Damo Suzuki

Anupa Mistry

Good morning, or afternoon, everyone. Quick reminder, please if we can have phones off in the room, and also if we can save questions, which we will happen after the conversation, and limit them to the participants only, at least at the beginning, because it’s their experience here to learn.

Our next guest is best known for a brief but very fruitful period spent as the vocalist for the seminal Krautrock band Can from 1970 to 1974. His capricious vocals…

Damo Suzuki

’70 to ’73.

Anupa Mistry

’70 to ’73.

Damo Suzuki

Yes.

Anupa Mistry

’73. 1970 to 1973, his vocals graced some of the band’s most acclaimed records, such as Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi, and Future Days. And, this music went on to influence many of probably your favorites from across genres. But, he’s gone on to spend much of the last three decades on a never-ending tour, continuing to challenge the conventions of the music industry by playing improvisational shows around the world with local musicians. Please welcome Mr. Damo Suzuki.

Damo Suzuki

Thank you very much. Nice to see you here. So, I would say good morning, because I just wake up. I hope you enjoy this. Nice to meet you everybody. That’s a good amount of the people, because I can see almost everybody. Normally, I have a glasses on, so actually I cannot see you at all.

Anupa Mistry

Well, everyone can maybe come up and shake your hand after, if you’d like to see their faces more clearly. We’d emailed quite briefly ahead of this chat, and you wanted to maintain the spirit of spontaneity for this conversation. Can was a very long time ago, and you said, “I’m here for the now.”

Damo Suzuki

It’s almost a half-century ago. Nobody over here is having life. You know, it’s a long ...

Anupa Mistry

I thought it might be useful for some of the young musicians in this room to see what you were doing when you were around their age. I wanted to play a short video. This is a performance of Can’s “Vitamin C” from 1972. If we can play video number one.

(video: Can - “Vitamin C”)

That was a clip of “Vitamin C” by Can. You’re about 22, 23 years old at that time.

Damo Suzuki

I guess so, I cannot remember. It’s a very, very long time before.

Anupa Mistry

You weren’t watching the video while it was playing. How does it make you feel?

Damo Suzuki

Not really good. I don’t feel really so ... It’s not me, you know.

Anupa Mistry

What do you mean?

Damo Suzuki

Time gap isn’t quite many. Because I’m doing something else now, and I’m already near to 70 years old. It’s just different, so if I listen and things like this, I’m watching at my own kids or something like this.

Anupa Mistry

Yeah. Does the nostalgia and the meaning that other people have for that music carry any value to you?

Damo Suzuki

I don’t know, because it’s a so strange thing. I was together with Can for only three years, but strangely, every 10 years people is remembering Can, and doing something like a first album. There is a punk time, and also hip-hop people like to have this one. New wave and electro things. It’s so strange, because people are all the time sort of remembering. Because it’s could have be a one reason why we are five people, but the five people came from a different music direction. Two of the people is studied by Stockhausen, and the one was a free jazz drummer. One was a younger guitarist. I was just a hippie from the street. Just a different kinds of people who came together. That’s quite interesting still. If we re-did it, only same likeness, sort of music, and everybody like this music, then it don’t get farther for development of the music.

Damo Suzuki

You need many different kind of informations. Then you can make much more interesting things, not just concentrating on only one things. Also it’s the same like food. Because I like to speak about food, because I really like to eat food too. Food is also slow, if you eat, you like this food, and if you eat every day, then it doesn’t make any effect anymore, you know.

Music is also, you take many different kind of a thing. Don’t listen to only one music, because if you are having only music, your creativity is limited. If you have many interests, you must be curious about many things. Not only the music, but the social movement or political. Many things. It’s around yourself everything is happening, so you must take it and have really interest on it. Then you can make really something quite special for you.

Anupa Mistry

I think we’ll definitely explore some of these different interests of yours as we get into the conversation. I do want to stay a little bit in the past only because I think it’s very interesting that your arrival in Europe. You left Japan while you were a teenager. Clearly, from a very young age, you were willing to stake your own path. Can you talk a little bit about what Japan was like at the time when you left and why you chose to come to Europe?

Damo Suzuki

I don’t know how many of you are coming from island like New Zealand or Japan or some kind of island. If you are in the island, you have a dream to go to the continent. That is in me too also at that time. That time was 1968 I first left Japan. It was much different situation like now. It’s not usual to travel to another country. Also, social involvement is not really good at that time. There was almost no flight. Only ship and things like this. If you are living in such situation, you have much dreams than today because today you can go to London for maybe 80 euros or something like that. It takes only one hour or something like that. Traveling itself is very easy.

At that time, it was kind of adventure. Once you left the country, then you might never come back again. It’s kind of things are totally different. I think now is much better because everybody can go to see any other country and quite cheap. You can go to anywhere, and you can meet many different people. You have opportunity now, so you can make many things that we couldn’t make at that time.

Anupa Mistry

Were you always curious from a young age? What was the impulse to leave?

Damo Suzuki

Yes, I was not really good in school, so I thought I better don’t stay in Japan because I can get not really good future. Another side is only one good things in my school time was geography. It was my hobby. When school was over, come back home, and open the atlas, and I’m dreaming to go to somewhere. Besides that I always like adventures. That’s why I came to Europe.

I think it was really good because I born as Japanese, but that is not a meaning I must all the time, all life long stay like a Japanese. Everybody’s birth, you didn’t choose. You’re American, whether you’re from a rich family or poor family. Any kind of thing, you never choose with yourself. Why not? If you’re getting a little bit older, 17, 18 years old or more, you choose your place to live.

