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Intervista
di Floyd Channel a Interview - Ron Geesin - 2004/02/02 Ron Geesin is famous in the floydian world because of
his his partnership with Roger Waters for his debut solo album "The
Body" and for arranging and directing the orchestra in the suite
that opens the album “Atom Heart Mother”, released in 1970.
1. Your personal and musical carreer is rich and eventful,
but the most famous composition of yours is perhaps “Atom Heart
Mother”. I relate to this with very mixed feelings. Here are two of them: a) Because of the way that the Floyd 'backing tracks' were literally stuck together from unrelated sections causing tempo-matching problems when we added the brass, choir and cello, and, because of my misunderstanding where the barlines were placed in the 'funky' section and Nick Mason insisting that my writing of the phonetic words should be moved to Beat 1, causing a limping feel, I said to manager Steve O'Rourke after the EMI recording, "That was a good rehearsal. Now, can we do it for real?!" b) The irreconcilable hurt not to be properly acknowledged on the sleeve, against the nice and steady royalties and some modest acclaim. 2. How were you chosen for this partnership? a) I was good friends with Roger and Nick and they could see that I had some grand and adventurous ideas about musical art, and I could write music. b) At that time, they were being pushed/encouraged for new material by EMI and their manager, so they were temporarily drained creatively and I happened to get chosen as the 'injection'. 3. Did any member of Pink Floyd tell you anything about Syd Barrett during the recording sessions? No, but he did walk in to Abbey Road one day, spun round slowly a couple of times like a floppy robot, then left. 4. When was it the last time you met or talked to a member of Pink Floyd? I met and talked with Dave and Nick at Judy Waters' funeral. 5. What was the approach of the band’s members to a classical – like work, as “Atom Heart Mother” can be defined? And, moreover, what was your opinion about them, as far as their technique was concerned? They simply wanted "something grand" and provided the basic form, both in chords and overall structure. They did their thing, and I did mine. 6. Were you satisfied with the “Atom Heart Mother” live performances, or would you have changed something? I was not satisfied - I walked out of the Hyde Park one in tears. There were not enough rehearsals and the musicians were not the best classical players. The conductor was unsuited, but he was better than I!!. With hindsight, having heard the work done by inspired amateurs in Lyon, France in April 2002 with 200 choir, that was a great sound. Also, the brass would have sounded much better doubled at least. But, in life, there's reality and there's speculation! 7. Let’s talk about “Music from the Body”. How did you compose it? Did you work on the images or did you follow the director’s instructions? It's getting hard to remember now! If you mean the film "The Body", the director Roy Battersby probably picked out where he wanted a song, an instrumental or an electronic atmosphere, then left us fairly free to decide on the content of each section. For the album "Music From The Body", we remade all the songs (because they had been made in a rush) and some of the instrumental sections, and made the two completely new pieces "Our Song" and "Body Transport" really as a celebration of our friendship and shared humour. Roger suggested merging and mixing all the pieces to make more of a substantial journey. [By the way, the film(VHS) sometimes comes up on eBay.] 8. Have you ever thought about performing some songs from this record on stage with Roger? No! By the time Roger had his own stage, we had partially lost contact. 9. Were you satisfied of the movie and the way the music was inserted in it? Mainly yes. But one silly thing was that because the music for the Medical Credits was for violin and cello ("Red Stuff Writhe" on the album) and the director, being a member of the Workers' Revolutionary Party, said that it made the medical people superior, the piece was left out!! I have no time for bloody politics. 10. Many people write us, asking and hoping for a new
Pink Floyd record, or a new tour, or even a reunion with Waters. As
Floyd Channel’s staff, we aren’t so sure it can really happen. With the death of manager Steve O'Rourke in 2003, I think they should all individually leave the Great Machine and walk, hop, skip or stagger benignly away across the field into the sunset. 11. Roger Waters finally ended the recording sessions
of Ca Ira, or at least that’s what he said. I don't know anything about it. I'm a Wagner and black jazz man myself! Roger should be left peacefully with his fishing rod and memories. But, will he? 12. O.K., let’s stop talking about Pink Floyd,
so we can get back to Ron Geesin. I prefer "careering" to "career". It means "bouncing and staggering about". I have two main strands: the extrovert performer and the introvert composer. Although there is interplay/exchange between these, they have been very far apart, maybe necessarily. Then, the composer side splits into "expressive" and "commercial". These, now three, routes could be examined on many levels, but one simple explanation is that I had to express ideas and, simultaneously, earn a living. A more comprehensive analysis 'Inventor Of Dreams' is in the UK magazine The Wire, September 2003. 13. Your latest record, "Right through and Beyond", has been released. Can you tell us something about it? 'Right Through' was my best longer-form LP album. It is about going through doors into the unknown. The extra tracks for the CD reissue made up a BBC-commissioned but rejected New Year Suite and were made at the same time as the album. They are connected to it in theme and style. 14. Which other records of yours would you suggest to the Pink Floyd fans who want to discover your music? This is a good one! The process of discovery comes more from inner drive than outer driven (being driven from outside). 'Right Through' is appropriate, because it is one journey. The opposite is 'Hystery' which, on one level, is like flicking/browsing through a biography. Hey, the amount of time, energy and inspiration put into my work makes them all good to discover. 15. All the artists like you, who have been successful
but not overwhelmed by huge fame, can allow themselves a more personal
and human relationship with their fans. I really enjoyed the visit. Of course, it is impossible to talk to people when Loud MunFloyd is vibrating the ether. It is another version of the extrovert/introvert mix: I work on my own so, when I come out, I bring some of that individual energy for free exchange with the sparkling energy of interested people. 16. What is there in Ron Geesin’s future? 'The Journey Of A Melody', which I certainly must finish this year, when I can get my new programmes working with Mac OSX! Thank You Ron ! No, thank you - and you - and you - and the other one - and him over there - and - Interview by Zack Pirani and Stefano Magnani. |