Serge: You have been interviewed many times during your
creative career. Is there something you were never asked but would
like to say? What would you want to say? What is important to
tell us?
Ray Lynch: Move from the heart and try to find a way to
do what you love.
Russia seems to be in crisis (at least that's the perception in
the West). Difficult times, in any case, but this can be an opportunity,
especially for artists, because they are the ones who can make
sense out of chaos and bring a new vision to those around them.
Serge: In your press releases and in the website I have
read that you work on your albums for rather a long time. Could
you tell me why is it so important for you to work on your music
in this way, and, in general, what is your style of creative work?
Ray Lynch: It's not that it's important for me to work
on my albums for a long time, it's that it's important for me
to get it right and it just takes me a long time to do that. In
other words, it's not a philosophy. I'm something of a perfectionist
and I'm also slow. After a piece or an album has been released,
it's no longer "mine" (I've let go of my control and/or
my responsibility) so, before I do that I want to be sure I've
done everything I can to make it right.
I'm not sure that I have a particular "style" of creative
work. Creative work is, well, creative, and always changing (as
am I). So it always is demanding something new and unexpected.
Like everyone, of course, I have developed habits and they are
sometimes a hindrance and sometimes helpful. One constant for
me is that I don't try to decide in advance what a particular
piece is going to be like. Rather, I will bring together various
musical "germ" ideas and let them interact and develop
their own "logic" relative to form and feeling. My mother,
who is a painter, has an interesting approach to her work: she
says, "demand excitement, expect surprise."
Serge: Could you tell me about your Spiritual experience,
communication with the Spiritual Master Bhagavan Adi Da?
Ray Lynch: When I look at Him I see a profound simplicity,
without ego or complication, utterly unthreatened and therefore
free to be happiness. At the age of thirty I fell into a "spiritual"
crisis, a looming black hole, which involved, among other things,
the clear understanding that I was not capable of enlightening
myself and that I needed help (spiritual and human). Immediately
thereafter, I came across several of Adi Da's books and soon realized
that I had found my Teacher (or He had found me). He teaches the
Way of the Heart and lives only the Heart to all those around
Him (all beings, really). Our meeting was both sobering and a
profound relief for me: I had never met a free man before, who
understood and spoke the truth. After 26 years, I'm still sobered
and relieved by His presence and also "undone" by the
brilliance of what He says and the force of His unconditional
love.
Serge: In general, how is your music connected with your
spiritual search?
Ray Lynch: If one recognizes and acknowledges a true Spiritual
Master, then the "search" is over. What remains is sadhana,
or the work of living "spiritually" in relationship
to such a One. How my music connects to this relationship is something
I don't really "know" and can't pin down in very specific
ways. It is certainly important and basic, but too intimate to
describe adequately. I could say that, to the extent the music
serves and expresses the Heart, it "connects" to it's
real Source.
I should note that when I first came to Adi Da as a student (fully
expecting to give up my performing career), He asked me to play
for Him often, always encouraged my musical interests and at one
point, some years later, suggested that I should be composing
music.
Serge: While listening to your music, somehow I have a
feeling that you have done it for many lives. Did you ever think
about it and what is your opinion about this?
Ray Lynch: I don't remember any past lives, so I cannot
speak from experience. The idea of reincarnation makes sense to
me and I assume that I have been around for a lot of turns of
the wheel (both as a musician and otherwise). My teacher once
told me that I had been a lutenist for thousands of lifetimes
and then laughed uproariously. How many times do you have to do
something before you can move on?
Serge: Could you tell me more about how you found the ideas
for creating No Blue Thing? And, in particular, how this album
was created.
[From the CD booklet of Best Of]
Ray Lynch: No Blue Thing, 1989, my third album was four
years in the making as was Nothing Above My Shoulders But The
Evening. The technological changes which had contributed to Deep
Breakfast had, by the mid 80's, so increased in velocity and scope
that they became as much of a burden as a boom. The appearance
of MIDI, powerful digital audio, etc. all promised "unlimited
possibilities" for the composer. The steep learning curve
required to learn such technologies was ignored, as was the fact
that "unlimited possibilities" is the worst thing that
an artist can be faced with if he or she wants to get any real
work done. Despite the frustration and wasted time, exciting things
were happening and the expanded technological means at my disposal
reinforced the desire I already felt to "stretch" musically
and not simply repeat what had proved to be successful.
