Over the course of our lifetime our ears are constantly bombarded with hundreds of thousands of hours worth of all kinds of sounds and audible vibrations. Go out on a busy street or find a quiet spot in the mountains, close your eyes and just let your ears uncover all the hidden layers of your surroundings. You might be surprised to find that those quiet and meditative mountains, even though they appear so silent and peaceful to our eyes, have a lot to say to our ears. Even the silence of nature has its sound – indeed a beautiful and pleasing one when compared to that of a big city.
To a musician, every single sound, whether of a musical or non-musical kind, is an intriguing sensation, a new experience worthy of close observation and admiration, and above all it represents a pure inspiration carrying in itself the seeds which eventually sprout into new musical creations and a whole new world of sounds.
To this point in my life I have digested several hundreds of thousands of hours of sounds, and whether of a musical or a non-musical kind, even the softest of the vibrations have left an imprint in my ears. From the most beautiful and pleasing sounds of wind in the trees or of a gentle springtime rain, to the brutal and attacking sounds usually produced by humans and their devices. Some faded away or disappeared into depths of the subconscious, while others left a lasting impression. An impression that can be recalled, brought back into life and relived vividly. Out of this myriad of random sounds perhaps some of the most unlikely suspects might have played a significant role in influencing my music, however when it comes to musical influences some of the more obvious ones lie in: Classical; Jazz; ancient music traditions of the East and the West; Mediterranean and Byzantine music and culture; traditional, folk and medieval church music of Serbia and the music of Balkan.
And just as the boiled water, when poured over the crushed herbal leaves into a tea cup, soaks up all the flavors to create a healing blend, so all the accumulated sound impressions get filtered into a pleasing piece of music.
Here’s one result of such filtering:
“The Flying Carpet” from my solo piano album “Under the Sacred Tree“
“The Flying Carpet” is an original composition written in the 7/8 time signature, characteristic of the traditional music from the Balkan region in Southeast Europe. It is inspired by the beauty of the traditional handmade rugs, their vivid colors and intricate geometric shapes, with each color and ornament having a hidden meaning and thus turning the rug into a unique woven story.
Here’s an example for an ornament on a traditional handmade rug from Serbia:
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