Questions & Answers
1. Bálint Fodor: "How important is music theory for you personally?"
Rojinski: "It's the same for all disciplines, all subjects... The more you know, the better you are. But technique and theory are not enough, in my opinion. The "why" we compose is also very important. The "who" we are also. Music is used to convey emotions, feelings, even philosophical messages. So, for me, knowing a minimum of theory can be a great help. It's a bit like a writer... The richer and more extensive his vocabulary, grammar and conjugation are, the better he can express himself and describe what he wants. On the other hand, if he has nothing special to say, all that is of no use to him and he can, at the limit, teach literary technique... But he will never be a writer, an author. For music, it's the same. Being a musician with technique and knowledge does not necessarily imply that one is a (good) composer.
For my part, what I know has been transmitted to me by others... Sound engineers, composers, musicians... Learning is not limited to "academic" study. But I would therefore be incapable of composing a complex symphony for classical orchestra. You have to stay humble and everything goes well (smile)."
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2. Simon Watson: "Do you have a personal favourite album from your own discography?"
Rojinski: "All the albums I've composed have a meaning for me. But some are more personal, almost involving private emotions or sending a message that counts for me... Ten Million Years After Us , Coma , Suffering In Silence , Black Square and the last one, Despair & Desolation, are a bit special to me. But really, If I don't like a music I'm creating, I don't release it. I don't even finish it."
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3. Neil Görz: "Are there any particular artists that inspired you to create your own styles of music?"
Rojinski: "When I was 14, and until 19, I was a real sponge, absorbing all kinds of music. From Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and Kraftwerk, to Simple Minds, The Chameleons, Siouxie & The Banshees, Sisters of Mercy, via AC/DC, Motorhead, Sex Pistols, Shame 69, The Sparks but also Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Cat Stevens, Creedence Clearwater Revival because my father listened to these artists... I listened to this music according to my moods, the emotions of the moment...
But, very early on, I wanted to compose my own music. Admittedly, I trained in my room, alone, to play rock and blues standards but also to make recordings with the means at hand. Tape to tape to tape to tape... In the end, there was only noise and hiss... Then came the TASCAM 4 tracks... It changed the way I make music... and especially to compose. We were in the 80s... Depeche Mode released their first album... Kraftwerk consolidated their status as masters of electronic music... New artists arrived... Orchestral Maneuver in The Dark, Ann Clark, Dead Can Dance , Cocteau Twins, etc. Darker, more mysterious, unusual, original... I felt good in this movement.
At the same time, I was composing a lot of instrumentals... in secret... in my room... In the country where I lived, fashion was more oriented towards funk, jazz... I didn't really have the chance to meet people who really shared my taste for this music... Which does not imply that they were bad musicians or bad people... Far from it... It was a time without internet and traveling was very expensive.
So, in summary, all this music has undoubtedly influenced the musician that I am today. But more than anything, it's life that inspires me."
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4. Suni Hoffman: "What do you find is important about your creative process?"
Rojinski: "I guess it's different for everyone. But, personaly, i think the state of mind, the mood, the news are very important. This will determine the theme of the album. I hate releasing singles... That leaves me neither the space nor the time to develop the chosen theme. Yes, the theme, the subject is essential to my creative process. I make music for the emotion, the message, the sharing... As far as I am concerned, music is a sanctuary that should not be desecrated by considerations other than artistic and philosophical. But that's my way of seeing things.
Once the theme is established, the mystery of the composition begins... A strange, inexplicable process where emotion, imagination and knowledge mingle. Images come to haunt me... A kind of inner film is created by sequences...
When the music is composed and recorded (it can take weeks, sometimes months...), I look into the cover and the graphics... I have no technical talent in creative computer graphics, 3D , painting or drawing. I leave that to my wife and son. But I know what I want. I see things. And in this case, Artificial Intelligence is my best friend. I have been studying this tool for 8 months... Sometimes I spend weeks on a single image... Sometimes it goes faster. When I've created the cover art, all I have to do is process it with conventional infographic tools. This is the last step in the creative process."
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5. Stubnya Zoltán: "What’s your creative process, when you’re laying down the foundations of a new song?"
Rojinski: "I think your question can find its answer, for a part, in the paragraph above. But I assume that it is more about the technique of creation, the recipe in a way...
There are no rules, no recipe, as far as I'm concerned. It's instinctive and spontaneous. The first thing that I will integrate into the composition determines what will follow... A texture, a variation, a "field recording", a melody, an evolution of timbre, a variation of frequencies... It all depends on the theme and of the impetus it gives me. It all depends on the story I want to tell, the mood... Then I add some elements.... Kind of like dressing a model... Kind of like building the set for a scene for a play or a film. The room (or the landscape), the walls, the furniture, the objects, possibly the people...
That's for dark ambient music... If I have to compose a soundtrack for a movie or a song, it's more structured and based on a melody that fits the image or the singer. Then, The theory is the cavalry that gallop to your aid! Harmony and its development. Tempo, time signature and all those things... Music is the emotional side of the mathematics."
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