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Dzijan Emin: Flood Of Ideas, Part 2-2

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The euphoria when making music...can be described as something gnawing at you... and when it
Part 1 | Part 2

Few people can match the experiences that keyboardist Dzijan Emin has had as a musician. Times are hard for musicians, who are expected to be proficient and versatile in a variety of genres. Emin is probably best known for his collaboration with Bodan Arsovski, as a member of his Ezgija Orchestra. But more recent endeavors including DNO and Project Zlust are perhaps better indications of his artistic mettle. Part Two of the interview continues exploring Emin's musical journey.

All About Jazz: You were also part of a project that Kodzabashia led at the time called Alshar. As far as I remember it was a sprawling band made up of 15 musicians. How do you look back at this band?

Dzijan Emin: It was in a way a collective with musicians from different genres, where some had studied at the Academy, some were into rock or punk music, and others played jazz and folk music. The basic idea that Kodzabashia had at the time was to put all these people together. The project was successful and we gave some concerts, and some of them were recorded by the national television, and were even broadcasted on TV. This was basically gathering a large group of people and then letting the fun begin. We even covered other people's music, like "Stairway to Heaven" which was done in reggae version, and many other tunes that we massacred. The tunes had interesting names Bah mu e majka (In Bach We Trust) or Leb i Dugme (reference to two enormously popular ex-YU bands Leb i Sol and Goran Bregovic's Bijelo Dugme). It had nothing to do with their music as much as it had to do with the film each of us had in our heads. Everyone played the way they intimately felt those tunes.

AAJ: There is one name that is constantly mentioned when it comes to the visual part of what you guys do and that is the artist Aleksandar Stankovski. He directed most of your videos (DNO) and most of them are veritable works of art.

DE: The collaboration with him happened very spontaneously. I knew who he was at the time but I never had an opportunity to see his paintings or even to talk to him. Finally I got to meet him and I will say we were very lucky to meet such a person and artist. When he talks about art it can be compared to reading a good book on that subject. He is a great person and philosopher. His paintings are amazing. It's like a whole universe of colors and shapes. Simply put, he is a genius. He was introduced to our music through some of our friends and he immediately suggested doing a video for us. We were amazed by what we saw. He really contributed greatly for our music to expand its forms and media of expression. Those videos he made for us are not standard video clips, but works of art. Each video has its own story and in the future our collaboration will result into something else, a film, for example.

AAJ: You were part of Bodan Arsovski's band Ezgija Orchestra for many years. Tell me about the experience of working with his band.

DE: The work with Bodan Arsovski is of great importance for me as a musician. It was an enormous positive experience.

AAJ: Last year he published a DVD from the tour of antique theatres in the country titled Shadows In The Night.

DE: The performances captured on that DVD are our last and since then we haven't performed together. At the moment he is working on a project with his old Leb i Sol band mate Kokan Dimusevski, which is great, as both of them are great musicians and great characters, and as I said previously, it is great that they are working together again. The DVD is a result of those four concerts we gave. Bodan had a great idea and the DVD is a result of that idea—4 concerts at 4 antique theatres in Macedonia. It was a great tour, we had excellent chemistry and it holds a special place in my memory.

I became part of his band when Goce Stefkovski [drummer of Project Zlust] suggested me as a keyboard player, as someone who will enrich the sound of the band. I was delighted when he called me to play in his band and he was satisfied that I managed to learn the material very quickly; I had to since we had a gig very soon afterwards. I worked with Bodan for three or four years and during that period we had several tours throughout the former Yugoslavia. He is a brilliant musician and a unique bassist. His experience is enormous since he worked with one of the greatest bands in former Yugoslavia, Leb i Sol.

Bodan is a great organizer and band leader, and we always had great communication. At the time, we were beginning both with DNO and Project Zlust and I had a chance to see what sort of situations can arise during the existence of a band, both positive and negative. For me, that was a lesson in life and an enormous experience, where I could see firsthand how to lead a band. I understood that both our projects are functioning on the basis of friendship. If it wasn't for that, none of it would have lasted. An example of this is Olivier Samouillan, whom we met during a gig at a Skopje club called Lady Blue. He came with his wife, film director Teona Mitevska and we gave him our first CD.

