Harpist Remy van Kesteren launched his new album 'Muses' on August 25th. On the album, he draws inspiration from his favorite bands and artists, such as Aphex Twin, Sibelius, Kendrick Lamar, Bon Iver, and Satie. Pop/electronic/rap/classical—you name it, van Kesteren isn't one to shy away from it: 'At the same time, musically it's also a coherent whole; actually, there's not much difference between them.'

The harpist will bring his remarkable Reus 49 instrument to Belgium in October, on October 4th at the Roma in Antwerp and October 5th at the AB Club in Brussels. More than enough reason for an interview!

Why is the album called 'Muses'?
'It's a reference to the nine muses from Greek mythology. They are the muses of inspiration, and I had nine composers who inspired me—it seemed like a nice reference to make. It's also a nod to the fact that the band 'Muse' is one of those muses.'

Nine muses and thus nine composers—how did you arrive at that selection?
'There could have been many more. A few didn't quite fit the vibe, and this formed a nice whole. They're the bands or composers that inspire me, the ones I enjoy listening to. Most of them are still alive, and I like going to their concerts. I thought it was nice that it's a broad palette. From classical works like a Sibelius to works that came out last year, for example Crown by Kendrick Lamar. The other end of the spectrum, but at the same time musically also a coherent whole, I think. Actually, there's not much difference between them.'

Do your muses know you made this?
'I tried to let them know. There are so many layers of management around them, for example with a big band like Radiohead, that I really wonder if it reached them, but I sent it anyway. I suppose it's more likely they'll stumble upon it by chance or someone will point it out to them.'

What was your approach to rewriting?
'Actually, different each time. For example, in the case of Perth by Bon Iver, a band I think is absolutely incredible, I take a lot of liberties. It has a recognizable melody and that was the starting point for an improvisation.
Another time, for example with Radiohead, I enjoyed analyzing that music. The way I used to analyze classical music and spent a lot of time really understanding why Debussy, or in this case Sibelius or Satie, wrote things the way they did. Nowadays I find myself more and more at places like pop festivals or other kinds of stages, and I became increasingly curious about pop music, to search for what lay behind it. Classical music is very much built on harmonies, large structures, and long pieces. If you look at other music through that lens, it quickly seems limited. But in other music it's about production or about what exactly is sounding. Such an apparently 'simple' track of a few minutes sometimes consists of more than two hundred tracks of different kinds of sounds that together determine the sound, the palette of how you experience that music. With Radiohead, for example, you suddenly hear that there are vocal recordings played backwards. I went to analyze that and see if I could translate it to my harp. Manipulating sound in such a way that there's depth in it, that it has an impact—that was the quest.'

A few tracks highlighted:
Isolated System: 'a track originally by Muse. It's actually a request track; someone once said it would be really beautiful on harp. And I am a fan of Muse—I find it incredible what kind of sound they can produce between the three of them. It's not the music I often put on, but their live performances have something special. This track is narrative and visual; I understood it right away. Towards the end of the track, it gets pretty extreme with the electronics and beats; I thought it was fun to shake people awake at that moment on the record, almost something that takes over for a bit and pushes the harp to the background.'Small Memory: 'a track by John Hopkins, he's an electronic artist but also a pianist. The track is a small memory—the name says it all—it's really like a train of thought. My version is a free interpretation of the original.'

Alberto Balsalm: ‘een nummer van John Hopkins, hij is een elektronische artiest, maar ook pianist. Het nummer is een kleine herinnering, de naam zegt het al, het is echt een soort gedachtegang. Mijn versie is een vrije timing op het origineel.’

Alberto Balsalm': 'an Aphex Twin track. It's an electronic piece, built on a beat with some synths layered in. It was a real quest for me. At first, I tried doing it solely on harp and letting go of the rhythm, but then too much fell away for me. Eventually, I created a sort of beat using sounds from the harp itself, like taps and clicks on the soundboard.'

© Nick Helderman

You play a very special instrument: the Reus 49. A pedal harp with 49 strings instead of the standard 47. What are the possibilities of the Reus 49 and how did you use them on this album?
'The Reus 49 is my dream instrument, built by harp maker Salvi from Italy. The Music Instrument Fund purchased the harp for me and was also involved during the development, which took about four years.'
It all started with a naïve question I asked the harp maker: 'Could you make a harp with two extra strings?' I wanted to play Ravel's piano concerto for the left hand one day. That piece keeps returning to a low 'A' and the harp stops at 'C'. That turned out to be no easy feat—two extra strings means a couple hundred kilos of extra tension per string. To make that work, the entire instrument had to be completely rethought.
Salvi and the Music Instrument Fund took on the challenge with me. The Reus 49 has an extended soundboard that's sturdier to handle the tension of 49 strings, and the mechanics had to be adapted. The instrument also has a mute pedal, allowing me to dampen the harp with my knee. Additionally, it has a sophisticated pickup system—each string has its own element that captures the sound directly. This lets you apply all sorts of effects like looping, delays, or reverb. During live performances, I use extra pedals beside the harp for those effects. Because the Reus 49 is larger and built differently, the harp has a very unique sound of its own. Once the harp was finished, it was a perfect fit for me.'

