Bryce Dessner Quotes
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When I'm writing for certain instruments, you want to write within what you know about that instrument but also challenge the player. Something like 'Aheym' is very virtuosic - but because I have a history of performing music, I don't like unplayable music.
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I call The National my family, and I'll be doing that as long as I want to.
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There is a kind of adventure- and risk-seeking audience in classical contemporary music that is really empowering and part of what draws me to it. The people that come to these concerts are open-minded and curious.
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Art is a way of life.
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As much as you try to organize your life, life will surprise you.
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Typically, people think, 'Oh the hippies and the punks hated each other,' or that those things don't go together musically. Sometimes that is true, but we had equal parts of both in our musical DNA.
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Working with Bob Weir directly, we learned how high the bar is for Dead music.
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I'm not trying to take over the world, but I find it really rewarding to write, and I thrive on learning.
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Playing pentatonic scales over orchestral music is not something I want to do or listen to.
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Part of what I enjoy about writing classical music is communicating through the score and collaborating with such amazing musicians.
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I like to think of myself as a musical scavenger.
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Obviously, any living musician born after 1960 has been touched by rock and roll. It's the music of our time, and it's 'in the air,' as Steve Reich would say. My experience of it is just really direct because I'm actually playing in a collaborative band.
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I don't labour over my lead guitar solos; they're better just caught in the moment.
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There is much more immediate access to creative music through online communities and blogs which have touched all corners of the music world including contemporary classical.
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In terms of the music, it feels almost like trouble's a good thing - you never know when a song is going to surprise you. We look for these subversive moments in songs.
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As a pop musician, as someone who makes songs, the best ideas are the simplest. They come, and that's the lightning bolt moment.
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Bands like Arcade Fire finding a larger audience has opened a lot of doors. They've empowered a whole community in Montreal.
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I like to write on tour busses and airplanes. Something about moving.