With Gav Moran: an interview with the artist of "Broken Pieces"

18.05.2023

Gav Moran is a composer and producer of minimalism and neo classical music combining raw orchestral elements with modern contemporary electronic soundscapes to create an edgy twist on his influences from the classical baroque and romantic eras. Drawing on his experiences growing up in the eclectic cultural melting pot of Dublin, Ireland he sees his music as a spiritual journey. His debut album Broken Pieces takes you through his collection of piano led compositions on a path of melancholy and inspiration.

You are an emerging artist but with different results already achieved, can you tell us briefly what artist you are?

I would describe myself as a neoclassical artist, this is a very broad term with lots of sub genres contained within it. I have a love of minimalism but I don't feel contained by classical orchestral sounds, I am very experimental in the studio and love to explore the synergies between classic string sections when supported by thick lush synth driven textures. Beautiful evolving soundscapes can be created using a blend of classic and contemporary methods and I really love getting deep into this type of experimentation.2)

What are your influences and your musical references?

I'm greatly influenced musically by artists that I really admire like Max Richter and Philip Glass - I love their motif based structure that shows great emotion can be achieved through musical composition without being overly complex, I strive to achieve my end goal within a piece of music while keeping the structure as minimal as possible, It can actually be quite difficult to tell your story through music without filling the sound space with too many elements. I also love the Icelandic sounds of Olafur Arnalds and Johann Johannsson, they have a beautiful intimate sound that can really pull on the emotions.

If I'm writing a piece of music and am feeling the emotions of it then I feel someone else will connect to this feeling too.

How do you compose? Do you feel a musical theme in your mind or is it more based on creating from sensations?

For me it's definitely from sensations. If I'm writing a piece of music and am feeling the emotions of it then I feel someone else will connect to this feeling too. If i'm in the early stages of a piece and teasing out the piano parts, the track is almost writing itself in my mind, I will already be hearing for example if it's a cello or viola accompaniment required to create the picture being painted by the music.I will usually know fairly early on in the process what the end goal is supposed to be for a particular piece.

How was your latest album "Broken Pieces" born?

It began really as a collection of soft and delicate emotive pieces I had been working on as a personal project, I hadn't really planned it as an album but as the collection grew I could see a synergy between them as one continuous story being told. Some of the pieces are also variations on a theme as with the series of "Letters" featured on the album.

At what time of the day do you like to compose?

Is it an expressive urgency due to an inspiration or do you meditate and plan everything with scrupulous criteria?I don't have set times for studio or creative work, It's what I really love to do so literally any free time I have I'm in the studio. I do find I am more creative in the evenings though, If i'm in the flow of a piece of music I have been known to stay up working on it into the small hours of the night, Sometimes the creativity comes easy and others it can be a slog so if i'm feeling the vibe of something and it's just working for me I will stay at it until I feel it's ready.

What would you answer to those who ask you why you should listen to your music?

Again I'd say it's about the connection to the feeling that's inspired by this style of music, Mine heavily leans towards a melancholy and emotional state of mind and for lovers of this style of music a great connection between composer and listener can be achieved by taking the time to sit back and letting the music reveal the story of the delicate pieces.

What is the meaning of music for you?

For me music is a spiritual experience. There sometimes is a feeling or emotion that can't be described accurately using words but can be pinpointed precisely with multiple people feeling the same emotion hearing the same piece of music. I always take it as a great compliment when I hear my music makes someone cry, It means the connection was made and I have achieved with the listener what other composers do for me when I listen to their tracks.

Could you kindly anticipate us something about your upcoming projects?

I'm already reworking some of the pieces from the album. I think of each of my pieces almost like a musical score with alternate versions telling different parts of the story. It's amazing the different feelings that can be achieved by swapping out a piano part with a cello player for instance or changing the pace of the track by varying the tempo and switching up the string sections. I'm also planning some more synth led soundscapes, I really enjoy building up the mental image that can be created by layering evolving synth patches.