There are also two classical works on the album. Did you rework those as well?
'With the two classical pieces, I'm literally playing the notes as written. I've subtly added some effects here and there. If you listen closely, you'll notice a bit more reverb at certain moments—I'm playing with the space. There's an echo in the Satie at times; it's truly my interpretation. I think you can hear right away that it's me playing it, and that's what I find interesting. Some other artists want the performer to be as anonymous as possible, so only the composer speaks, but that's not how I experience music. I go to someone—a player I admire. I want to hear that person with their own interpretation.'
That's actually why I found it funny when people call these 'covers.' Are all classical musicians then cover artists? In classical music, that doesn't apply at all, even though everyone plays the same music—it's all about interpretation. I deliberately use the word 'rework' because it's not exactly the same. A cover is usually playing the song exactly as it is, just with a different singer or something like that. This is instrumental music, of course, which sometimes calls for something quite different. The starting point is known, and then the piece goes in a completely different direction. They feel like new pieces, but clearly based on those original compositions.'

What was it like bringing the album to life for the first time?
'Last week I performed the album live for the first time at the ADAM tower, and I didn't always announce the title of each work. A Sibelius piece would seamlessly flow into something else. Often people don't realize it's classical; they tell me afterward: 'I loved that song,' only to discover it was Sibelius. Those genres don't mean much to me—I just love music. I think most people ultimately feel the same way: if they like it, they like it.'
In October I'm playing in Belgium, at the Roma and the AB club—I'm really looking forward to that. And in December at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Yesterday I was at Mysteryland, surrounded by DJs. I can show up at all sorts of venues because people find it hard to put a label on it, which gives me the freedom to play at a Northh Sea Jazz, a Mysteryland, a pop festival, and in a classical concert hall. That's really how I prefer it.'

What's it like for you as a harpist to work in the studio?
'All sorts of choices come before that—how you want it to sound. If you record in a concert hall from a distance, it sounds nice and rounded. But I do like something closer, something purer. That gives you more finger noise, and I'm actually charmed by that. It reinforces the feeling of communicating intimately with someone through music.'
The album was recorded at STMPD studios, which funnily enough is also Martin Garrix's studio (who also performs at Mysteryland). We worked with a dream team of great engineers. It started as an experiment—I didn't even have the idea of making an album. They were interested in the harp and I had some ideas I wanted to try out. Once we found our sound, the tracks came pouring out. Suddenly we had recorded an album. That was an atypical process; usually you have everything planned out beforehand. Here, everything emerged very intuitively.'

Are there harpists who inspire you?
'Definitely. In the past, it was always Isabelle Moretti, my idol. She eventually became my teacher. It was my dream to study with her, and when that happened, it was very special.'
I also definitely keep track of what other harpists are doing, not least because I organize a harp festival in Utrecht (Dutch Harp Festival), which will take place again in April 2024. So I have to stay on top of what's happening in the harp world. Fortunately, there are all sorts of inspiring things happening.'

Can you tell me about the artwork for the album?
'Yes, absolutely. The photographs are by Sanja Marušić, a Dutch-Croatian photographer. I'd admired her work for a long time. When I approached her, her schedule worked out and she was enthusiastic about the music. She has a beautiful colorful style with something surreal about it. I wanted to do something with shapes, something with the triangular form that sits in the harp. That shape is most striking in the Delta harp, a light portable harp that I used for the track Perth by Bon Iver.'
Sanja Marušić suggested Flevoland province as a location. There you can find landscape art—various fields where artists have been given the freedom to create shapes or enormous artworks. I got to see the Netherlands from a whole new perspective!'

What was your latest musical discovery?
'That was Raye at Lowlands—a fascinating artist. Totally not necessarily my music, and then again it kind of is. It was a wow performance; she started small and intimate, almost jazzy-like. That evolved into something completely different, very electronic. Later I found out she has all these huge hits—I didn't know any of them. There were more discoveries at a festival like that, which is always the beauty of it: you see and hear things that blow you away.'

Album release shows in Belgium:

De Roma (Antwerpen): 4 oktober 2023
Ancienne Belgique (Brussel): 5 oktober 2023

Muses

Remy van Kesteren, harp

Label: Snowstar Records ⏐ EAN: 8720693686207
Bestellen: JPC – CD ⏐ JPC – LP