I must keep moving forwards always. Interview to Steve Kilbey by Diego Centuri贸n. Translate by Marcelo Simonetti.
To talk about your career as a musician would take many chapters or questions, but to start this interview, whenever I hear your solo works or collaborations the same feeling of peace invades me and the world becomes more nocturnal and gloomy, but not dark, as if each chord or melody has a small hidden secret to be discovered. How would you describe your way of composing? Well i guess im always trying to get that feeling you are describing. That nocturnal feeling. sad without being depressing. This is the feeling i always explore What do you search for with every new work; a general concept, or just good songs? (as if that is not what everyone is looking for). Well i always know what i want to do. Its the same thing i always do . over and over. Refining and improving my vision of beautiful songs that actually mean something. Subtle and rich music you can listen to forever. About life love dreams and death and rebirth. Spiritual but not religious.
As an artist you are always moving, either with The Church, solo or collaborations. Does the magic resides in never being static?; the act of creating, makes you feel complete? Yes that is correct. I must keep moving forwards always. One of your lasts collaborations and the one which you have released more albums is with Martin Kennedy from All India Radio. How this collaboration was born, and what do you find in Martin at the time of composing? Martin just approached me one day in 2002. He writes lovely pieces of music for me to sing over. So we have delineated what each of us does. Its very easy. And I love the stuff he comes up with!
The releases with Martin are divers, and has became more frequent these times. All of them convey a calm atmosphere, purity and luminosity, is it a reflex of the writing process? Or a reflex of your personal lives? Martin just writes very atmospheric music. Theres not much I can do except write atmospheric words. He is a very calm and centred guy though! Your solo work is vast, which is the moment you decide it’s a solo work and not a band work, before composing, or after you have the songs? I know right from the start what its going to be. There is never any question what it will end as. This year you have released a DVD with The Church, an album with Martin Kennedy and you will be releasing “Whispers in the Static” with Miscellanea, what can we expect for 2015? 2015 will be hu dost collaboration. And collaboration with irish guitarist Frank Kearns. At least it will be that if not a lot more I haven’t planned yet!
What’s the importance of the internet for you? Do you think it changed the way people listen to music, the way of commercializing it? The internet has made a huge difference to everything in all our lives. In music in film in everything. There is no escape from it. It has its ups and downs. It has all been written about before elsewhere. It doesn’t need any more commenting on by me. Except it has changed everything Do you think it’s more difficult to get to the young listeners than in past decades? I’m asking you because of the rhythm we are living in, and the easier way people can access to music on the web. This fact makes people to jump from one song to another, and even if the song is in its middle See above. I don’t worry about this stuff anymore Tell us a reflection (retrospectively) about what you have lived with the music? A wish for the future? We have built up an astounding body of work over 35 years. Its all there for people to get into. My wish for the future is that more people can discover it
Did you ever thought in coming to South America? Yes we would love to tour there. But the money problems prevent that unless something miraculous happens Thank you for your words and your music https://www.facebook.com/the13thlarevista http://issuu.com/revistathe13th