Anupa Mistry

Why did you choose to come to Europe then?

Damo Suzuki

Yes, because if I’m living in Japan. We had many information from the States because we lost World War II. So because we lost the war, so all winner cultures coming to this loser country. I was not so much into American culture for this reason, so I came to Europe. Before that I wrote letters to many newspaper in Europe to get some sponsors because I didn’t have so much money. How can I live in Europe? In Sweden, there is a newspaper, and they wrote about me. Then after I got 21 letters from Sweden. “If you come to Sweden, I can take care of you,” and things like this. That’s why I come to Europe. This is the main reason.

Anupa Mistry

You lived in a commune for a bit when you were in Sweden?

Damo Suzuki

No, it’s not true. If people is talking to another people, sometimes stories get totally different. I was not living in a commune. It was a small village with only 50 people living in the middle of almost nowhere in Sweden. Even Swedish people don’t know this place, where it is, such a place. I liked being in such a place because I’m not fond of big cities. If you live in a big city, you have so much stress and not necessary things. You get travel problems or things like this. I really didn’t have this kind of thing. I wanted to live as naturally as possible because it’s much more easy to live this way.

Anupa Mistry

What was it like being Japanese in Europe at that time, the mid-to-late-’60s?

Damo Suzuki

It’s totally different because there was not every corner was a Japanese sushi place or things like that. Maybe even Chinese people was not so much there at the end of ‘60s. Totally different. Even you can hear many different kind of restaurant, Vietnamese or something like that. This kind of stuff is not. Only maybe Italian or Yugoslavian food or something like this. That was all.

Anupa Mistry

It was okay, your experience? Was it difficult?

Damo Suzuki

No, no, it’s not so difficult, because I like adventures. I can take it as it comes. It’s much more easy way. I really don’t like to have any plans. She was asking me to do something today, some kind of a script or something like this. I said, “No, it’s not really good. Make it natural as possible, because I like to improvise stuff.” If you improvise, it’s much more honest really with yourself and much more personalized. If you already planned, then you go to same direction all the time, and so you are not free. That’s why I like this kind of a platform, all the time we improvise things.

Anupa Mistry

When you were moving from place to place within Europe, how did you know it was your time to move on to somewhere else?

Damo Suzuki

Actually, I didn’t think anything. Maybe tomorrow, whether it’s good, then I go to this place. Things like that. It was not so complicated. Just easy. For me, my lifelong philosophy is be myself. Be just Damo Suzuki. For me, it’s the best way. It’s the easiest way so I can make it.

Anupa Mistry

How did you develop this personal philosophy? What we often read or hear about Japanese culture is that it’s not as rooted in the individual. You said this philosophy has been a lifelong thing. Where did those ideas come from?

Damo Suzuki

I think it comes from a kind of provocation. I told you before, I was living in the middle of American culture. It was not me. I was forced to take this culture because of the World War. I think it has everything to do with provocation all the time. I really like to have any kind of provocations against authority and against capitalism or anything like this. I told you, I like smaller cities, small villages because I really don’t like big cities because there’s many, many problems. I like to stay... I think it just began with kind of provocations. All the time, I’m provocating. Indeed, provocation is one of the most important things for creative activities. Without this, you cannot go farther. Your energy is also important. You cannot go farther without any kind of provocation.

Anupa Mistry

Obviously, you’re talking about the American influence in Japan as a big provocation for you. Can you talk about maybe some of the different kinds of provocations or prompts that some people in here, some of the musicians in here, might encounter, draw inspiration from?

Damo Suzuki

Yes, but I don’t like to talk of many things that I’m thinking. Everybody here is maybe 30, 40 years younger than me, and they have their own life to lead. They must develop with myself. I’m just 40 years older. Actually, it’s not really good space to talk about. I’m not a real person, so you can choose just anybody else. Everybody has a different kind of experiences. That’s why I don’t like to talk so much about this. You are here. Society is here. Any kind of energy you must make to the people, you get energy back from the people. This is most important things because music is communication. Music without communication [does] not exist. That’s why I’m doing these things quite a long of time, kind of improvisation. I don’t say it’s improvisation. Instant composing.

Anupa Mistry

You call it instant composing?

Damo Suzuki

Yes, for me it’s quite important to have all the time new words. Because if you say improvisation, it’s kind of jazz people are doing this. Actually, improvisation is not that good meaning. If you invite somebody, maybe three people you invite for your party or something like that or meeting, suddenly came five people or much more people, then you say, “I improvised something.” It’s not so really good.

I use instant composing because we are composing on the stage. Also, quite important for me is the instant composing — ‘I-N-G.’‘I-N-G’ is just now and at the moment. This is the point that for my music making is quite important. It’s just at the moment. That’s why I use ‘I-N-G.’ If you use ‘I-N-G,’ ‘I-N-G,’ ‘I-N-G,’ for maybe 20 or 30 times, you can try to say it. Then it suddenly sound like ‘energy.’ Energy is most important thing for our substance to living and to understand anything and to involve in anything. Energy is the most important thing. It depend if you have positive energy or negative energy. I hope everybody going to get positive energy. If you have positive energy, you can make other people also happy. This person get positive energy, and this person to another people going. Then our world is going to step-by-step getting better way.

Anupa Mistry

This is something that you’ve spoken about, which is that you’re not so in favor of grand statement or a grand gesture or product. Instead you prefer more of a step-by-step approach, more one to one communication. Can you talk a little bit about the potential of that?

