But in general at the concerts, I think the people are always listening. It’s hard to ignore. You can try not to, but it’s not really like background music.
Mo: And I think the way we are playing. We really need the audience to listen to what we are doing. Otherwise it’s not working out.
Ma: It’s something you have to train. For me the quality of the musician is the way how much someone can listen. It’s like a technique of how much you can listen.
The listening ability makes you a good musician. And these two guys are very good listeners. That’s why I love to play with them. When I play, I feel that they hear everything I do.
Mo: It’s actually more about listening than playing, yes.
What do you hear in silence?
Mo: Very soft music. Sometimes I also hear my thoughts.
A: Yes, music all the time. That’s the thing that you get with time, that there will always be melodies in your head. There is always some-kind of groove going on.
Ma: It’s just sounds. It’s even more abstract than sounds. Sometimes I hear things, like as if you compare it to looking at the house. If I were an architect, I would see the blueprint of the house.
And sometimes I hear the blueprint of the music.
A: Manifesting the blueprint can be very difficult. The feel of it can be so much different than what you can actually express.
Matthias, you finished university around 1999, in Switzerland, how would you describe the music then and now, how it developed?
Ma: I think the biggest difference is the self-esteem of Swiss musicians. I think when I grew up doing this music, there was still kind of looking up to American Jazz or trying to imitate something similar. There were like 2 different parties. People who really tried to make something similar and people who tried to make something completely opposite. And now I feel it’s very different compared to that. People have way more self-esteem as artists in what they are doing, and there is no more judgement. My students actually know and are proud of some Swiss musicians. Also when I grew up there were still some very strict topics, like Jazz or pop. And now people are way more open and kind of mixing the genres.
If you would describe your music as food, what kind of dish would it be?
Ma: It would be several courses. My aim is to get everything in there. There is some starter, some drinks, something sweet. It would be very rich.
Mo: It’s moving like water with little dishes inside. Maybe Wine is even better connected to the music. It’s like smelling and tasting. It gives different experiences.
A: I think we would be like all the good and healthy stuff and it’s all cooked with love.
Ma: It’s also something about the way I like to cook. I usually always improvise. I just opened the fridge. Take whatever is there and just do something with it. Sort of how I make the music.
There are no recipes.
What is your favourite breakfast?
A: Coffee.
Ma: Breakfast is something I don’t improvise with, haha. It’s always the same. Some muesli, the same yoghurt and some fruits.
Have you ever been to Estonia?
A: Yes, I’ve been to Tallinn. I’ve been to a club called Philly Joes. I was there in January and I did a workshop there.
Mo: I’ve been to a Jazz festival on that little Island.
Ma: Not yet!
Interview and photography made by Alina Birjuk
16.05.2023