Nico Georis (Music Belongs To The Universe) - Album of the Month (April)
An exclusive interview with Nico Georis sharing insights into his inspirations behind the album, creative practices and studio alchemy...
Like a gymnopédie for the desert these recordings flutter and unfold, sunbleached; their arrangements, at once rapt and unobtrusive, attending to the massive world around. As they cast off drama to make room for attunement, they remind us that, sometimes, the most attentive kind of searching feels like letting go…
Every month I share with you an album that I’ve been listening to that I think of very, very highly and pairing it with an exclusive interview with the artist — this month, it’s Californian pianist and composer Nico Georis with his latest album — Music Belongs To The Universe — released on Leaving Records.
Threading lines between pastoral melody and desert minimalism, each track rings out and warbles, crafting sounds as spacious as the landscapes from which it was conjured.
Recorded between 2021 and 2023, Music Belongs To The Universe is the latest foray in a search for music as crystalline as the desert skies that Georis began in 2020, when he first moved out to a remote town outside of Death Valley. Here, he restored what became his studio — Granny’s Dancehall — which became his temple for these desert meditations.
AND…
For your chance to win an exclusive vinyl copy of the album for yourself — upgrade your Sonic Tapestries subscription to yearly for just 10€!!!
Hey Nico! Thanks so much for taking the time to contribute to Sonic Tapestries. I’d like to start by introducing your new album - Music Belongs To The Universe - where did the inspiration for this record come from?
Thanks for having me here as part of Sonic Tapestries. In 2020 I began living in a remote ghost town on the edge of Death Valley. Life in this place inspired piano and synthesizer music that reflects the elaborate emptiness, ghosts, wildflowers, and otherworldly weather patterns of this zone. Music Belongs To The Universe feels like the 3rd chapter of this musical era, and is cut from the same cloth as Desert Mirror and Cloud Suites.
Being out there in the desert in Death Valley, how does your environment influence your process — do you spend a lot of time out in the desert?
Yeah spending time in nature is a big part of the process. A dip in a clear stream, the looming mountain ranges warbling in the heat, bird song, deep winter peace, sunlight in pine sap crystals, the deep aroma of wild sage brush, herds of wild horses, petroglyphs strewn amongst the hills, the 5 thousand year old bristlecone pines, my magic-eyed tweaker neighbors polishing gemstones, a little ramshackle community of elders dwelling in their old shacks — all these factors make up the atmosphere and lifestyle that births the music.
“…in all honesty, the very foundation of why I make music is because I have no choice. It is a part of my survival and it is also what I love the most. My creative process feels like building a shelter, or cooking a nice meal. Music gives me and others nourishment.”
Can you tell us a little about your studio space - Granny's Dancehall - where you recorded the album. Do you have any particular equipment there that you are particularly attached to?
Granny’s Dancehall is in a 120 year old building that a friend of mine owns. It was a miner’s union hall in the 1800’s, then a school, a convenience store, a restaurant, and later a dancehall, then sat empty for 35 years. I was able to take over half of the hall and setup my studio there. I’ve found people’s names written in the walls, old coyote traps, children’s paintings, strange old lamps from bygone eras. There are spirits in the walls so to speak- and these entities color the vibe of music made at Granny’s, so I guess could qualify this as my favorite pieces of “gear”.
Sounds kinda spooky… in amongst all this I’m interested to know what the strangest item in your studio is?
When I took over the dancehall there were two massive console organs already in there, one of them - the strangest item - is a veritable space station with 3 levels of keyboards and bass pedals featuring an array of synth tones, arpeggiators, bird and wind FX, plus drum machines all controlled via a very Star Trek array of glowing buttons. It sounds super unique!
“I step into the studio cuz my life depends on it, and that’s why I love it.”
What inspires you to begin working on a track in the studio? Tell us what is the first step in your creative process?
This may sound somewhat off-question, but in all honesty the very foundation of why I make music is because I have no choice. It is a part of my survival and it is also what I love the most. My creative process feels like building a shelter, or cooking a nice meal. Music gives me and others nourishment. Brian Eno said something like “the best records are made with limited gear and a hard deadline”. I step into the studio cuz my life depends on it, and that’s why I love it.
"No matter how trance-like... nothing about this is accidental" is a quote from your liner notes that really jumped out at me as it seems that you have really honed in on directing your attention to creating fascinating sound worlds. I read too that you were greatly influenced by the work of Terry Riley — when composing do you have any particular methods or ritual you practice when it comes to writing and composing?
I do have rituals and practices yes, although hard to explain here. Work ethic and discipline are surely required to get anywhere. Messing around and improvising is how I find the best ideas. Ideas are like little seeds from another dimension and I encounter them by screwing around over in their dimension. But then there’s a lot of skills and work involved in bring them back to earth and doing them justice. It’s like raising children. Some of them turn out better than others. Songs are like my family members. This sounds strange I know!
Music Belongs To The Universe has such a woozy, warm, almost hypnotic feel to it, from a sonic perspective, could you share some of the creative techniques you used to create this sound?
I tend to keep things on the side of natural and organic. I use both digital and analog equipment, but I lean heavily in the direction of recording on tape, using real reverb and room sounds, analog effects, and doing live mixes with my hands on a mixing console. I used real tape loops. I used Terry Riley style hard-panned mirror delay. I used only analog synths and the old strange organs I spoke of earlier. I used analog EQ as much as possible. I generally use as few plugins as possible but do use certain plugins when they sound good. There’s no rules…
How has your playing style evolved over time - are you particularly attached to any gear, effects or pedals?
I am the most important piece of gear in the studio. Sun Ra spoke about being the instrument that plays the instruments. Effects pedals and gear are useful — don’t get me wrong — but the best musicians will penetrate your soul no matter what gear they have in front of them. I feel being human is the primary art form, from which all other art forms flourish. People who write good lyrics have generally lived interesting lives. Living life is the best form of art schooling.
Over the course of my life influences like Fats Waller, Chopin, Satie, Junior Kimbro, Myriam Gebrue, Terry Riley, Nino Rota, Lee Scratch Perry, Fela Kuti, and Nigerian desert guitar music have slowly sunk in because I love them and resonate with them. I’ve somehow digested them into my subconcious. It just happened…
What does 2025 hold in store for Nico Georis?
A new musical era is definitely here. I’m pretty far into new musical directions and working on recorded collaborations with artists I love in genres that are different than these past few records. Looking forward to playing more shows abroad and seeing the world!
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Thank you for being here with me.
Mat
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Seeing him play in LA tonight!
Great interview with inspiring insights. Nico’s compositions are appealing in their arrangements, texture and evolving circular structures.