Take Five with Roc Flowers

Meet Roc Flowers

I'm singer-songwriter originally from Prato, Italy. I believe in infinite creation and my goal while I dwell on Earth is to create music, share art and evolve as a human being. Music is simply a reflection of the mirror inside me, I believe in a cosmic symphony of vibration and sound and in some way, shape or form every human is taking part in this orchestra of sound. Often I have forgotten who I am, I believe art comes from a place beyond language, beyond name and beyond the character and uniform we all play in what we have all agreed upon as "reality."

Instruments:

Bass, percussion, piano, guitar, harmonica....

Teachers and/or influences?

Everything is a teacher to me, whether it be direct or indirectly. I learn as much from a child playing in a field than from an experienced musician telling me how to program drums. There is music I love that influences me and music I may not like as much that also influences me. I live with music in my head constantly, I hear the songs I write in my head before I "physically" write them. Sometimes I hear guitar solos, sometimes entire symphonies. It depends.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when:

I always felt something inside me, ever since I was a little child. I wasn't sure what I was but I always felt the need to express, to think, to reflect...as of right now I am putting this into music but I am not sure where it will go.

Your sound and approach to music:

I have a quantartic sound. No boxes, no limits. From soul sounds to techno back to jazz and psychedelic rock. I create based on my emotion and every emotion calls for a different sound. My approach is to tap into the unified field where all ideas come from and to receive whatever the holographic beings send me. I see humans as simple antennas for something much bigger.

Your teaching approach:

I do not teach because the more I live the less I know.

Your dream band:

Roc Flowers, Lino Nero, David Gilmour, Miles Davis, Yusef Dayes, Ismaila Mbaye and Pino Palladino.

Road story: Your best or worst experience

Airline (Ryan Air) not letting us board at the gate with our keyboards when we had already passed both security and checkin and bought all the necessary extra seats. They didn't let us board because the keys were not written as extra seat but as our names and they didn't let us fly with them. We didn't have any of our sounds and pads during the concert and basically had to improvise the entire concert.

Favorite venue

Lazie Indie festival in Kerala.

Your favorite recording in your discography and why?

Ancient Land (still unreleased). Freedom (released). I like these songs because I feel as if they capture the vulnerability of the human experience. However I have a love/hate relationship with my art, depends on the day I may not like or like a song.

What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically?

Music for love, music with emotion.

Did you know...

I speak four languages fluently.

Music you are listening to now:

I actually haven't been listening to much music in the last couple of days... I sometimes needs periods of silence, I believe music is created from silence so this is a phase where I am listening more to my thoughts, the wind, the birds, the ocean...but the other night I had a nice listening sessions to some tribal house mixed with psychedelic jazz fusion.

Desert Island picks:

Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
Exodus by Bob Marley & the Wailers
Blue in Green by Miles Davis
Supernatural by Santana
Circles by Mac Miller

How would you describe the state of jazz today?

Depends on what jazz is to you. I believe it is exactly where it needs to be.

What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing?

The need to explore, to dare to venture into uncharted territory. Break the rules, perfection is boring.

What is in the near future?

Lots of music and lots of concerts on the way. Nothing set yet but in the next terrestrial months it will come to light.

What is your greatest fear when you perform?

Fear is too strong of a word, but I simply wish that I am able to communicate the emotion I put into writing the music to the audience.

What song would you like played at your funeral?

I do not want a funeral but a celebration of life, with good food, lots of music and dancing and lots of colorful flowers.

What is your favorite song to whistle or sing in the shower?

Lately it is a song I wrote called "Dancing in the Quantum Ocean." It is still unreleased.

By Day:

I do not have a day job.

If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be a:

Surfer.

If I could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be and why?

Salvador Dali, because I feel like we would have a lot in common. This life is a game and people take it much too seriously until it is too late, Dali was great at joking and making fun of his own art and life in general. I find it funny when others try to tell one how to live or what is wrong or right. Existence is extremely strange and we have yet to understand just about anything, surrealism captures this phenomenon well. Live your life, forgive, love, understand and have empathy for others, before it is too late.

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