He took it with him to New York, where he lived at the time. When he heard what's inside he was surprised as he had a different impression of us. From that moment we began to hang out more often and to perform together. He influenced us a lot with his taste for music as he introduced us to the NY music scene. In my opinion, not until we became real friends could we work together on a more serious basis. That's the moment when things began moving forward.

AAJ: Since you had an opportunity to play in all kinds of settings, what's it like to be playing with prestigious classical orchestras in prestigious locations? How euphoric can that be?

DE: It can be very euphoric. There are all kinds of euphoria, for example when making music, playing concerts or listening to music. Even though you are playing at a concert you still listen to the music while performing it. I had a feeling like that when I played in Germany with an international youth orchestra [East-West]. There were musicians from all corners of the world and I remember we played Tchaikovsky's 6th symphony. It's a genius piece of music, very dramatic and emotional. There is a section where the whole orchestra plays with a high tempo and then stops suddenly.

Then there is a pause of several seconds of complete silence and than the music picks up again. I have goose-bumps when I remember that moment. Unfortunately, I only had a chance to listen to just a few orchestras here in Macedonia, but abroad I had an opportunity to listen to some of the best orchestras in the world and I was amazed by their playing. When I went to see the Townhalle orchestra in Zurich I couldn't sleep afterwards. There was a sound that I heard which I couldn't recognize. I began looking and I saw it was a French horn. That's a great orchestra with great musicians, great conductor and a great concert hall, the second best in Europe. Can you imagine how that sounds live?

Whereas the euphoria when making music, it can be described as something gnawing at you from inside, which makes you sit down and work things out and when it's finished you feel relieved. I have felt that with some songs by DNO and Project Zlust, which even though later ended up taking a different shape or dimension, but they still moved something deep inside me. The concerts are a different thing. Sometimes you find yourself in front of a huge audience and during those moments you see the band next to you and you keep on doing your work in a professional manner.

AAJ: Can you describe the process of creation?

DE: It is impossible to describe with words what is happening during the process of creation, playing, and especially during the process of mixing the music. I will give you a clear example: I will come up with a piece of music with its theme and harmony. Then I will play it to Bejkov without telling him about the ambience I firstly imagined. Bejkov will then suggest something which is totally different compared to the ideas I had in the beginning. If it sounds good I will start thinking that this even might sound better and things will begin moving in that direction.

Someone will come up with another idea and things will turn in another direction. In the end, it will complete a circle and the end will result in a joint effort. This is the way it should be as we are a band. All of this is done by a group of people and not by one individual. Sometimes someone will come up with an idea or a complete piece of music, and someone might suggest different arrangement or a different choice of instruments or orchestration which will contribute to that composition to sound brilliant. Therefore, we believe all of us have equal input in the music. That is why we are a band.

AAJ: Since you play various instruments which one do you prefer best?

DE: My first instrument was the accordion. It was my father who bought it. I was too lazy to play it and I quit very soon. Then there was a national holiday at our school and they asked whether there is someone who knows how to play any instrument and I volunteered although I didn't know how to play. I played one song and from that moment on I began playing a bit more regularly. My father was, normally, the first one who helped me with the scales and the harmonies, the basics of music theory. When I was twelve he bought me a synthesizer, a Casio MP22, and that is how I became a keyboard player. I was given a French horn at high school and it was the first time I saw that instrument.

It wasn't entirely my decision to take on this instrument. When I was auditioned the professors asked me what instrument I would like to choose. Since I was little irreverent I said an instrument that is really difficult to master. Their reply was that French horn is the right instrument for me. I was completely surprised when I saw it, since I never heard of that instrument before, but when I heard its sound I liked it a lot. I think it befits my character. Technically, it is not a virtuoso instrument although one can manage to make it sound like one. The French horn has a very soft and warm sound and at moments it sounds very deep. It is very similar to the sound of the human voice and because of that playing it can sometimes be like singing.

