The musician, composer and festival initiator AGUSTÍN CASTILLA-ÁVILA, who lives in Salzburg, is not only one of the most important and committed proponents of microtonal music as President of the “International Ekmelic Music Society”. For mica, Didi Neidhart met AGUSTÍN CASTILLA-ÁVILA for an interview ahead of this year’s “Small Is Beautiful” symposium.
What does “ekmelic music” actually mean?
Agustin Castilla-Avila: Franz Richter Herf and other composers in our society loved the 72-note ekmelian tonal system. The term “ekmelic” comes from ancient Greek music theory: “ek mélos” means “outside the row”. It was used to designate tones that were not contained in the ancient Greek tonal system. The term is used with the same meaning today: Ekmelic music uses finely organized tones that lie between the twelve semitones of our traditional tempered tonal system and are therefore outside of our listening habits.
Because of the term “ekmelisch” the International Society for Ekmelic Music and the symposium “Microtones: Small is Beautiful”, Salzburg has become a very important international center for microtonality.
Keyword “microtonality”. Is it also about post/de-colonial aspects, i.e. questioning a (Western) hegemony that is defined by the “well-tempered piano” and the associated note and scale system?
Agustin Castilla-Avila: I do think that these aspects are often linked. I myself use a 36-EDO (Equal Divisions of the Octave) as a bridge between contemporary music and folk music from different cultures. With two additional notes between a semitone I can get “closer” to Arabic, Japanese or Turkish folk music. I really enjoy using this 36 EDO system and playing or listening to the music. I am sure that many listeners enjoy this microtonal music as well, even if it is not “authentic”, ie does not exactly correspond to the folk music of different cultures. It could be that when I imitate their folk music with my 36-EDO system, musicians from these cultures might perceive this as “cultural appropriation”. However, each person has their own perception, taste and opinion.
In Europe, weren’t there already “more open” tonal systems with thoroughly microtonal aspects, from the “well-temperedness” and functional harmony? I am thinking primarily of the so-called “early music”?
Agustin Castilla-Avila: Yes, there are many examples since the Greek microtones. There are beautiful examples much closer to the “well-temperedness”. I always have to mention Nicola Vincentino because I love his music so much – vocal compositions or music for archicembalo or archiorgano. In the 16th century he used 31 tones per octave. You feel a different tension that touches different emotions.
“I personally think slide techniques are fantastic.”
Open tunings are also widespread in American blues (otherwise there would probably be many classics of the Rolling Stones not). There are also slide techniques that create glissandi, which can lead to music that still sounds very peculiar, especially in the pre-war blues of the 1930s/1940s. How does such a musical tradition, where Africa and Europe already meet, relate to the microtonal approach of Ekmelic music?
Agustin Castilla-Avila: I personally think slide techniques are fantastic as they help develop a deeper understanding of how our visual and auditory perception works and how visual or auditory frequencies are perceived in the brain. Although I am not an expert in this field, these thoughts often play a role in my own creations.
As early as 1895, Julián Carrillo was experimenting with sixteenth tones. Between 1949 and 1958 he created the “pianos metamorfoseadores”, which sound similar to slide techniques (for which he received the Great Gold Medal at the Brussels World Exhibition in 1958).
“Composers today have a freedom that didn’t exist before.”
As early as the 1960s, the free jazz musician Albert Ayler said that the music of the future would no longer be defined solely by notes, but also by sounds. This includes both the “sheets of sounds” by John Coltrane and the electronic experiments between Stockhausen and Luigi Nono as well as the sound alienations of Jimi Hendrix or later in techno. With that in mind, I wonder why Ekmelian music still explores tones and scales. What is it that fascinates you?
Agustin Castilla-Avila: Nowadays, music is no longer defined solely by notes, but also by sounds. Composers today have a freedom that didn’t exist before. They can work with anything they want, like or love. As already mentioned, the comparison between the “sheets of sounds” and the “sheets of colors” allows us a better understanding of our brain and the perception associated with it. In Ekmelian music we not only study tones and scales, but also clusters (which is common in my music) and sheets of sounds. Especially when using electric guitars, I use sound distortions as timbres myself. For me they have a special dramatic weight.
Picture (c) Augustine Castile-Avila
This year’s symposium is about, among other things, microtonal xylophones. How important are aspects such as DIY and experimental instrument making in this context?
Agustin Castilla-Avila: For many participants it matters. Most instruments are still built for twelve tones. If you have something else in mind, you have to change the instruments. In the 1990’s I built a 36 EDO system. It was just adjusting the strings yourself and tuning the sixth notes from string to string. In my lectures, I keep mentioning that this 36-EDO system is just an example of do-it-yourself. Everyone can craft something different depending on what they need for a composition/improvisation.
