When the pandemic arrived last year, despite it cancelling all of her work double bassist Kate Pass found a 'silver lining' by channelling her creative energies into her group's – the eight-piece Kohesia Ensemble – second album.
A blend of jazz and Persian music, 'Silver Lining' was funded in part from the prize money the band received for winning the Martin Sims Award at 2020 Fringe World for their show 'Shahnameh: Songs Of The Persian Book Of Kings'.A mix of Persian and jazz music (though not a fusion as such), tell us about your new album 'Silver Lining'?
Kate: 'Silver Lining' is Kohesia Ensemble's second album. Our music is influenced by both Persian music and jazz, and draws upon the musical background of the eight band members.
Kohesia Ensemble features instruments such as ney (traditional Persian flute), oud (lute), saz (lute) and daf (hand drum) as well as trumpet, saxophone, piano, double bass and drums. Even though 'Silver Lining' is an instrumental album, storytelling plays an important role in the music.
Most of the tracks on 'Silver Lining' are from our Fringe World show, 'Shahnameh: Songs Of The Persian Book Of Kings'.
The record is a mix of your own compositions as well as new works from Iranian/ Australian instrumentalists (and Kohesia Ensemble members) Esfandiar Shahmir and Reza Mirzaei; did you have a concrete idea of the direction of music, themes you wanted to explore on 'Silver Lining'?
I think the direction of our music evolves with each new composition.
I treat every new composition (whether it's my own, or written by another band member) as an opportunity to learn something new, to explore a new idea or way of doing things.
I see this new album as being a continuation of our first album 'Kohesia' – each band member has settled into their role and found where their voice sits within the ensemble.
As a composer, I learnt a lot from the first album and was able to build on this for 'Silver Lining'. It's also been a great experience for me to play Esfandiar and Reza's compositions, and see how they approach writing for Kohesia Ensemble.
The funding for the record arrived after you won the Martin Sims Award at 2020 Fringe World for your show 'Shahnameh: Songs Of The Persian Book Of Kings'; you had intended to use the prize money to tour internationally; given COVID you pivoted to the studio – I guess there was a silver lining of sorts to the pandemic personally?
Absolutely, the fact we were able to re-purpose this funding to record certainly gave us a silver lining.
Having an album to plan and work towards really kept me sane during the past year and a bit. It was something positive and exciting to focus on, in a time of great uncertainty.
Also, the beauty of a recording is that it lasts forever, unlike live performances, which are fantastic in the moment but ultimately fleeting. It’s nice to have this audio snapshot of who we are at this point in time, and where we're at musically.
Was it always an album you had intended to record? Or have the unique circumstances of the last 18 months opened up new opportunities of which recording this album was one of them?
I had intended to record a second album at some point, but the circumstances of the last 18 months certainly created the opportunity for it to happen when it did.
I guess a silver lining of having all my work cancelled at the start of the pandemic was that it freed up more time to develop this album, and work on some new compositions without the deadline of a live performance.
Recording these songs during a pandemic when the world was shutting down last year; what sort of challenges did that throw up?
We had a few minor setbacks like rehearsals and gigs that were cancelled or postponed, but generally we were very lucky and can't complain.
It was challenging booking in dates, knowing there's a chance they may need to be moved. It forced us to be more flexible, but also I learnt that it's better to just take a risk and go for it, than not plan anything.
There were also elements of feeling guilty at times, that we were able to carry on with our lives and play gigs and record, when a lot of other people around the world are really suffering. It has been quite surreal.
Have there been any techniques or ways to approach the recording process that COVID created that you'll use once the world returns to some form of old normal?
We actually recorded this album live, but with a lot of separation.
We had eight band members in five different rooms, recording simultaneously with the help of video cameras. This was mainly to preserve the sonic character of each instrument, without having to deal with too much 'spill'. But it also meant we could be quite isolated, in case health measures required it.
I think recording in such an isolated way would have made me uncomfortable in the past, but actually we were all a little bit more accustomed to being isolated, and communicating via a screen, so it didn't feel too weird at all.
I'm really happy with how the recording session went, so I'd definitely consider this technique again in the future. We recorded this album at Loop Recording Studio, with engineer Kieran Kenderessy.
The Kohesia Ensemble; what does each member bring to the project to make it such a unique listening experience?
Improvisation is an important part of our music, meaning each band member is able to express themselves, and interpret the compositions in their own unique way.
I think a lot of bands are made up of people of similar ages and backgrounds, but the musicians in Kohesia Ensemble vary quite a lot in age, life experience, and musical background. This diversity, combined with the fact we’ve all been playing together for several years make us quite unique.
All of the compositions have been written with the specific players of Kohesia Ensemble in mind. It's a special thing when you've been playing with the same bandmates for so many years, you really get to know their sound and write specifically for them. We've been able to grow together, and learn from each other along the way.
There's a launch show planned for late Sept; fingers crossed it goes ahead; given the current landscape of snap lockdowns etc. you must be looking forward the show immensely? Anything extra special planned?
Yes indeed – fingers crossed! We are looking forward to the show immensely – especially as it's the band's first time performing in The Rechabite's Main Hall.
I'm looking forward to seeing how we interact with the space, which has three levels of seating. It's also a special time for us to connect and celebrate with our audience, people who have supported the band for years, our friends and family, as well as people seeing Kohesia Ensemble for the first time.
I'm guessing you're longing for the opportunity to travel internationally again; will you be looking at tour options once Australia's international borders open?
Yes, although I'm also looking forward to touring within Australia again. I've always loved travelling, and will certainly look to tour when we can, but I'm also really grateful and happy to be in Perth.
We've also enjoyed touring and performing within our own state over the last 18 months, which has opened up some wonderful opportunities.
Kate Pass Kohesia Ensemble play Rechabite Hall (Perth) 24 September. 'Silver Lining' is released 8 October.