For all those reasons, No Blue Thing was more challenging, difficult
and "masculine" (even muscular) than my previous work
had been. The True Spirit of Mom and Dad epitomizes the album
and that time, not just negatively in the effort required for
it's creation and the time it took (eight months for one piece?!)
but also positively in the reconciliation of two very different
musical gestures ("Mom" and "Dad"). As a traditional
chamber piece Clouds Below Your Knees (another piece from No Blue
Thing, and a long time favorite of mine), points to what is to
come while retaining stylistic elements of previous music.
Serge: How are you preparing the covers of your albums?
They are rather extraordinary and interesting, especially the
cover of your last album The Best Of. What could you tell me about
it?
Ray Lynch: I've always wanted original art for the album
covers-something with a direct (if not always conscious) connection
to the music. Three were done by artist friends of mine who knew
and listened to the music while working. The cover for Best Of
was suggested by Steve Vining, President of Windham Hill. The
illustration by Hiroko expresses many things which resonate with
my music, among them my view of what an "artist" should
be: invisible, transparent, and not in the way of "his"
art. Emphasis on the personality of the artist and the glorification
of his role seems to me a modern aberration-an unnecessary complication.
Serge: In my view your music is romantic. What do you think
about it? How could you describe your music yourself? What do
you wish to pass to your listeners by your music? In my view your
music is very light, it does not "load" a listener with
some gloomy thoughts and ideas. What can you tell me about it?
Ray Lynch: In general, I don't try to describe my music.
What I "think" about music is expressed in the music.
Any verbal description of mine is after the fact, secondary and,
hopefully, unnecessary. Of course, a description may help some
people get their bearings, and calling it romantic is not misleading
(I've occassionally used the term "neo romantic"). But
every composer is unique and even an accurate description cannot
convey the flavor, point of view, strengths and weaknesses, etc.
of his craft.
In my view, great music conveys "the intelligence of the
heart" - to what extent my music does this, if at all, is
for the listener to decide.
Serge: I feel that your music is very spiritual in the
sense that it addresses a person as a spiritual creature. Moreover,
as far as I understand, in your music you are trying to go beyond
the mind. What could you tell me concerning this?
Ray Lynch: Music always goes "beyond " the mind
- that's part of it's power and attraction. Depending on the kind
of music, it can go above the mind, to the mind, below the mind
or any combination. I don't try to write "spiritual"
music as such and I don't even try to go beyond the mind. We are
all spiritual beings, in truth, more than the body-mind, and if
that awareness is present in both the composer and the listener,
resonances may occur on levels we think of as spiritual. But it's
a natural (even inevitable) process. I just attempt to make each
piece as beautiful as it should be. And then the heart may be
touched.
Serge: All your albums are very different. Why is this
so? What is your favorite album?
Ray Lynch: I suppose my albums are different because I'm
not dead yet. Like everyone, I'm in motion and I change. I'm not
always sure whether I'm evolving or devolving but I definitely
change. Also, there are so many different types and styles of
music which "work" in all the important ways, why restrict
yourself? Why keep doing the same album over and over?
I don't really have a favorite album. I do have favorite pieces
but they change over time. If pinned to the wall, I would have
to say that Nothing Above My Shoulders But The Evening is probably
the "best" work that I've done but it's also the most
challenging and many would not agree with me.
Serge: What in general are your creative plans? What new
album are you preparing now? What is the mood and idea of this
new album? Maybe you're going to create more living and spontaneous
compositions?
Ray Lynch: My creative plans, to the extent that I have
them, are to do just that: create more living and spontaneous
compositions. I certainly hope I never settle for dead and contrived
- or at least dead. Contrived isn't so bad as long as they don't
sound that way. A Bach fugue is contrived, but it's also great
music. I am working on a new album now, but I generally don't
decide it's mood and idea in advance. I work on particular pieces
and let them take me where they want to go, that is, discover
their musical "logic". When I have enough pieces that
seem to work together, I try to put them in a form (sequence)
that reflects the logic of their relationships.
Serge: You are one of the most popular and authoritative
musicians working in the electronic genre and New Age music. How
do you feel yourself in this position?
Ray Lynch: Popularity, of course, can come and go with
the wind and I don't feel myself to be authoritative. I'm usually
struggling with the next piece and feeling like a beginner (which
may not be such a bad thing). Perhaps I could be more "authoritative"
if the world and life and art seemed less of a mystery, but they
continue to be as much of a mystery as "I" am and I
hope it will remain so.
