Part 1

Name: Tulipomania
Members: Tom Murray (lead vocals, synthesizer, electronic percussion), Cheryl Gelover (synthesizer, background vocals)
Nationality: American
Current release: Tulipomania's Dreaming of Sleep is out now.
Recommendations:
Tom: I think Elaine Malone is a great artist. Her music should be known by a much larger audience.
The music scene right now in Ireland is amazing. I recommend the current Irish music scene as a work of art. Maija Sophia, First Class and Coach, Altered Hours, Elaine Malone, Elaine Howley, Just Mustard, Cathal MacGabhann and Pizza Pizza records. Sorry I know I am forgetting many others who make music I love as well. Something amazing is going on there. I hope to visit someday and experience this amazing scene in person.
Cheryl: Ditto, emphatically.

If you enjoyed this Tulipomania interview and would like to keep up to date with the band and their music, visit the duo's official homepage. They are also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.

For an interview with one of their recent remixers, read our Martyn Ware interview.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

Tom: Sounds like you experience music like Oskar Fishinger’s films – this is interesting!

I can't say that I see shapes, but music does have an implied three-dimensional space – especially with the right headphones. Mostly I become less aware of myself and more detached from the physical world – whether listening with headphones or in the dark. Music can make time seem to move faster or slower like the distortion of time we can experience while reading or watching a film. I seldom listen to music as background sound.

I tend to listen while driving and while sitting and paying attention to it completely. I love to see music videos as well. I like to see what the artists choose to contrast or complement their music.

Eyes open mostly – but usually after dark and in a low-lit room in a comfortable chair would be my preferred listening experience.

Cheryl: I agree – but I’ll also admit to tuning out by tuning in to music while I’m working on an animation or chopping vegetables – actions that require focus but can be repetitive.

Entering new worlds and escapism through music have always exerted a very strong pull on me. What do you think you are drawn to most when it comes to listening to and creating music?

Cheryl: The process of creating is something to appreciate for its own sake. Creative endeavours can be a wonderful release of internal pressures – if we can detach from the result.

I think it can be a source of frustration to expect results all the time – that’s where the idea of a contemplative experience is really valuable. Being open to the experience itself is key.

Tom: Although listening to and creating music is certainly escapist in a way - I think of both as more meditative and contemplative experiences – like painting and any other creative endeavour.

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience?

Tom: I always loved music. I can't remember a time before music was something I enjoyed. The first steps were obviously listening and being inspired by music. I've never had any music lessons and never learned to play a song.

I have only ever been interested in creating music and inventing songs. I've never covered a song or attempted to learn any songs. For me - music is about experimentation and creation as well as listening to the creations and interpretations of others. Creating music opens up another way of being. When it is going well it is transcendent and meditative no matter the mood or emotional direction of the song or instrumentation.

I don't know how to discuss gains really. Maybe just a gain in confidence or a lack of concern about criticism?

Cheryl: I love that idea! There really can’t be any gains until we’re able to let go of any expectations that what we’re doing will be applauded. Of course, that’s wonderful when it happens but it’s something that will only become an obstacle if it’s the sole focus.

I was told early on that being able to play ‘by ear’ was an ability that would only be useful to composers – the point being that wouldn’t be me. It struck me even then as a strange assumption – why close that door so early on …? Maybe being told not to try was an inspiration!

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

Tom: At 13 I started to teach myself the guitar. By the time I was 16 I was playing bass, synthesizer and a bit of drums too and creating and recording ideas.

Very little has changed since then – with the exception of the amount of time I spend playing each day. When I was thirteen to sixteen years old, I played music as many hours as I could. I play far fewer hours a day now – but I still feel the same way when I am playing.

There were less requirements and distractions for me then – but little else has changed in my relationship to music. I still spend time seeking out music I have never heard before. I am still wowed and inspired by new discoveries and rediscoveries.

Collaboration helps to keep things fresh as well. I certainly prefer collaboration in the now and would not have been as comfortable working with others when I was thirteen.

Cheryl: By 13 I had given up formal piano lessons. I didn’t know where to turn to replace them. Around that age I found friends who were a bit older who introduced me to music that resonated in much deeper ways than the music I had been playing.

From 13–16 music meant finding new emotional experiences – entire worlds opened up. It still feels that way.

How would you describe your own relationship with your instrument, tools or equipment?

Tom: I think one of the most dangerous (for want of a better word) things about having a relationship with an instrument or music equipment - is the possibility of caring too much about that instrument or process and investing too much energy into technical mastery and chops. Trying to stay focused on the resulting music and songs is what I care most about.

I would stop using any instrument if I was spending too much time learning to play fast or overanalysing my efforts in relation to how well others play the same instrument. I don't believe competence is the most important thing. Whatever gets you to a song or instrumental composition that speaks to you – that is what matters. Emotion, honesty – I see all of the tools as brushes to make the painting.

I love some virtuoso musicians but only because they are able to use that skill to create great music. Otherwise musical skills start to look like sports to me.

Cheryl: Absolutely! Having given up on piano as my first instrument, it’s been liberating to see what synthesizers can do … There is that wonderful conundrum of the seeming similarities but expanded capabilities.

Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

Tom: I can't remember a time when I didn't want to create something. I don't know where it comes from. My parents were very creative, and I had lots of exposure to art and music as a child. Everything I experienced including the topics you mentioned play a role, maybe sometimes subconsciously.

I think the state of consciousness closer to sleep plays a role too. Trying not to over analyse or over edit. Staying with the first choice and allowing for inclusion of mistakes.

Cheryl: I feel fortunate to have been encouraged to create initially, I was supported by being offered lessons in art and music. If it’s not encouraged in a family, sometimes it’s something supported outside of family – friends can become family.

It can very much become a push-pull situation – past a certain age it can be much more acceptable to be a consumer rather than someone who still has an interest in creating something new. Obstacles can rear up – expectations.

A bit of defiance can be needed to continue – fuelled by understanding, then defending – what is meaningful.