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Q1 When did you first want to be a classic musician?
Well I don't think I ever thought about what "kind" of musician I wanted to be when I started. I began very young taking piano lessons and the classic works was my first real introduction to music. I think it always stayed with me..also through my work with my band Devics.. it was always there. But honestly I don't like the term "classical" musician for what I do. There is an influence there, but I am equally inspired by post modern music also. Most of my musical education has been with the band. I think the classical world today is more about technique and are not supporting the new composers of today. It makes me think how Satie was never really accepted by the classical world in his day, but today he is considered genius. They are always too late in their appreciation.
Q2 What inspires you to create a music?
I think for me... its like air. I need it to keep me sane, and feel alive. So you could say everything inspires me. |
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Q3 How would you describes your music?
That's always the hardest question to answer. I think it really depends on the listener too... I think in making instrumental music I hope that it does not have to be classified and become whatever it means to the people who listen... but I think if I had to think of a word to describe it, I would say "honest".
Q4 You are supporting KD Lang's tour, how is it going so far?
Well its been a bumpy start. I got snowed in, in Toronto after the first show and missed the show in Boston. But its getting better now... She is a really gracious person and really has an incredibly gifted voice. We are playing some incredible venues that I probably would never have had the chance to play.
Playing these pieces night after night has given me a chance to go deeper into the performance... get closer to how I play when I am alone.. |
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Q8 Do you have any mentors and if so, who are they?
Well.... Chopin, Satie, Francois Truffaut, Arvo Part, Philip Glass, Bernard Herrmann, Tom Waits, Nick Cave... Just to name a few. |
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Q9 What do you usually do before the show starts?
Have some tea, and try to find a bit of quiet space in my head.
Q10 Music to live by
Chopin's Nocturnes. The depth of these compositions is staggering. I will listen them for the rest of my life.
Q11 Could you tell us your favorite clothing store?
Actually my favorite place is this vintage clothing store "Angelo" in this small town in Italy where I lived named Lugo. I found my favorite jacket there... an old navy green button up coat... where it all the time. Good coats are essential!
Q12 When is the most important time of your day?
Late at night between 12 and 2 am |
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Opus 36 -Marie Antoinette
(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)-
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Poignant and eerily lovely, Piano Solos is the newest release from Dustin O'Halloran, one half of the creative mind behind the imaginative music of The Devics. Nothing less than revelation, the album takes O’Halloran's emotionally resonant melodies and strips them bare, leaving nothing but a delicate and starkly moving beauty. Recorded alone at his home in Italy on a 1930s restored Swiss Sabel piano, these 12 tracks reveal a musician in the midst of a personal transformation. Fans of The Devics may recognize the atmospheric, noir sway, but there is something timeless here, a longing captured by a lone piano played with raw sentiment and grace. Dustin O'Halloran first began classical training on the instrument at age 7. Six years of lessons were abruptly interrupted when he relocated to live with his father. O'Halloran would not touch the piano again for over a decade. His reunion with the instrument began after meeting Sara Lov, a dynamic musician in her own right and one half of the creative force behind The Devics. Through writing music together with Lov, O'Halloran found his interest in piano reignited and his passion for the instrument slowly found it’s way into their songs.
Two years ago, O'Halloran began spending time in Italy, writing music with Sara Lov and slowly beginning to focus more and more on the piano. Yet listen close and you'll hear a nod to postmodern beauty as well, to the epic, enigmatic sound of bands like Rachael's, Mogwai and God Speed You Black Emperor. Solos is somehow both fragile and grandly majestic, a vulnerability echoing in the air around each elegant composition. O'Halloran plays his instrument with reverence and simplicity and the combined effect is undeniably cinematic. This is music which evokes a wealth of imagery – fresh snow, black boughs, mist and rain, the wind brushing aside dry leaves, light like diamonds on the water. All of Solos tracks contain this nuanced, multifaceted nostalgia, along with a slight taste of the bittersweet. It is O’Halloran at his most exploratory and ultimately, at his most intimate. "I have always felt the closest to the piano in terms of being able to express myself clearly," he explains, "There was even a small hesitation to even play these songs for people as it felt so personal, but in the end I think that is what music should be.... vulnerable. It's just me and the piano and all that I can give through it." |
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Q5 What was it like working for a movie "Marie Antoinette"? Any good experiences?
That was a very special experience since it was first time writing for a major film. I really enjoyed Sofia's other films and how music was such a big part of the imagery.. My most memorable moment was recording in Paris in the spring, Brian ( the music supervisor) had rented a Fortepiano from the 1700's for me to record on. It was such an amazing instrument.. full of history and with such a particular sound. It was raining outside and we recorded all day long, and it was one of those magic recording sessions. There was inspiration in the air and I wrote a piece of music that day in the studio that ended up in the film.. opus 36.
Q6 What were your childhood aspirations?
I started playing piano when I was about 6 and really loved it.... but I thought I would be an artist, and for most of my childhood studied art. Music was kind of an accident... I mean I never thought I would be doing it as a career. |
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Q7 Which venue do you feel the best to play your music? Any favorite venues?
I think with this particular project theatres are always best... and lately I have had a chance to play some really amazing theatres that sound wonderful... recently played this old American theatre in upstate New York that was built in the early 1900s. But I have also performed in rock clubs too... thats more or less where I started with Devics.
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Opus 17 -Marie Antoinette
(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)-
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Q13 if you were to collaborate with another musician, who would it be?
Right now one of my favorite contemporary composer is Johann Johannsonn from Iceland. His work is sublime. I would love to collaborate with him one day.
Q14 Favorite cocktail and where to drink it?
Greygoose dirty martini with a great friend.
Q15 What is your next achievement?
To make it though all this touring, and start working on my next record... I am hoping to do some collaborations and start working with strings and other instruments.
Q16 Would you like to add anything for the Japanese fans?
I am coming to Tokyo for the first time this month! |
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