Serge: Do you like travelling? What countries and places
do you like most of all? What could you tell me about your touring
activity? What is your attitude toward touring and concerts?
Ray Lynch: I liked travelling when I was young (and the
world seemed younger). I lived and studied music and guitar in
Barcelona in the early sixties and shortly thereafter did a long
performing tour in Europe and the Mediterranean and enjoyed that
very much. For some reason I feel very much at home in Europe
and I regret not having been to Eastern Europe and Russia. In
the late sixties/early seventies I lived in New York City and
toured the US as a lutenist performing mainly Renaissance and
medieval music, but when I "decided" or, rather, could
no longer avoid being a composer, I more or less put my performing
career behind me so I could concentrate on producing my music
as recordings. Of course, much of my music could be performed
live but I don't think in those terms when I'm constructing and
recording in the studio. So, as a rule I would rather spend my
time writing and recording new music than trying to figure out
how to adequately perform the old music. On the other hand, a
good live performance has an excitement or energy level that's
unique and qualitatively distinct from a recording and, under
the right circumstances, I would do what was necessary to make
it happen.
Serge: Where are you living now? Do you like the place
where you live?
Ray Lynch: I live in Lake County, about two hours north
of San Francisco, next to one of the Sanctuaries established by
Adi Da Samraj. Hot summers, wet, mild winters, hills and mountains,
lots of trees and space, little noise and proximity to the Sanctuary
- I love it all, a good place for a composer.
Serge: What long term goals do you have in your life?
Ray Lynch: First and foremost, realization of the inherent
happiness of existence, not as a "goal" (the seeker
is always seeking) but as a way of living via submission to what
is already true.
Second, to write music which reflects that.
Third, to die well.
Fourth, to stay dead (not reincarnate so I don't have to go through
all this shit again).
Serge: What are your interests in life?
Ray Lynch: Aside from the above, as if that weren't a full
plate, I'm interested in astronomy, mathematics, ancient history,
sacred geometry, nature ( I love hiking), and the love relationship
between human beings.
Serge: Could you tell me about Kathleen? As far as I know
she is helping you a lot in your musical career. How did you meet
her? How did it happen, that meeting and living together with
Kathleen changed your life?
Ray Lynch: Kathleen and I met as students of Adi Da Samraj
in 1974 and he married us in 1975. We are what you would call
"polar opposites" and this dynamic has been one of the
most important elements in making "our" music career
work. Aside from the strong love relationship, there is a more
practical polarity which engendered clearly defined roles and,
happily, covered all the bases. She has always handled most of
the business matters, legal, financial, contractual, etc., leaving
me free to do the creative and technical part. Individually, we
would probably have floundered, but as a team it has worked out
extremely well. Aside from being very supportive of my decision
and need to write music, Kathleen demonstrated early on an unusual
competence and Capricornian thoroughness which allowed us to avoid
trouble in many circumstances. It all would have happened very
differently (if at all) without her.
Serge: When and how did the idea of creating a personal
website appear? What ideas and thoughts were used during the creation
of the website. Who helped you in realizing this project?
Ray Lynch: I don't remember exactly how it came about,
but at a certain point several years ago, Kathleen suggested that
the growth of the internet and the growing realization of it's
implications made the creation of a website an obvious thing to
do. She thought it was a new and exciting medium and could help
broaden my audience. The artistic vision and almost all of the
work (aside from some general suggestions and ideas of mine and
technical support from the webmaster, Chris Tong) was done by
Kathleen. God how I love the division of labor.
Serge: What is New Age music in your view? How could you
define it?
Ray Lynch: I don't try to define New Age music (there are
numerous points of view floating around from which to choose,
if you must). I don't think of myself as a New Age musician even
though, I suppose, my music has played some part in determining
what that is. I simply try to produce music which is well made,
moves me ( and hopefully others), and somehow reflects "the
intelligence of the heart". If a generic phrase or category
or even more complicated construction of the verbal mind could
adequately convey the "meaning" or core of a piece of
music, then I wouldn't go to the considerable trouble of writing
the music in the first place. It would be much easier to just
write down the words and be done with it.
Even though I don't care to try to define New Age music, (or any
other kind), I can always discover what any particular music is
simply ( and only) by listening to it with full attention. Do
this enough times and it will tell you everything it has to say.
Serge: What would you like to wish to the readers of our
magazine?
Ray Lynch: A better world in which human and spiritual
values are more important than the accumulation of money.
Or, failing that, incredible wealth.
Please visit my web site at www.raylynch.com
