Christian Lillinger - Sunday Interview ~ The Free Jazz Collective

Photo by Erich Werkmann FFM

What is your greatest joy in improvised music?

For me, improvisation is a wonderful way of dealing constructively with freedom and the indeterminate. It allows me to realize anything I can imagine. Of course, it requires work on the imagination, through intensive engagement with the processes and passion for the music, otherwise it wouldn't be possible.To quote a phrase from Adorno: The question was no longer ‘how can musical meaning be organized, but how can organization be meaningful.'
What quality do you most admire in the musicians you perform with?

That they are able to create meaning and are open to all experiments. That they are open to every new question to which there is not yet a direct answer. So that they are truly free to create free music that enables connections to the future.
Which historical musician/composer do you admire the most?

I cannot limit myself here, there are countless names from all areas of history and cultures.To name a few: Xenakis, Ellington, Coltrane, Monk, Stockhausen, Webern, Berg, Shorter, Parker, Wyschnegradsky, Feldman, Taylor, MF Doom, Grisey, Berio u.v.a……….
If you could resurrect a musician to perform with, who would it be?

I can't really answer that either, because the outward impression is less and less sufficient for me to be able to imagine something that might fit. I would have loved to work with: Charlie Parker, Cecil Taylor, Mamady KaÏta, Iannis Xenakis, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and Max Roach. From the 50s and 60s I would have liked to exchange ideas and learn from Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pierre Boulez, Iannis Xenakis, Luigi Nono.
What would you still like to achieve musically in your life?

More music and music processes from different continents and countries such as Africa, India, Japan, and South America.
Are you interested in popular music and - if yes - what music/artist do you particularly like?

Sure! There are always very refreshing productions from, for example: Tyler The Creator, Beyonce, Rihanna, Busta Rhymes, Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, Aphex Twin, Little Simz, MF Doom, Earl Sweatshirt u.v.a. It comes and goes to me.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would have started with music and philosophy much earlier.
Which of your albums are you most proud of?

That is difficult! The greatest pride doesn't exist for me, as it has its own time. I will only name a few here:
- DLW Grammar II (plaist)
- Open Form for Society (plaist)
- Open Form for Society LIVE (plaist)
- Konus (plaist)
- Antumbra, Penumbra (plaist)
- Supermodern Vol.II
- Beats I & II by DLW (plaist)
- Second Reason of my ensemble Grund (clean feed)
- The first Grünen album (clean feed)
- Amok Amor (boomslang)
- Umbra II (intakt)
Once an album of yours is released, do you still listen to it? And how often?

Very irregularly! Very often during the production process, of course, and every now and then afterwards.
Which album (from any musician) have you listened to the most in your life?

That is also very difficult! But of course there are also classics like
- A Love Supreme, John Coltrane
- Boulez Structures I & II (Kontarsky/Kontarsky),
- Piano Sonata 2, Morton Feldman for Bunita Marcus,
- The Viola in My Life I-IV (ECM), Morton Feldman
- Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star
- [Live At The] Plugged Nickel and Kind of Blue,Miles Davis
- Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Wu-Tang Clan
What are you listening to at the moment?

Can't remember right now:)!
What artist outside music inspires you?

Also the one I just thought of, here. Let's also add writers:
Thomas Bernhard, Sigmund Freud, Joseph Beuys, Theodor w. Adorno, Bruce Lee, Jean Tinguely, and of course many more I can't think of right now.