We had this insightful and great talk with Fabrizio Cassol, saxophonist and main composer from Aka Moon. As you can see below he talked about his music, about his spirituality and much more interesting things.

Is your music experimental jazz or how would you describe it?
The music of Aka Moon is an attitude. We can say sometimes "it's jazz", because improvisation takes an important place. It means we have the
opportunity to re-act instantly between us in face with the energy of the present. Sometimes, people says is like "rock music", because of the collective impact of the band. Sometimes is like "drum and bass" because we
just love to be in this kind of mood. Sometimes people says other things, but what is important is the attitude to be open to any kind of sources of
inspiration.
The "keys" we learn with the indian master Umayalpuram Sivaraman are
different of those we learn with the african master Doudou N'diaye Rose. Aka
Moon is a world of connections. Human connections, artistic connections,
spiritual connections.
Aka Moon is a reflection about what is "memory" inspired by the oral
tradition as well as the written tradition. All these things make our
sound, a really special sound wich makes some people say "it is
experimental...it's new..."
We have our language, it's not a "patchwork"! The music has his own
complexity, with a lot of rules but we are free and we fly up to this. The
world it self is more and more complex and we have to deal with that as
well as any child. We try to be like our children. It's one of the secrets
of our attitude.

Which is the relationship with the Aka Pygmies of Central Africa?

The Aka Pygmies are our protectors. We have others protectors but Aka Moon starts in the jungle of Central-Africa. We stay in the forest with them 9 years ago. It was an incredible experience. They give us the energy to never give up! They give us the energy
to believe in our-self and their spirits ask us to perpetuate them in the
middle of the western world. They offered us a part of their "fire", their
"inner-fire". But it was 9 years ago... Their music is amazing and playing
with them is something rare.

How was the collaboration with different musicians through the career of the band?

After the experience with Pygmies, we traveled in India, recording in
Bombay, playing in Madras (now called Chennaï). Later on, we met Sivaraman, the greatest mridangam player (main drum of south India). He has 65 years old and played with all the great masters of India of the last century. All the masters we know and all the masters we don't know because they are legend there and they have never recorded. Sivaraman is him-self like thousand books...Touring in India with him is incredible, I saw many times
people crying because he is emotionnaly so powerful.
We also played with the scene of the new improvised music. Sometimes with 3
keyboards or 2 pianos, sometimes with horn sections, sometimes with 2 or 3
electric guitars or with singers. Also with the contemporary ensemble Ictus,
or with the
DJ Grazzhoppa or african drummers. We were on tour recently with the Rosas
company of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, 14 dancers for 3 hours show. We were
invited into the opera of Philippe Boesmans, wonderfull composer. He asked
us to play our music in the middle of his opera, mixed with the orchestra,
the singers, chorus and this craziness of the opera world.
12 Cds are released on the "Carbon 7" label including more than 5O
musicians, the opera is on Deutch Grammophon (most important label of
classical music) and 1 CD is released in Colombia from a live concert of the
jazz fest. of Bogota.
Each musician is different, we all ex-change our knowledges.
But, as says Sivaraman, we are all one.
Art is a cosmic language, we try to be cosmic.

Are your songs changed when they are played in concert to allow improvisations?

All our tunes, or songs or pieces, it's up to you how you call it, are supposed to be different each time we perform.
First, because of the relationship with the present.
And also, in relation with the musicians with whom we play.
But even if we play in trio it's supposed to be always different.
Our memories (of course I'm talking about the memory which include cultural traditions and reflexes, knowledges, spiritual field of energy,...until DNA
informations...) are always in movement. It's very special to notice, as soon as you change a single information, how much it has an impact on all
the chain of connections. And this changes the sound and of course the
music. But more concretely, we play , for example, the same tune sometimes
with african drummers and sometimes with keyboards, and in trio. When we
play in trio right after keyboards, we have in mind, or in body!, the
sound of keyboards; but we are playing in trio, then we have an interior
sound which it guide us to somewhere else and it changes the sound of the
trio. It's the same if we play a song with a DJ and the next day without. We
still have the first sound in mind, this inner-sound and consciously or
unconsciously it changes the perception which is guiding us throught
different ways of interpretation, improvisation,....

How do you compose the songs in Aka Moon?