Damo Suzuki

Communication today is everywhere because, as I told you, I’m making a concert with just random musicians who I never met before. We make sound check, then we go on the stage. Even I don’t select musicians. It’s not my task. I ask my local promoter, “You can choose some interesting musicians from local music scene,” because they know much more about me anyway for local scene. Some of the promoters did already maybe ten more times arranged my show, they’re going to make some problem with me because they know that I make many different things. Sometimes they arrange some noise maker, but not really loud noise. Just so small noise. [imitates noises] All four noisemaker with this one, and I must make music with this. Things like that is coming. For me, it’s welcome because I like adventures. Any kind of sensation I like to make, things like that. That’s also provocation, too. It’s quite against the social system. It’s not industry. It’s not things like that. I’m really happy to doing things like this. Maybe I get out of the point.

Anupa Mistry

No, no. [laughs] I find that interesting and the fact that you have had this approach to life for such a long time. Working in a band for three years, how was that experience with respect to this theory of spontaneity and unplanned collaboration? You’re in a very regimented almost environment.

Damo Suzuki

Yes, but I don’t like to make it anymore. This is three years with the same people. I’m not so interested more to belong to any kind of organization or any kind of a group. I’m not so much interesting about this because I like to be free with myself. That means I’m just kind of provocating all the time. Also I’m searching for something. Maybe I didn’t find it. Maybe I found it. I don’t know because I really don’t like to have any kind of answers. If you have answer, already you can ditch your goals. It’s quite boring for me. That’s why I’m making this kind of music, because it is not product. Product is already you have answer. I don’t like to have a product. I like just the processing, high energy-ing. Things like this. This actually fits together with me to how I’m living. If you are making music, you must be yourself. Also your personality and everything involved must be equal to music. Otherwise you cannot make honest music.

Anupa Mistry

I think that might be a good place for us to get a sense of what you’re talking about here in terms of your tour, your Never Ending Tour. Can we play a clip from the Neverending documentary? This is a bit of live performance and a little bit of interview.

(video: clip from Neverending documentary)

Anupa Mistry

That was a clip from Francesco Di Loreto’s 2005 documentary about you called Neverending. There’s a couple of things in there. You said, “Cooking is like anarchy.” You kind of elaborate on that point because you say all you need are these basic things: salt, fat, heat. You can make something. What are the basic elements of your music making? Is there anything that you consider that you just need?

Damo Suzuki

Yeah. Now I’m doing different than before because I was with a group and composing together and things like that. Now I’m quite interesting. Every night I perform together with different people that I never met before. I don’t know any technical things about them. Also music tastes, I don’t know. Sometimes I perform with a country western guitarist or things like that. Total different music. Sometimes with a brass band. Sometimes with 50 people and 35 singers. Sometimes with disabled people. All the time different. I can’t compare this and this because it’s how I am. As I told you, music is communication, because I like people. That’s why I can make anytime just things. Every country different. Every city different. Sometimes I perform together with only females, and how I can say...

Anupa Mistry

It seems like the only thing you need is an element of the unknown.

Damo Suzuki

Yeah, because it’s kind of a skill. It my quiet ego. I like to have adventure, because otherwise my life is quite boring. Just doing every time same things, understanding the same things so that I cannot make it. When I was a teenager, I used to travel and busk on the street. Just I cannot stop this kind of things. If you eat really good food and you taste it, then you cannot forget this taste. I’m doing things like that. Without it, I think my life is quite empty.

Anupa Mistry

I like the idea that... Well, we should also clarify and say that you pretty much only perform live. There are not too many studio recordings that you’ve put out over the last 30 plus years of touring. There are some live recordings, there’s a couple of studio recordings, some of which we will play, but you prefer live. I think all of this stuff that you’ve talked about here, your theories, seem conducive to the spontaneous environment. Do you feel like that gives you and all of the different participants, the musicians and the audience, a new sense of ownership over the music?

Damo Suzuki

I look at just a moment. That next moment, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I like this kind a skill more than already brand. I know already clearly and I have an answer. I don’t need any kind of answer. That means I don’t like to have any kind of information. Information is killing me too much. If you have so much information... For instance, for you is a music period. If you have many information about the music, then you don’t have so much space to create with yourself. If you don’t have so much information, you can go any kind of place, and that’s the best thing can do: creative activity. I don’t need any kind of information. That’s why I like this moment. I don’t know... just musicians and I don’t know anything about them. Even I don’t know their history and so nothing I know of them. We make some special moment and this is for me really humanlike, because long time before we begin with the music this way to communicate with another people, but I don’t think at that time we made our music, just a different kind of folks is on the hill and making some signal with smoke. This is the beginning of the music, I think. Not really like music. It’s kind of a signal.

Anupa Mistry

It’s also a more unique experience for someone to come and see you, to see something special you do that night or talk to someone who’s next to them in the audience versus just listening to a CD, which everyone is going to listen to in the same way. It’s not just you getting something out of it. It’s everyone in the room getting something out of it.

Damo Suzuki

Yeah, one thing that I really don’t like from modern music is it’s quite too short, three minutes, four minutes, five minutes and things like that. It’s not natural. It’s just they make things like that for radio station or something like that. Besides the music, some kind of things are working on, so I did it on track. That’s why, at the moment, I only listen to classical music, because it’s much longer and for me it’s a natural thing.

You can praise three minutes improvisation, [but] it’s not possible to make only three minutes improvisation. Life itself is not cut off for three minutes or five minutes or something like that. It’s not so really necessary. If you play something, you don’t just don’t like to stop. That’s why my longest pieces on a CD is a 77 minutes for one piece. Why not? Because nobody else is doing like this.

Anyway, I think every kind of artist, a musician, a painter, whoever is involved in art, their task is stealing the time of another people. That’s why I really like to take much of my time as possible from the people.

