“I know music will always be a huge part of my life, and as long as I can keep composing and exploring the potential of music in this day and age, I’ll be content.”
20-year-old Gaspard Le Dem recalls how as a child, his parents, both of whom shared a passion for music, first exposed him to classical music. Now a junior in the Bienen school of music, Le Dem is studying his own passion: music composition. At a young age he learned to play both electric guitar and piano, but it wasn’t until he realized he could apply his songwriting skills to composing his own music that his love for music really blossomed.
As to exactly what sort of music he makes, Le Dem is reluctant to label his work. “I’m really not into the whole idea of classifying music,” he says. “Generic labels are my worst nightmare.” That notion stems from his feeling that classifying music takes away its true character. In other words, people’s preconceptions often get in the way of truly listening to music.
Gaspard’s ultimate goal after Northwestern is to be able to live off his compositions. However, he has no objections whatsoever to teaching or producing in the future.
Nelson Fitch
Ben Millstein
Matthew Alfonso
Chris Amos
Jake Hallac
// INTERVIEW
Massive.tv: What would you say your musical influences are?
Gaspard Le Dem: Definitely rock music. I played the electric guitar and keyboard in a progressive rock/metal band throughout high school. Writing original songs as a group was what I enjoyed most about being in a band and it definitely was the first step I took towards composing.
M.tv: How do you feel about technology in music? Does it play a large role in your composing?
GLD: I’m a big fan of sampling and enjoy processing sounds to obtain the sound I truly want. I don’t look down in any way on the use of technology in music. In fact some of my favorite artists use an excessive amount of electronics, like Amon Tobin or Trentemoller. However, I do think that electronics can get in the way of a composer’s ears. It’s just so easy to click a couple things and turn the sound of a clarinet into a super bass-heavy thing, then loop it a million times. It gets very tempting to write a very self-indulgent, cliché piece of music.
M.tv: Who are your favorite composers?
GLD: Well, one of the things that I would like to hear a lot more in music nowadays is humor. I find it extremely difficult to subtly express humor in music, but well done humor can bring out a number of more concealed aspects of a piece and elevate its overall dramatic content. For this reason I particularly enjoy the music of Leos Janacek, Bela Bartok, and Dmitri Shostakovitch. I can honestly say that when I hear their music, I am always incredibly moved, shocked, infuriated, saddened, livened, etc. No matter how many times I have heard it before.
M.tv: What do you say to someone who feels that music composition lacks any real creative innovation anymore?
GLD: I really dislike it when I’m told that the possibilities for innovation in music are coming to an end. To those who believe this, I can only say that they are either unwilling to imagine a different future for music, or simply do not have the necessary artistic freedom of mind to envision it.
M.tv: Do you think you conceive of music any differently because of your composing ability?
GLD: Whether I’m composing electronic music, chamber music, orchestra music, music for a play or a movie, I try to conceive of it in the same way. Ideally, people should listen to all music the same way and look for the same basic musical elements in all types of music. There’s no reason why a piece for string quartet should groove any less than a Funkadelic song or a fat electronic track.