When it comes to playing either string or percussion instruments, you only use a limited number of body parts. The breathing is not so important and you breathe as you like, whereas when playing the horn the whole body works in union. It's a very complicated matter as it demands too much sacrifice and effort to gain a level where you can play music. The French horn is my favorite instrument for playing and it's closest to my nature. When it comes to other instruments, thank god, I know how to play many other ones, because many times in the studio, either rehearsing or recording, someone might not be able to participate, so I will jump in his place.

AAJ: You did your first steps in the music world with your father's band.

DE: I have to say it was necessary. I had enough talent to be able to play. My father was the only one who brought home any income. Since I learned to play it was normal to earn for a living that way. I began playing as a child at all kinds of clubs, pubs and weddings. It lasted for a couple of years and then we began playing at exclusive restaurants. The repertoire ranged from either complete crap or transcendent folk songs not only from Macedonia, but also from Serbia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Albania, Turkey and Greece.

I don't know whether it is good or bad but I think it was good since I had an opportunity to play this repertoire, because that was great schooling for me, both in music and in life. At those places, every day you had an opportunity to meet people of different caliber, with different characters and from different social classes. I see this period as important for building my character both as a human being and as a musician. It was there that I learned mostly about instinctive playing. At the pubs people don't do much talking or rehearsing or practicing before a gig. If you are free and available people will invite you to play at a certain club. You absolutely have no idea what songs will be played nor the tonality or the tempo of the songs.

The guy is playing and you play with him. Those who are excellent folk musicians will always sound good without any necessary rehearsals. I was part of bands that sounded really good from the start. All of that makes you think very quickly. It is not like at school where you have to do your homework or other assignments but you have to think on your feet. It's a good school, at least it was for me.

AAJ: Since your father was a musician, were there any other in your family that played music?

DE: No one in the family but my father and me. His experience was of great help for me. If your father is a musician and plays the guitar, so will you begin to play the guitar. It has a special attraction for you when you are a kid. You feel enchanted by the sound of electric guitar. What was the most important thing about my father was that he didn't allow me to stay on a level of a journeyman musician. He thought of, which I never would have, sending me to a music school. That was the key moment for me.

AAJ: In the end, can you tell me what the meaning behind the word Zlust is? Does it have any meaning?

DE: We came up with the name up during a high school excursion in Ohrid. It's a made up word for a non-existent cookie. We were having lunch and in total hysteria we were pestering the waiters by ordering made up cookies. That is how the name came to life but it was soon forgotten, until Ivan Bejkov showed up. The term somehow matched his character and it became a synonym for people like him (very righteous). When we were thinking about the name of the band somehow it sounded good. The meaning of the word changes all the time and I hope it will find its way within the infinity of things. At the moment even I don't know what it stands for. It was a cookie in the beginning, then it became a name for the band, and even our studio is called that. I would love people to use it positively. For now it is standing up on its own quite admirably.

Visit ZLUST and DNO on the web.


Selected Discography

Project Zlust, Project Zlust EP (Margina Magazine, 2000)
Project Zlust, Live (Chicken Madness, 2004)
Project Zlust with Ollivie Samouillan, How I Killed A Saint soundtrack (Chicken Madness, 2004)
Project Zlust, Children of 1948 (soundtrack, unreleased)
DNO, Ogledalo (Chicken Madness, 2004)
Nikola Kodzobashia (and Project Zlust), Reveries Of The Solitary Walker (Rer Megacorp, 2004)
Kiril Dzajkovski (and Project Zlust), Balcan-can soundtrack (First Partisan production, 2005)
Kiril Dzajkovski (and Project Zlust), The Great Water soundtrack (unreleased)
Kiril Dzajkovski (and Project Zlust), The Three Sisters (theatre play, unreleased)
Bodan Arsovski and Ezgija Orchestra Broken Beats (Ezgija Recordings, 1999)

Photo Credits: Courtesy of ZLUST and DNO.

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