Anupa Mistry

77 minutes is the longest on recording. What about live?

Damo Suzuki

Live is sometimes two and a half hours [and] only one piece.

Anupa Mistry

Then you’ll do another piece after that maybe?

Damo Suzuki

Maybe people will like it, but actually I don’t like to play that much more because only one piece is enough with so many elements inside. Many different parties coming sometimes really so angry, sometimes really calm and gentry and many different things are happening in one piece. For me this way to make music is quite natural. No, I’m not thinking that that is the music. I’m just much more following something else that I can create a much more platform with the people for a platform of the communication. Music is for me is just a tool to make this platform, I think.

Anupa Mistry

What are you feeling while you’re kind of in that moment?

Damo Suzuki

Yes, it depends on the... I am just always very thankful that that I have such opportunity and I can meet every time so nice people and we create our own time. We control our time and we can share this energy to the audience. This is the most beautiful moment, even for just happiness. Sometimes I’m crying.

Anupa Mistry

Do you have any – not precautions, I don’t know if that’s the right word – but is there anything that you need to do to avoid negative energy impacting you?

Damo Suzuki

No, negative energy is not so much important for me. I don’t like to have this. If some of the players like to play with me, if the name of the band is something to do with say Satan or devils or something like that I said, “No, I don’t like to play with you because I don’t like to have this kind of stuff. Also somebody is following involved in the dark music.” This world is so dark enough so why you wish to play dark music? Why you just shouldn’t make people much more happy with this?

Anupa Mistry

What do you consider to be dark music?

Damo Suzuki

Something to do with Satan, Satanism, and things like that. There’s so heavy metal bands playing like this with just signs and things like that, even though they don’t know what’s the meaning, what it’s saying. But if you know all these signs, then maybe you just think it’s totally different.

Anupa Mistry

You’ve also talked a lot about taking inspiration from and enjoying playing around the world with young people.

Damo Suzuki

Yes, very young people. Last time in London, I know of a venue. I performed in just a small venue, maybe more than 10 times. The promoter knew that I like to have adventures. Last time I performed together with 18 years old band. Five people is 18 years old, but they are totally good. For such as young age, they make really good music, as if they are already 30 or 40 years old. It was a really nice experience, too. The youngest one who ever performed with me was a 15-year-old guitarist. It was also nice, and 10 years later I performed together with just the same person. I can see development, and it’s a nice moment to see, [someone] growing up.

Anupa Mistry

I think sometimes older people think that young people don’t have something of value to offer.

Damo Suzuki

No, no, no. I think young people have much more interest because they don’t have so really clearly perspective. If you don’t have a perspective – no, you have perspective to make something in the music field, but you’re not so much experienced in life itself. That’s why it’s quite interesting, because, if you have so much information you cannot be creative. If I perform with somebody already 40 or 50 years old, they have already kind of musical style and they’re never going to change. But I really like to perform with younger people or with a young nation. For instance, like last time I performed in Albania, Kosovo, but they have something of which I don’t have. For me it’s also a learning process still now to play together with young people, and I can get something from them. Not they aren’t getting [something] from me singing. So there is always this kind of thing. There’s also communication, so I’m taking them something and I give them something.

Anupa Mistry

What are you taking from them?

Damo Suzuki

Oh, energy. Young energy is totally different than our energy, and also ideas. Many people here is a generation of computer generation. My time was nothing to do with computer. It’s much more interesting to make music itself because everybody would be creating so many different things because you don’t have to learn how to play guitar or something like that. But if you are keen on technical things, then you can go some different way than I went.

That’s quite interesting, and I learn many things from young people. If I don’t have this process by myself, it’s, I think, quite a boring life. There’s so many possibilities, because we have so many brain cells. I don’t know how many, but you must use it, actually. Then you get some interesting ideas and creativty or maybe you can find a total different things.

For instance, if you have some apple you can see from here and you can see from here, you can see from here and you can see from, but it’s not all. If you cut it so you can see another things. Then you can maybe get a quarter of it. Then you have a different kinds of things you can see. That is so much different things you can see for only one thing. There’s so many things to learn from young people because young people’s results are unlimited, but older people is already quite limited because they like to have a secure life and things like that, which is not that much important. But they like to have security, to get two children, a car, a house, and things like this. But younger people don’t think things like this. [They think] much more real natural things. Passion, longing, and things like this. That’s things I can learn from many young people.

Anupa Mistry

What is Damo Suzuki’s Network?

Damo Suzuki

Yes, Damo Suzuki’s Network [began in] 1997, so almost 10 years I didn’t make music. One promoter invited me to come to Japan, so then I must make a band, and I asked some friends to come. That was the beginning of the Network. Almost three years long I performed together with my friends for every two tours for different people. But since March 19, 2003, I changed my opinion about making a network. [That day] was a historical moment because there were many demonstrations on the street and many people was against bombing Iraq. But America ignored, and I was quite angry, too. That same day I flew from San Francisco via Las Vegas to John F. Kennedy Airport. Early in the morning I heard this news. I was already bad feeling and also angry. I thought maybe I can make something, but I’m not the kind of person of playing big tantrums or something like that. I thought maybe I can make something step-by-step to get communication between the people. Music itself is a communication, so if there is many communication, there is no violence. Violence is not only in a battlefield. [We fight] in a family, in a social, in the office or school. There’s many [forms of] violence. I thought so I can use this power with the music as a weapon against violence. That’s the beginning of the network projects. Now, I’m doing so. That means I go to another place and perform together with only local sound carriers, because it’s a much more near to the audience. I don’t bring in somebody from far together with me anymore. I just go there alone and create in the time and space of the moment.

