Saphileaum

The little paper guys on the album art don’t seem to be happy to be “Exploring Together” what’s their story?

Answer: Haha, yes that's a good point. The artwork is done by the iconic illustrator Stefan Marx. It is his vision and signature and I like it how he captured the process. There is unity and the figures might not look happy as mentioned, but I'm sure that in the world where they live, they will smile eventually.

You seem to have a focus on instruments that provide rhythm and melody (thumb pianos, tuned drums) what draws you to them?

Answer: We have so many cultures on Earth and therefore so many various instruments with different moods, different stories, different feelings... It inspires me a lot to use multi-cultural instruments in my music and to create a unity of them in a song, in an album. At the moment, artistically I'm drawn to and exploring more tribal and ethnic instruments from several cultures, both rhythmic and melodic. I want to continue by widening and unifying the specter of cultures in my music. 

How do you go about loop creation? Is it a matter of finding a good melody or rhythm first?

Answer: For me it's about finding and capturing the experience. It can be a rhythm or a melody or even both, but usually I start by creating the rhythm.

It's essential for me to add musical ornaments to it too. I would say that for me, a loop in a song can stretch over the whole course of it, being both easily noticeable and seeable or even hidden somewhere in the song. It's like a pillar of the temple and then everything else is built around it.

Your track naming seems to place the listener in a specific setting. Are track names important to you?

Answer: Yes totally, my track names are essential part of my creative process. I sometimes might first come up with a name for a track or an album and afterwards end up writing it. I love naming music. It gives me joy. Titles of my songs and like small doors into the world, setting or the message behind them.

How important is sequencing?

Answer: It depends on what type of music you create and what you want to express creatively. For example, all of my music is sequenced to specific grids, so it sounds intact. But when I play live, I'm playing with my hands and I'm not a robot so there are always some jumps from the grid and it has its own beauty to it, different feel. 

Can you speak on how you started working with Mule Musiq?

Answer: I've been following Mule Musiq for quite some time and always was inspired by its output, both visually and musically. During the summer of 2023, I had a few live gigs and whilst preparing for them, I ended up creating new music (as it usually happens hahah) which I put together and called "Exploring Together". They all shared the same feeling of experiences and inspirations I had in me at that time. I wanted to release them and when thinking of a label, I thought "why not try Mule Musiq"?  Firstly, because I really liked the label and thought that these particular songs resonated with it and second because of my love and sympathy for Japan and its culture. I reached out to Mule via email and approximately within 2 weeks got an answer that they wanted to release the music! I will be forever grateful and honored that I got the chance to release my music there. It's a dream come true!

Can you speak to the wider music or artistic scene in Tbilisi?

Answer: In general, Georgian musical culture and folklore is very rich, ancient and unique. In Tbilisi it's very diverse, however, given the situation that the town is small, some genres might be more dominant over others. At the moment electronic music such as Techno, House, Trance, to name a few, is very popular. Alternative Rock and Hip-Hop as well. But one thing is clear that Georgian people love to sing and dance. It can be Classical, it can be Rock, it can be Pop or even electronic, we always find our own way of expressing it.

You’ve spoken about Georgian folk music being an influence on your work. I’m only familiar with Sulkhan Tsintsadze, are there other artists you would recommend?

Answer: Woah, I'm happy to hear that you are familiar with Sulkhan! From the more old and more classical side I would totally recommend listening to Jansugh Kakhidze, Hamlet Gonashvili, and Iveria. These are one of the many gems of Georgian musical heritage. As from the modern age, we have many great musicians and bands also. I would recommend checking out Moku Moku, Bedford Falls, Luna997 and Anushka Chkheidze to name a few, but there are much more. (these are first which came to my mind so sorry for others If I didn't mention them!!)

One of your albums is titled “Interpersonal Experience” what do you hope listeners experience? What are you trying to transmit to them?

Answer: I'm always trying to transmit the experiences, wonders, mysteries and inspirations I find in the world via music. I hope that my listeners experience calmness, relaxation, have fun, dance, dive into themselves and make discoveries. I hope that my music brings ease, sense of unity and healing to the listener. I want to share my side of the story with them, something that fascinates me, which hopefully becomes something for them too.

There’s a playfulness to many of these songs, especially “Kilimanjaro,” is creation a serious or playful experience for you?

Answer: I'm happy to hear that you resonated to it like that. Creation process is mysterious I would say. It can be and at the same time may not be playful or serious. I never know in which way it is going to unfold. But the experience is very mystical, it's like if something else travels through me while creating. I'm just a tool. It is a very spiritual process.