Detroit techno musician Jeff Mills dubbed his 1993 debut Waveform Transmission, Vol 1 to further intensify the change from notes to sounds by now referring to “waveforms”. So from what is visible on the computer screen as/from music. How do you actually feel about the aspect of “microtonal music from the computer”?
Agustin Castilla-Avila: The topic “Microtonal music from the computer” plays a role in every edition of the symposium. At the beginning of my studies I was very interested in computer music. Since then (and to this day) I feel more of a longing for music that I can feel with my fingers. An example of this is when I build and play a six-string bass-string 36-EDO classical guitar system myself. The pleasure I feel is enormous. Several of my non-musical friends have tried this guitar and simply strummed the strings to enjoy the resonance. You can feel the vibrations throughout your body. For me, this is an extremely effective sound therapy. These factors are also the reason why I personally pay very little attention to computer music. But of course there are enough ingenious composers for computer music who are also interested in microtones.
Last year the “Ableton Microtuner” was released as a plugin for the Ableton music software. Is there something for you?
Agustin Castilla-Avila: I heard about it from microtonal colleagues. But like I said, I’m a bit far away from computer music at the moment. But, who knows: ten years ago I thought I would never write for electric guitar. Electric guitars have played a fundamental role in my compositions for the last nine years. That’s the way it is.
In your doctoral thesis “Instrumental Techniques’ Interchange. On Processes of Importing and Exporting Techniques in the Composition and Performance of Contemporary Music” is primarily about the potential of transfers and the associated transformations of specific playing techniques associated with individual instruments to other instruments. Apart from the fact that all instruments can also be played percussively, i.e. as rhythm instruments, what were the most exciting and surprising results?
Agustin Castilla-Avila: Microtonal music is just a small part of my music. Another small part is the “Instrumental Techniques’ Interchange”. I am very satisfied with the results, both with the compositions and with the various collaborations with international musicians. In November 2022, a concert took place in the Great Auditorium in Salzburg, where the Cygnus Ensemblethe Neopercussion EnsemblePilar Rius and Yvonne Zehner played pieces from my Instrumental-Techniques’-Interchange.
I have also received various positive feedbacks from various instrumentalists, composers and musicologists. I am very pleased that my proposed terminology and classification are well accepted. At this year’s symposium „Small Is Beautiful” on July 2nd, the pianist and improviser Jordina Millà will be my composition „Quasi Piano” for six microtonal electric guitars.
“The music is a discipline but the techniques of the instruments are completely different.”
Together with the Salzburg artist Isabella Heigl there was the project “NEVERENDINGARTIST: With Dylan on the Road” in the USA last year. How compatible are Bob Dylan and ekmelisch music?
Agustín Castilla-Ávila: Music is a discipline, but the techniques of the instruments are very different. The “Instrumental Techniques’ Interchange” can be interpreted as a transdisciplinary approach in the music discipline. In our collective NEVERENDINGARTIST we introduced similar processes between music and painting to propose a classification in transdisciplinarity depending on who practices which discipline with which objects. We have also created objects by combining both disciplines.
However, transdisciplinarity is only a small part of my work. Sometimes we microtonally tuned the guitars to create timbres and perform Bob Dylan-style improvisations.
What does guitarist Dylan mean to you as a guitarist or is it more about the way Dylan dealt with the material from Harry Smith’s legendary “Anthology Of American Music” for example?
Agustin Castilla-Avila: I myself have a great interest in folk music, also from the USA. Our collective NEVERENDINGARTIST is still quite young. So far we only have the big project „With Dylan on the Road”. I hope we can continue with other projects and themes, including sheets of sounds and microtonal music. Jimi Hendrix has also been a great inspiration for projects for me on several occasions.
What are your plans for the future?
Agustin Castilla-Avila: I recently did the grand opera „Cerro Rico” to a libretto by Herbert Macking. Although not folk music, it has a leading role in the opera. Microtonal guitars are occasionally heard in the orchestra.
The pandemic has brought production to a temporary halt, but we still have very good sponsors. This project is a high priority for me. I love opera the most and I hope that it will always be part of my future.
As a composer, guitarist, improviser, graphic artist, author and artistic researcher, I plan to keep moving forward and enjoying.
Thank you for the interview.
Didi Neidhart
++++
Links:
International Society for Ekmelic Music
Agustin Castilla-Ávila
Agustín Castilla-Ávila (Youtube)
Agustín Castilla-Ávila (PhD thesis)