Anupa Mistry

Why is your tour called the Never Ending Tour?

Damo Suzuki

Yes. Never Ending Tour is because I’m quite egoistic, so I like to do long as possible and so as long as I exist, I may travel and I make music and this is a passion of which make me a stable in my life.

Anupa Mistry

You were diagnosed with colon cancer and you’ve had some surgeries. How did your illness impact your ability to be spontaneous, but also your ideas of never ending? Does it bring up questions of mortality?

Damo Suzuki

Yes. For me, music is healing. I think music helped me quite a lot, but besides that I’m quite a religious person. I’m a believer in the Bible. Both together. For me, it’s important to make music that I have such an experience, bad experience really it’s so hard, three and a half years without any freedom, and I must stay in the hospital for so long time. I survived.

Now my mission is to give somebody information or to give somebody possible feeling who have the same problem. I had the opportunity, so I survived. Why not? If I can support another people, then it’s the best thing I can do. Things like that I was doing with the music, too, because the music opens people’s mind and people’s perspective is getting more deeper and things like this. It’s quite important for me to do this as my mission. Everybody have kind of mission everybody but for my mission is like this.

Anupa Mistry

So you see never ending as something that will continue beyond you?

Damo Suzuki

Yes, never ending was actually for everybody’s dreams, so long as possible and access quite a natural dream or natural things like to live forever. I think because life itself is quite a giving, if you’re doing something interesting. It not shouldn’t be our only music than any kind of things, people who is working in a normal company, if they have a really good attitude and really good philosophy, they are really happier with this because he’s able to do this and able to spend his lifetime for this.

It’s not to depend on the music. I’m telling you because I’m American music. That’s why it’s so, but there’s many interesting jobs you can get and you can develop with yourself and it’s always connecting with never ending because people don’t think that tomorrow, ‘I’m going to die and I’m going to live satisfied today, I’m going to make this and this.’ Then your life is quite tight already and planned already.

Creativity is unlimited, so you can go many ways. That means energy flows all the time, and that is never ending. Then you can trust yourself, if you don’t have a time period that you must finish this and this. But if you are believing that you’re living for maybe 100, 200 or 300 years, then you can make many things. Because we are slaves with time, everybody.

Use energy for a shorter period of time with people doing something, but instead you’re believing in something else. Then life gets much more rosy and much more interesting. You have unchained the feeling and you have your freedom. That’s the things.

Anupa Mistry

I wanted to play a piece of music that was actually recorded. This is a collaboration with the Japanese artist K-Bomb who also goes by Killer-Bong, and it’s from 2011 out Black Smoker Records and the project is called Killer-Damo. I’m going to pull that up.

(music: Damo Suzuki & Killer-Bong – “Live at Chikyuya” / applause)

Anupa Mistry

That was Damo Suzuki and Killer-Bong. I think that was recorded in 2011, and that was about a few minutes of a 32-minute piece of music that I just played. What does it take to get you into the studio to record something?

Damo Suzuki

No comment. [laughs] No, I just don’t like to go to the studio because against the machines. Machines are cool and [there is] not human warmness there. One of the most important factor of my kind of music is audience. Audience has the feedback and they have energy and they give me energy and is connecting together. This singing I cannot separate, and I cannot compare with the machines.

Anupa Mistry

That was recorded in studio or was there an audience there?

Damo Suzuki

Yeah, it was an audience together.

Anupa Mistry

There was an audience there?

Damo Suzuki

Yeah.

Anupa Mistry

OK, so then you were able to kind of...

Damo Suzuki

It was live concert. I just found that so many people stay there for so many hours of this kind of music.

Anupa Mistry

That was with a Japanese rapper.

Damo Suzuki

Yeah, Japanese rapper and Japanese DJs. This kind of people I never saw before, but to answer, again, I made a concert together with me. It was 2010. It was something like this.

Anupa Mistry

Is there a tradition of – you don’t like the word improvisational – but kind of a spontaneous music making in Japan?

Damo Suzuki

Not really. I don’t have so much of, so how it’s called, it’s fun or something. I don’t lack follower in Japan or even in Germany is also not so much. I mainly perform in England. 80% of the concert is in England.

Anupa Mistry

Well, it was interesting then that you were able to go back to Japan and meet with these young guys who are working in the same way as you.

Damo Suzuki

Yes, I did it until 2012 or 2011 or something like that. Now, I don’t go to especially to Japan because for problem with radiations and things like this. I’m not so and actually I don’t have anywhere I really like to stay for long times or. At the moment, I stay in Germany, but already since the 1970, so almost 50 years, but this is not my last station, because for me there is no last station.

I continue to find somewhere nice. But the taste of the people is over time to time it changing. Now I’m sing something like this maybe three days after I sing a total different thing. Who know?

Anupa Mistry

Don’t quote him guys.

Damo Suzuki

This is almost like a way of politicians. They cannot remember anything that they say five days before.

Anupa Mistry

How can these people in the room maybe be a little less self-conscious or less fearful around their musical expression?

Damo Suzuki

What? I didn’t understand really, sorry about that.

Anupa Mistry

Maybe you can give some advice on how the musicians in this room might be able to channel some of what you’re doing, so being more trusting, I suppose, in the moment. Can you give some advice on how they might do that?