I like to work like painters. If you see for exemple the work of Picasso, he has different periods, blue period, pink period and so on. Klee is an
example too.Each period of Aka Moon has his own focus with reflections concerning the
rythms, the melodies, the harmonies, the conterpoints, the forms,...
The first period was based on the rythm connected with Africa,
of course because the trip with the Pygmies. It means, the rythm makes them in a certain kind of vibrations and makes them in touch with the Spirits of
the Forest. The sequences are short and repetitive pushing them in a state
of dance and transe.
We've first used similar things giving us the opportunity to create special
asymétric time-mesures and very complexe polyrythms. These vari-speed start
very simply as for exemple 4 against 3, 5 against 4 and step by step 7
against 4,
7 against 5 but also 7 against 8 and so on. 7 against 5 against 3 is also
possible too. Everything is possible!
Melodicaly, the counterpoint between the melodies is also a special focus.
The bass -line can be the head -melody and the head -melody can be the
bass-line. The rythm must be melody?... Different kind of counterpoints are
possible.
The study of Bach music is very important to understand it.
All the tunes can be mixed to create a kind of non-form. Sometimes we play
different tunes at the same time because each of them have the same "seed".
In fact we were like DJ without knowing it.
These are few exemples of the first period.
The second period was focus on the south indian tradition.
The quality of time is different up there. The sequences can be very long
going to time-mesure with 11 beats, 13 beats, and more than 100 beats. The
rythm is more narative than it change the form, the harmonies and the
colors.
We have many periods...It's too long to explain it here! But what I would
like also to say that I first compose for Michel and Stéphane, trying to
understand our-self, the others and the world. To grow up all together into
the Mysteries of life. It's like a work in progress without end: the "School
of Mysteries".
But very basicaly, I propose them something, as a question, and they propose
me an answer back. From this new point we start again including all what we
know. Each of us must be free with his own intuition! Must be proud to play
on stage because giving the best of him-self!

How do you see the evolution of the band since "Aka Moon"
to "InvisibleSun" ?
From the beginning, the trio is always the center from where everything
starts. The extentions with all the different guests are also, let's say
like this and of course it's symbolic, the"materialisation" of the natural
Aura of the band. But the center is always the trio from where everything
has to comeback to re-start again. This is important and mysteriously
connected with all what I said before. But in another way, there's no
evolution. We don't have a project after another one, like usual. We do
everything at the same time. We try to live the creation not in a linear
time but in the multiplication of the time exactly as the rythm is. The
univers has many-dimentions, as soon as we are in a process of
spiritualisation, we travel across these dimentions. That's why we believe
into cosmic art!!!
The Cds have to come out one by one, but we work on everything together.

Aka Moon seems to be a really prolific band...How is it that you make
records so fast?
I think the answer of this question is into the other answers.

Do the members of Aka Moon have musical theory training?
Of course, but it's not the most important. The Soul is the most important
and the intentions of the Soul. We know what, traditionally, music is. We
know also there are mysteries and we let the music vibes into us. The
theoretical aspect is a basement
like you build a house. You have the rooms but it's not yet how you would
like to live into this house. These are the intentions.
Some people have so pure intentions that they don't need a house anymore.
Everything is possible. In front of the Cosmic energy we are so small. If we
try to have a control on everything, we will limit ourselves but if, with the
maximum of humility, we let the vibrations coming into us, we will do things
which are impossible to understand for a single brain.

Are you preparing your new record? How is it?
A new CD just came out, basically in quartet with Fabian Fiorini on
piano. It's a part of the music we do with the Rosas company. Another one
is recorded and we have to mix it. It's the last of the invisible trilogy.
It's called "Invisible Moon". Fabian Fiorini plays piano but also Benoît
Delbecq with a "prepared" piano. David Gilmore on guitar, violins from the
South India (we did the recordings in Madras), Sivaraman on mridangam,
David Linx sings also. It's a very mysterious CD!!! Another one in trio was
finished few months ago. It will come out after "Invisible Moon". We have
other projects to realized this year, for
example with DJ Grazzhoppa.

Can you explain the trilogy formed by "Ganesh"/"Elohim"/"Live at
Vooruit" ?
We have, for this trilogy, mainly two different poles:
India with Sivaraman on "Ganesh" and Africa with Doudou N'Diaye Rose on
"Live at the Vooruit" and in the middle,"Elohim", is a combination on both.
But it's not so simple of course. Ganesh has two drummers, two guitars
representing also different poles in itself. The beginning of Elohim is the
end of Ganesh and suddenly everything changes to have three keyboards, horns
section and a singer. It's more electronic and electric. Live at the Vooruit
is really african in his concept. Now, this work seems to be another
life!!! It is not so easy to talk about it.

Is there anything more that you want to say?
Now we are touring a lot in trio, wish is really great because we have all
these memories in mind. In may we'll play in Senegal, in june in Canada. In
Europe of course and we hope to go in South america soon.
Music is great! I wish you a cosmic and peaceful life to all of you.
Ooommm.

Interviewed by Federico Marongiu

Aka Moon - CD (1991)

Nzomba - CD (1992)

Rebirth - CD (1994)

Akasha 1 - CD (1995)

Akasha 2 - CD (1995)

Ganesh - CD (1997)

Elohim - CD (1997)

Live at the Vooruit - CD (1997)

Invisible Mother - CD (1998)

Live at the Kaai - CD (1999)

Invisible Sun - CD (2000)

Fabrizio Cassol - alto sax, composer
Michel Hatzigeorgiou - electric bass
Stéphane Galland - drums