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COCHEMEA FOR CORRIDOR | COCHEMEA FOR CORRIDOR | COCHEMEA FOR CORRIDOR | COCHEMEA FOR CORRIDOR | COCHEMEA FOR CORRIDOR
For those just discovering your music, how would you describe the sound and spirit of what you create?
A lot of my work engages with different notions of temporality- past, present and future. In my music, the percussion ensemble plays a vital role, drawing from different rhythmic traditions, along with group singing, flute and saxophone, which I often play using various effects. I interweave oral history, dreams and memories, along with the interplay of melody, drums and rhythm, into stories that imagine a world I want to live in. In this way, I aim for the music to be a vehicle for future dreaming and world-building.
There’s a strong sense of storytelling in your compositions. How do you approach making instrumental music that still feels so narrative and emotional?
Since there are not a lot of lyrics in my music, I think a lot about the titles as an entry point into the world of the compositions. I imagine each album as a movie or a book and each song is a chapter in the story that builds together. A lot of my work is inspired by personal experiences and memories, real or imagined. So, I think because of that there is a lot of emotion that’s naturally transmitted into the music.
Your arrangements often feel as visual as they are auditory—like landscapes. Do you have a visual process when composing or performing?
I tend to be very visually oriented. A lot of times when I am playing or sitting down to write something, I’ll hold an image of a place or thing in my mind that gives me a certain feeling. It seems to anchor me and allows whatever is there to come through. Sometimes I’ll create visual scores with text and images for myself, as an inspiration or guide, and work from those.
You blend elements of jazz, funk, soul, and traditional rhythms in a way that feels seamless. What does your creative process look like when you’re pulling from such a wide range of influences?
I grew up listening to a lot of different kinds of music and have played and continue to study these different traditions. I usually start the writing process by pulling from different fragments of rhythms and melodies that come to me in different forms. For some songs, I’ll write most of the parts, but my records are also very collaborative. Generally, I’ll come in with the basic ideas, bring them to my producer Gabriel Roth (aka Bosco Mann) and then the band. We’ll arrange them together in the studio and record them live. It’s a really exciting process. There is a lot of trust and everyone brings their own experience and deep knowledge of rhythms, which I think makes the music feel cohesive and rooted.
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Listen to Cochemea on Spotify now.