Damo Suzuki

Everybody is totally different, but just as a performer, don’t get nervous. Instead, you must be happy person because you have this opportunity to make a music that not many people have this kind of time, but do you have time. You must just enjoy yourself. If you are enjoying, there is already positive energy comes in the audience. They have only good concert. Nothing bad things happens, but many people is asking me before concerts, some is on the carrier, local sound carrier is asking me, “You don’t get nervous?” “No, I don’t get nervous.” I’m just happy to meet together with just audience and play music together, so is nothing else. It’s just my happiness.

Anupa Mistry

Find your happiness guys. Can you talk a little bit about the spirituality in this approach?

Damo Suzuki

Yes, so spirituality is just the beginning. If you believe in God exists or not, this is the beginning of everything, for every question. But many people don’t believe it, so I’m sure 90% of the people is not believe in a creator who created universe and human being and nature and everything. Many people you’re thinking as people who is believing God is something so strange person because why people must think that God doesn’t exist. For me, it’s kind of brainwashed because they don’t research anything.

It’s not so much connecting with religion things or spiritual things, but if you doubt about with yourself, why you don’t research? Many people are just taking information from your father, mother, or a country, or many things. That’s why Japanese people is believing Buddhism and Hinduism, but actually they don’t know anything because it’s the traditions. Or maybe in England, [where] many people is believing in the Queen’s and the King’s family and things like this.

This is something to do with traditions, but if you research many things, then you can find different perspective. [Being] curious about many things is actually [an] important thing to develop yourself. If you’re not curious, you never come to these spiritual things, because many think is a total against spiritual things. Believe in God because for instance, the TVs they are making all different information than reality and also newspapers and media is making like this.

Also, you learn the history of something like this. History is also, like a lot of things, quite wrong, because they like the perspective from the winner’s country. The loser is always forgetting about from the history and things like this. If you look around the many things, there is things you doubt about things, but before that you must be curious about things, where you come from, who you are.

This thing is quite important to know, and then you come slowly to spiritual things. [Humanity] was totally different a thousand years ago, because they didn’t have any kind of information. Now we have a wire of information all over the world. If you go to internet, you don’t know what is the truth.

There’s many different kinds of perspectives and also conspiracy theories and things like this. Many things are happening, but now it’s very difficult to find their own truth. Beginning of the human being was also problem with information, so strange, but it was the information because snake give it to the Eve, “You should eat this one and if you eat this one you get this intelligent like God.” This was wrong information and now we are facing wrong information, too. The whole thing is quite connecting. If I talk about football and food... I can get anything connecting. Many things are connecting.

Anupa Mistry

How have your ideas of spirituality changed over the years? Does it change in response to kind of...

Damo Suzuki

Actually it’s different to change because I used to read the Bible, but I’m not a Catholic or a Protestant because they’re doing wrong things, too. They don’t read in the Bible. For instance, they’re celebrating 25th of December as the birth of Jesus Christ, but it’s not true. Nowhere in the Bible is a standing for them. For this one, for instance, I researched. Then I got the real result. 25th of December is actually birth of Nimrod. Nimrod is ancient Babylonian king. He was first person against God and made a kingdom after Noah’s stuff. People be celebrate this day? And also this Santa Claus. Santa Claus with white, gray beard. This looks like Odin in old ancient religion of Scandinavia. That’s why Santa Claus looks like this. Santa Claus, is the same coming from Nimrod. It’s so strange. If you really research many things, you can get so interesting point. That’s why I’m also spending quite a lot of time researching many things.

Without get any result, I feel really bad. Maybe I cannot sleep three or four days, so I must have something to find, my truth and things like that. That is a spirituality very beginning, to compare what the church is doing at the moment, or Muslims or Buddhists or Hinduism or something like that. I’m connecting. I’m researching many things. Suddenly it comes that Vatican is not very good. They killed. They killed many people, too. You can find some kind of truth with this on history. That’s a really good thing. This is, for me, a quite good essence for my living. It’s kind of food, soul food, I can say.

Anupa Mistry

Do you make music by yourself ever, just when you’re at home?

Damo Suzuki

No. I don’t listen to any kind of music, not at all.

Anupa Mistry

You don’t make music?

Damo Suzuki

No, I listen to only classical music occasionally, but I don’t practice or anything. I just go everywhere like Damo Suzuki. It’s okay. If I cannot sing, I’m still Damo Suzuki. Just I go there and everything is okay. People is happy. They play together with me, things like that. I just don’t like to practice. Maybe I’m too lazy person. Maybe I’m hopeless person. It’s not right to sit here this place. That’s how I am, so I cannot change. Sorry. [laughs]

[applause]

Anupa Mistry

I don’t know if I would say hopeless. I wanted to play one more piece of music. This was recorded in a studio with Jelly Planet. That was not in front of an audience. This came out this year, and it’s a track called...

Damo Suzuki

“Wildschweinbraten.”

Anupa Mistry

Yes, he gave me the German because I’m feeling self-conscious.

Damo Suzuki

Even I don’t know the title of the songs which I made.

Anupa Mistry

“Wildschweinbraten,” that’s it.

(music: Damo Suzuki & Jelly Planet – “Wildschweinbraten” / applause)

Anupa Mistry

That was Damo Suzuki and Jelly Planet with “Wildschweinbraten.” It goes on for another ten minutes or so. Feel free to check it out. When you’re recording something in the studio, which is very rare, this is very rare for you, how are you doing your thing if there’s no people there, if there’s no audience there?

Damo Suzuki

Actually, they are my friend for a long time, since ’90s. They were recording in Cologne where I live. The guitarists called me up, “What are you doing? If you have the fun and the time, then you can just go to the studio. We are making this.” He didn’t told about we are going to make together recording. My wife there was cooking food for them.

Anupa Mistry

She was making Wildschweinbraten.

