Hanspeter Kruesi interjú
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Hanspeter Krüsi is a professional guitarist, pianist and composer from Switzerland. His music shows a full range of modern styles focused on various guitarstyles and sounds which makes his music very deversified. Beside this HP is able to play the " touch technique " on the guitar where you play the guitar like a pianist. This playing technique gives the guitar a very sweet tone and a rich musical expression which leads you in a new direction of experiences in listening to guitarmusic. HP's abilities on the piano are similar and focused on rich sounds and musical colors in combination with his guitar or just a simple but touching solopieces composed for the piano. HP's affinity to the language of music in any kind of expression with modern beats, sounds or just on solopieces for piano or guitar is remarkable.
Q: What was your first instrument and how did you decide to continue with one? Did you "live with music" as a child?
I started on piano I think at the age of 7 - I guess my parents brought me to that. But I was a very lazy student at that time. That changed I guess at the age of 17 I think. At the age of 20 I started with guitar as well. At that time I wanted to become professional as a pianist.
Q: After all, how did you go with playing an instrument? You play two instruments in a professional way. Was it a passion as it is now? Which one is better to express yourself?
Well I had my first professional jobs at the age of 21 playing in jazzclubs and jazzbars as a pianist and working with different professionals. Guitar was always a passion of mine but since I started on very late I kept this as a secondary instrument for a long time but I always played much more gutiar and on piano I still had a lot of professional jobs.
Q: It's great that you have the knowledge. Both of them work for you to express your feelings?
No - on piano I have direct access to inner feelings, stories and pictures. Over the years this has become my main expression on the piano - I guess I am not the kind of virtuoso pianist like some of the international professionals but I can express colors, pictures & stories in a way which people understand and can feel it. On guitar I am more the typical professional I guess but I have much more international recognizion.
Q: Music as a visual and mental experience and all can be reached online. I was impressed by your sites. How would you describe by your albums and your online project?
I had many different online projects in the past. I think what brings it most to the point is my latest project www.music-pictures.com where I try to visalize my music and the colors and pictures which I try to express. I just started this 2 months ago but I do believe this brings all my experience and musical philosphie on one point.
Q: I guess so. You also had opportunities to represent yourself at some festivals and programs. Have you got much appereances? I've heard that Gibson has a request for you. Tell me about international recognizion.
I had some opportunities in the past to present a lot of different projects on festivals but I mostly felt unhappy because I never could get to the point where I could take it to the level I wanted to have. So now I started from zero now with a new product ( music-pictures.com ) I just had a smaller performace 2 days ago where I played the pictures you can see at http://www.music-pictures.com/unterwegs/nov/ - the songs I played there will be available in digital distritbution soon.
Gibson might be a great deal - we are still in the preparations of this, but I think this will open up a lot of doors. I got this deal because I work as a online instructor at www.gutiartricks.com and since we are the biggest online guitarschool on the internet gibson was seeking for colaboration. Among the 54 international instructors as we are there I was selected as one which will present Gibson & Epiphone guitars on guitartricks.com and gibson.com.... this wil be available in the next 1-2 months I guess.
Q: Wow. (smile) These are great news! You said you are also a teacher and instructor. You have a special finger action playing a guitar as a pianist. Do you also bring it to your teaching? What are your considerations of teaching?
In fact yes - still don't know whre this will lead to. (smile) Well I guess it was my verison of the touch technique ( invented by Stanley Jordan ) which got me to this point. Actually I play the guitar like a pianist playing chords with the left hand and melody with the right hand. In my teaching I show the basics of this technique but since this is really very difficult to learn for an " only " guitarist I keep it on this level and of course I wouldn't show my best tricks.
A good teacher must show students how to have fun with music. This is what brings you to any level of playing. It is all about fun on playing.
Q: I am happy to hear that. What type of instruments do you have? Are there any instrument that you would also like to play - or ever thought of it? Which one would you choose as an addition - if there is one?
Well I guess that you are (smile) Well I have everything I need. I always play on the same gutiar ( GODIN LGX ) currenly (smile) and on piano recordings I work with software samplers which now really are getting it on a very good professional level where you can make great recordings.
Q: What do you think about studio softwares and virtual instruments? Nodadays it's getting very popular to make music on computer and as you've just mentioned it is at a professional level. Have you ever thought of "being-a-band" as a musician?
A lot of studio software has been very usefull in the past years and has opened up professional opportunities on a low budget level for a lot of musicians. But software piano's where always a bit tricky and still not on the level where you could make authentic piano recordings. But I think this has changed now as well. All those software instruments are a bit dangerous that musicians will forget how it is to play with other musicians and how this actually sounds. Even for professionals those software instruments are asking the live musician to take recordings to a perfect level which is very difficult and which brings music away from what music actually should be. This is what I am trying to express with my current project music-pictures.com and thats one of the main reasons why I thought that a soloperformance is something which brings music back to what it usually was.
Q: I do agree. I'd like to know how and on what do you record your music.
I use Cubase 4 / Waves plugins / all steinberg software instruments / ivory piano plugin / Tascam gigastudio GVI ( Steinway C piano ) + all kinds of samples / TL Audio tube microphone channel / Neumann TL 103 mic / Eventide H 3000 Ultraharmonizer / RME Fireface / + a very fast PC
Q: Great list. How do you feel about what you have reached and what are your aims for the future?
Funny that you are asking this - probably from the outside view I have reached quite I lot, but I feel that I still havn't reached what I was aiming for and I have been working very very hard on that. For the future I think I want to start to take things a bit easier and get my music on a even more authenic level and of course I hope that the latest projects will get to a level where I can move something.
Q: Why I've asked this is because I feel that you are a real musician by heart. I am impressed by your songs. I congratulate you on your work and your project. Keep it up!
Thanks (smile) and you are right - this is one of my main goals to get music back to people - this is something which got lost a bit with all those casting shows and stuff like that. I can just encourage you as well to keep it up !
