ANDREW BATT-RAWDON

Seven Stations is a suite of songs by contemporary composer, Andrew Batt-Rawden, with poetry by Chris Mansell, inspired by the City Circle of the Sydney rail system.

Go to the opera but see Berg, not Puccini. Go to the symphony but see Hindson, not Mozart. You’ll appreciate contemporary art music more if you engage with it.

DNA: Does each train station have its own character, like the cast of a play? Andrew Batt-Rawden: They do. We’ve taken each station to be personifications of the people, the history, the area. What do you think these pieces say about the character of Sydney? Sydney is a hot mess. There are many powerful creatures lurking around our picturesque CBD – confident beasts with that dangerous combination of experience, knowledge and a thirst for money. I’m sure readers of DNA would know a few of them (or indeed, are a few of them). We have a few seedy areas dotted about town; the smell of sleaze, booze and testosterone filling the air. Every station portrays a different archetype of a Sydneysider. The lyrics to Kings Cross reference being strung out on drugs, trannies with feather boas, goggle-eyed virgins and “out and proud” arses; how do you even start putting together instrumentation to that sort of lurid detail?

Kings Cross The music to has Kalimba (an African thumb piano I bought at the markets in Belo Horiztone, Brazil), brake drums, a few skin drums, cello, spoken (and shouted) word and soprano. I used to live in Kings Cross; my arse was certainly out and proud. There is a sense of innocence, tragedy, nostalgia, and an exciting f low… yet an air of distance also. Museum is about a sexy, modern girl. Did you know there’s a gay beat at Museum Station and would that make a good subject for a piece of contemporary music? I had no idea. The only beat I’ve been to in Sydney is Obelisk Beach, just with some mates to go nude swimming rather than to get off. Beats would make a really interesting subject for contemporary music. I’d love to do a piece depicting the wait, hunt and thrill… There’s a tantalising, sliding funky bass on St James; any chance of a dance remix? I’ve always wanted to write some dance music. I’d started but then realised it’s just as involved and complex as writing orchestral music (that is, if you want to get really amazing music). I’m yet to master beats. I’d adore making a sliding funky bass line out and proud enough for a dance remix. A bit of “funkified doof contemporary electronic purr” always excites me. Seven Stations has a cinematic quality. Do you have visual images in your mind when writing music? Sometimes. When approaching any new score I consider why I am writing the piece, and what it is for – who will listen to it. This song cycle was commissioned by a mutual friend of the poet and I, Charles… a sweet man who is a very good friend of Dorothy’s in the sense of how dated that expression is as well as its other meaning. The poetry that Chris Mansell supplied for the commission was so full of imagery that ignited my own memories, excitations; certainly a dense cloud of thought informs the music. Contemporary classical music isn’t for everyone, right? True, it isn’t. John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jean Cocteau and Derek Jarman weren’t for everyone either. Weird music can be a tough nut because you have to sit through it attentively to appreciate it otherwise it’s just annoying as background music. Go to the opera but see Berg, not Puccini. Go to the symphony but see Hindson, not Mozart. You’ll appreciate contemporary art music more if you engage with it. Contemporary classical is so different to Top 40 – what do you hear when you listen to pop music? You can be cruel and honest! I wouldn’t even know where to listen to it. I love the music of Bjork, John Zorn, Fischerspooner and I daresay Merzbow… and Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Debussy. John Cage, Xenakis, Ligiti, Saariaho – her music gives me goosbumps every time. Ross Edwards, Elena Kats-Chernin, Peter Sculthorpe. For me, high quality “accessible” music is like tuna and spinach salad – you have it pretty often, but sometimes it’s nice to go to the Spice Temple in Sydney or Chez Robert et Louise in Paris and have your taste buds exalt. Apart from your life as a composer, you publish Limelight magazine and are involved with both the Vivid and Bellingen Festivals. Do you sleep? Absolutely – usually naked with my fiancée, Rudson. We’ve been together for 8 years, since we were both in our early 20s. I guess the work/life balance thing for me is more like life/ life balance: I love what I do. I’m starting a new festival next year and I’ll still keep the other two I’m directing/curating now going. I’ve just finished up lecturing at University Of Sydney (I teach Music and Arts Festivals Management) and I also direct Chronology Arts, a not-forprofit company supporting emerging Australian composers. I’m looking forward to expanding the media business, Arts Illuminated, that publishes Limelight magazine, and taking on board some massive composition projects.