Damo Suzuki

Yes, Wildschweinbraten is soul food from Germany. That’s why this title is called “Wildschweinbraten.” Things like that. First of all, I didn’t know what’s going to happen. He just say to me, “When open at the studio, we’re going to improvise already.” Things like that happen.

Anupa Mistry

Is it difficult for you?

Damo Suzuki

No, no, no, it’s not difficult, but it’s so strange if you have only one booth for singer, and nobody is standing. The guitarist is somewhere else, the keyboard player is somewhere else. It, for me, is not so naturally separated. If on the stage, it’s total different because everybody is near to you. I can see faces and things like this. It’s much more communication there. Optical communication. It’s totally different. They recorded it, and they asked me, “What about? Maybe we’re going to do this.” I said, “It’s okay. We can make it, but it’s not my way.” Sometimes things like that happen by accident. I’m living always with accidents. It’s just really nice if we don’t plan and just happens. I say yes or no. That’s quite natural.

Anupa Mistry

Well, thank you for taking the time to say yes to coming here and interacting with us. Please, everyone, say thank you to Mr. Damo Suzuki.

[applause]

Damo Suzuki

Thank you very much for taking the time with us here. I wish you a great creative activities in the future. We can see somewhere in the world again. I’m so happy if you talk to me. I was in Berlin Academy, and I saw you. If we see somewhere else, maybe in New Zealand or somewhere, it will be nice. Thank you very much for taking time and have a nice day. Thank you.

[applause]

Anupa Mistry

We’ll actually do a few questions from the room. They’re going to ask you some questions.

Audience Member

Hi, thank you. I just wondered since you have this very free almost childlike spirit, which other people have to meditate for a whole lifetime, I wonder if you were just born like that or if you actually practice something? Do you meditate? You’re so free, and your spirit is so free. It’s something other people have to practice for a lot.

Damo Suzuki

Normal people, including me, you cannot remember when you were five years old, so I cannot say anything else. It’s just a game, and I don’t practice anything. I told you I’m so lazy person. Just happens. I take it as it comes because I just don’t like to do anything against natural flow. I like to live with this. If somebody come with me with this idea, then I like to work with it, if it’s good with my sense of living. Then I make it. I take just things which I like. It’s my freedom. I really don’t like to do things even I can make so much money doing this and spending my time for this bullshit. I really don’t like to do this. Actually, just what is coming naturally come. I was trying to live. I’m really happy being Damo Suzuki and nobody else. That mean that I’m not egoism or something like this. Best thing you can do is be yourself. It helps so much. Don’t be anybody else. It’s impossible to make it. You don’t need to copy somebody. It’s impossible.

Audience Member

Thank you. I have one more question.

Damo Suzuki

Yes, yes. You are not a lazy person.

Audience Member

You said that you are probably searching for something. I was wondering if you had any insights that you could share with us like life lessons. Just some wisdom that you maybe found in your music making that you feel like sharing?

Damo Suzuki

Sharing is actually... Like now, I said you must have your own experience to create because everybody is different. Even my self is different today. Maybe tomorrow totally different. Different idea and things like this. To involve in this life, actually you making things which you feel good at some moment. Not now, because now is really short time. Now doesn’t exist, but at the moment you can involve this one. You can do this as a person. You are using this time, and you can make something. Even there is many pressures and many people think it’s not get happen or it’s too difficult to make this. If you go one step forward, then many things are coming together with you are because you are moving place A to B. If you all the time stay in place A, then never happens anything. Every day same, same people, same situation. You cannot do anything else.

If you go only one, maybe 30 centimetres or something like this, then total different atmosphere, you can get it. From this you can challenge your creativity and do something which is not compare with another people because every second, this moment, is your special moment. These are special moments if you catch it as often as possible, then you can make really your own things. To make your own things is good because for people’s eyes, this is the never ending music. You can hear it fresh 20, 30 years later also. You can hear it because it’s your music. If you are copying somebody else, music is always connecting with some kind of epoch. This is music from ’60s, ’70s or ’80s, and the texture is also from that time and social things. Then if you hear it it’s too old, and you cannot hear it. It’s always good to have a fresh surprise and you go together with this one.

Also your philosophy is very important, what kind of philosophy you have. Always thinking really positive things because positive things bring you forward. You can develop. You can help people, too. This is an energy and just vibe to another people. That’s why I’m making music and nothing else. This is my mission, to make people, young people like here, to get much more creativity. Inside the creativity is many things, which is just your special moment. You must capture it.

[applause]

Audience Member

Hi. I also do a lot of voice improvisations like you. I wonder how you make up lyrics and what do you think about when you improvise?

Damo Suzuki

Yes, many people is asking me what is lyrics and so on. When once a time I was with Can, I was trying to make lyric. If I really make lyric, then already some kind of reason is also inside, so it’s not really natural. For me, now I am using this kind of word, which is not Japanese or French. It’s really English or whatever. I like to make space of interactive. If people are listening and you are listening different, meaning from this, like in old stories. I like just kind of platform so everybody is involved in this. If you have special lyrics, then people listen too much for singers. If there is another people on the stage playing a guitar or keyboard or something like that, if you have texture people are always concentrating to listen to the lyrics. This I really don’t like because I never thought singer is front man. I’m not kind of this.

Instead, people is having own stories. It’s for good things. After the concert, “Damo, you were singing like this.” “Did I? I cannot remember.” They understand like this. It’s really good. Another people is saying another story. I’m giving maybe people some creative moment, not just only as a listener. I really don’t like to have a listener and the sound carriers on the stage. Gap. I really don’t like, because music you can make it and there is a space for the occasional [and] random. We come together and we have a special moment. Somebody is one meter outside the house, they have a different life and different world. We can make something here. This is your truth, and this is your source of your energy and creativity.

