"Music Without Borders" - Dagblade, 21 March 2001
Music should reflect the times we live in. Forget about genres and definitions - in the future we will look back on it as music from the 21st century. That's how musician Niels Lan Doky categorizes his latest offering, which was released on Monday.
On the surface it sounds familiar, Japanese haiku poetry and Zen philosophy. But add some high-tech drums and a couple of ethnic sound tracks, and in an instant we are up to the present. It is precisely at that point that 37-year-old jazz pianist Niels Lan Doky wants his music to be. "In the music you talk a lot about what is contemporary and what is old-fashioned. In Zen philosophy there is a proverb that says: The color of the pine tree is neither modern nor old-fashioned. It's important to take a stance on whether you want to be modern or old-fashioned - or something completely different. Musically I want to be like the color of the pine tree," Doky says, connection with the release of his new album Haitek Haiku. This statement contains the thought that Doky wants to be one of the artists whose music is sold and played generation after generation, for instance, like the works of Bob Marley, Miles Davis and Stan Getz. "When Michael Jackson sells 40 million units, people talk about it. But when a classic such as Getz/Gilberto from 1963 has sold 40 million units, nobody mentions it. The fact that it still sells is in my opinion an indication that it is neither old-fashioned nor modern. It is just like the color of the pine."
No need for defining the genre
The cosmopolitan Dane who broke through as a jazz musician is the son of a Vietnamese father and a Danish mother. He was educated in the U.S. and lived there for eight years. He is married to Valentine, who is half Danish half French Guyanese. They have twins and the family has been living in Paris for 11 years. He is a cosmopolitan who has the whole world as a workshop. Haitek Haiku is his 18th album since 1986, in addition to a long list of albums he has produced. As it was with the previous album Asian Sessions, it is difficult to put a tag on Niels Lan Doky's musical style, something he is pleased about. "It is illogical to place music into genres. When you read album reviews nowadays, it might say that it is a mixture of trip-hop, drum 'n' base and acid jazz. Hybrid descriptions become longer and longer, because musicians use elements from many areas. It becomes increasingly difficult to find descriptions to match the mix. We could settle upon calling our music, 'Music from the 21st century.' With that the mixing of genres really becomes a simplification, as it would be a genre in itself," Doky says, assuming a serious expression before continuing. "Due to technological developments the world has become much smaller in the past 10 years. Today we all have the same sources of inspiration at hand. We share the same palette, and depending upon who makes the music, it sounds different but in the end it's basically the same musical form."
Gino Vannelli
Doky illustrates his point with a reference to eras of the past, such as baroque, renaissance and impressionism. "Those styles reflect their respective contemporary societies. On this note, I believe that music representing our times will be music without borders. After all, we live in a Europe where you hardly need to show your passport, and next year we will have the same currency in X number of countries. That was unthinkable 30 years ago. Borders will disappear and cultures will get closer to each other. That's also what we will be seeing in music. Haitek Haiku ought to reflect these developments.
It was done in a collaboration with American producer-vocalist Gino Vannelli, who also sings on a few of the tracks. Lyrics are in English, French and the one sung in Italian, "Parole per mio padre," was performed by the two artists for the Pope in December at the Vatican's Christmas concert. Vannelli is the man behind the idea of using the Haiku tradition, an idea Doky is very excited about. "A Haiku poem is a very simple poem, typically three lines. What is said is boiled down to something that is as simple as it possibly can be, although it actually says more than what you read. It provokes thoughts in the reader and opens new perspectives. It is simple and profound at the same time." Doky calls the Haiku tradition an interactive form of poetry, because it is the reader himself who creates the images. "The reason we have chosen this as a starting point for the album is because we can deliver something and let the listener do the rest of the work. In the end, it will be the listener who completes the story." The first half of the title Haitek is a witty way to write high-tech. The two words seem to contradict each other, but the intention is to get them to melt together, to make the borders between the complex and the simple disappear.
Living close to it all
"Nowadays it's as if technology is an instrument in itself. We have satellite TV, and we can send pictures and documents via the Internet. If I need the sound of Vietnamese instruments, I can quickly get them sent to me and play them at home." Doky has achieved technical competence on the piano, and he also plays drums, guitar and trumpet. He speaks Danish, English and French, and his 11-year-old twins have learned Danish and French. "My view of the world is colored by a mix of cultures. Indirectly, the people who listen to my music are people who view the world in the same way I do. If someone doesn't like foreign cultures, then they will have a problem listening to the record." Doky smiles and runs his hands through the black hair that has a streak of grey at the front. "My music is a reflection of my life."