[applause]

Audience Member

Hello. Thank you for your words. I really appreciated you bringing up aspects of spirituality and researching things. I just wanted to know how important do you think it is, especially for younger people, to do more research into their own religious practices and how that can translate into your own definitions of spirituality?

Damo Suzuki

Practice is also quite important, but mainly people is thinking about how you can praise as quick as a possible or something like this, which is not that much important. Life itself is not so competition against any people, so you must do things against yourself. Otherwise you cannot develop anything. I really don’t like to compare anything. If somebody is asking me, “Which concert do you find good?”, I don’t say anything because every time situation is total different. People is also different. Audience is different. Weather is also different. Also my condition is also different. Why I can compare with this? I cannot. As a practice and thing, it’s good to hear another people, what they are trying, because it’s a social moment if you are making music together. I never perform alone, because I cannot, because music is communication. At least I need another person. I perform sometimes with a pianist or guitarist. I do things like this because I like this moment. We are creating something at the moment. There is two different people. There is three different opinions, but maybe much more. That is quite interesting to do, not only my stuff, not only his stuff. Somewhere in between and creating together. Then we can get another circumstance together. Creativity is really unlimited. You can go many many miles. That’s really good.

You never get the answer, but still you’re throwing this. You shouldn’t think you get answer. Answer is not so much important because practicing and this moment, processing is most important things, which you carry living energy. This is the most beautiful moment you can get. Just creative moment. Not practice. Practice is almost connecting together with somebody’s brain like this. If you hear people like Hendrix, then you suddenly get playing like Hendrix. It’s not you. If you make something and so on.

For me it is not so much important some people is playing with skill or something. Good, how it’s called, example. Once I performed a concert somewhere in England. They sent me information. There is two drummers. Two drummers, but I saw only one kit. Where’s the other drummer? One guy says, here is another. Where is the drum kit? I can only see one kit. He said, “I make a beat together with drum case.” It was fantastic. Everything you can use as a music instrument.

Also, it’s not something with music, but idea quite good. I had interview together with 15 or 16-year-old schoolboy for his school newspaper. His answer was not talking. He was showing some of his paintings and [saying], “What do you think about this and this?” All ten were different paintings and photos. Some very famous photos and something like this. I must make with my creative brain to answer something. Like this kind of stuff is good because it’s really interactive. I cannot prepare to get answer. I really like always somebody trying to kill me, Giving me some adventure. It’s really fun.

Practice is not so much important. Just do yourself and find your things. Keep on going with this one. It’s one of the best things you can get and easiest way. Not only for especially lazy person like me. You can make it.

Anupa Mistry

Any more questions? OK.

Audience Member

Hello. Thank you. I want to know again what the name of the last song you played?

Anupa Mistry

You want me to say it?

Damo Suzuki

“Wildschweinbraten.”

Audience Member

What were you thinking? I feel so much extreme happiness? What were you thinking when you were playing?

Damo Suzuki

No, I don’t have any particular texture. I don’t have it, because I don’t like to think. If you have a lyric already there, there is kind of reason is already developed. I really don’t like this form. I really like to have all things really free. There is no textures. I have message. Message is behind the music. What is music? Message, I told you already my philosophy and things like this. This is the message. Other things are not so important because you are changing. If you are called, you get another address. If you are getting one, another address. Things like this. Time to time totally different. I just don’t like against natural flow.

Anupa Mistry

Maybe the real question is what did it make you think listening to that piece of music?

Damo Suzuki

Yes.

Anupa Mistry

What did you think?

Audience Member

I don’t know I just felt very, very happy.

Damo Suzuki

That’s really nice. Me too.

Audience Member

Thank you.

Damo Suzuki

Thank you.

[applause]

Audience Member

Hi. I’m not a participant.

Anupa Mistry

That’s okay.

Audience Member

Thank you, Damo, for coming. Love you very much. I have a lot of questions, so I have to try and think of just one. I really appreciate artists who have a strong philosophy in life, and I feel like that’s actually more important than the form of the art. That they can carry around and spread that ideology. It’s kind of hard to figure out how to pose this question. One, I really think you have an amazing sense of melody when you’re singing and cadence. I wonder for you when you’re performing, if when you get into the flow state of performing and with other people and playing off of their energy, if there’s also a point in you, like a conduit where you feel you’re taking divine information and it’s coming through you and that’s part of your philosophy in sharing musically, like why you’re on stage?

Damo Suzuki

It’s time to time different. It’s sometimes caused by which kind of music supporting band is playing, too. If supporting band is playing loud music, I don’t begin with loud music. It depends. Also some vicarious playing together with me, how they play. It’s total different too. That’s my philosophy for any kind of situation or something. It’s really good because at the moment I’m doing this. Let’s say it’s going to happen and things like this. If you go to football match, if you know the result already, it’s quite boring to see it. This is same like music too, my music. You don’t have any result, so you are going together. You are traveling together. You are in a trance. We are going together somewhere else with this kind of stuff.

This is how instant composing work like this. This is the purpose of me to make music because I, myself, don’t know also result. Audience doesn’t know also result. We find it together, result. Togetherness. This is a real, pure, naked communication. I really like this kind of platform. That’s the best metaphor things like this. Maybe I get out of point. I don’t know.

Anupa Mistry

OK. All right. If there’s no more questions, then... There is a question. OK. Thank you very much, Mr. Suzuki, for being here.

[appplause]