INTERVIEW: New album from Nevaris

Hey Nevaris. Thanks for taking the time out to chat with us. Let’s start at the beginning; how did you first end up playing music?

My parents were both classical musicians so I grew up in a musical household. I learned a lot by listening. I took some piano lessons as a kid, but I never really got anywhere with playing until later. My older brother Alejandro started to play chords on guitar and piano and shared some of that knowledge with me. So that was a big milestone in terms of getting started. In high school there was a music teacher named Steve Silverman who helped me get access to some knowledge and the school drum kit. I started playing drums everyday and playing with a group of older kids who could really play. And I started playing piano every day. In terms of trying to write songs it started earlier than that, but in terms of playing instruments that was really how I got started playing.

Where do you live, where are you from and would you say that either of these places have somehow shaped the music you create?

I grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City and then lived in Washington Heights for 20 years. So I was in NYC for most of my life. I lived in Upstate NY and LA and San Francisco but NYC for the majority. I’m living in Pennsylvania currently because of my wife’s work with Penn State. I don’t really have anything going on here. I’ve met a few very cool people recently. All of my music is still based in NYC so I am traveling a lot. Every city has its own flavour and when you grow up someplace it helps inform who you are as an artist. My sound is definitely from NYC with maybe a little west coast flavour because of my family’s roots in Echo Park, Los Angeles. That’s another big place in my life. But the sound is definitely from New York City. There was a ton of music and art happening in the neighbourhood where I grew up. Rock Steady Park was right down the street which is one of the places where breakdancing was invented. Bill Blast did his legendary graffiti murals there. Earl Manigault was based there so there was a lot of history. It was a rich upbringing in sound.

What would you say is your favourite and least favourite thing about being a musician?

What I love most about being a musician now is the daily practice of it. It’s my meditation and my therapy. In the past I would have answered that differently. It grounds me as a human. I play congas and piano every day. And honestly if I am doing that I am pretty content as a person and don’t need much else. And the satisfaction of creating work that other people appreciate is very fulfilling.

My least favourite thing about being a musician is all the other nonsense around it. The broken revenue models for example. The platforms and systems that exploit artists. There can be a lot of struggle. I grew up with my parents struggling as musicians and then later I was struggling despite how hard I tried to avoid repeating that. But none of that has anything to do with the music itself but all the external factors. But I wouldn’t trade it. You don’t choose to become a musician, it is something that you have to do.

You now have two singles out ahead of your new ‘Reverberations’ album. Please tell us about this album and how you came to connect with Carlos Santana, who praised your musical output for this record?

Reverberations is a recording that Bill Laswell and I started working on immediately after the release of New Future in 2022. The focus is on dub as a general concept while at the same time letting the music go where it needed to go organically. The connection with Carlos Santana came entirely through Bill. These things are normal for Bill who has worked with so many iconic musicians. He said we should send it to Carlos Santana and then he did. He’s been telling me that was an option for over 10 years but the music was never ready. This time it was. So that was a huge part of it. And both Carlos and Cindy Blackman Santana seemed to genuinely love the record and sent some really positive correspondence back which was shared with me. So that was pretty incredible from my viewpoint. They were listening to the music and enjoying the music and sharing it with some people and that was really exciting. And then Bill asked Carlos if he would officially endorse the record which he did. So that has definitely been a blessing and came from a genuine appreciation of the music.

I understand that this album represents a progression, so to speak, from your Loud Apartment project. How did you decide to make this move and can you tell us about your relationship with legendary New York bassist and producer Bill Laswell?

It was Bill’s idea to put out the record out under the name Nevaris instead of Loud Apartment. He said it was a good name. It was also Bill’s idea to create a fully instrumental recording which I was down with. He was very involved in all aspects of creating Reverberations and we had a lot of conversations along the way. Bill is a great communicator about music. All of it happened naturally and without stress in terms of the music. There was no nonsense or arguing or wasted time. Most of the challenges happened outside of music in terms of things that the musicians involved were going through, most notably Bill. The best way to stay updated on that is through the Bill Laswell Facebook page.

How do you nurture your own creativity? What makes you happy apart from making music?

I have a very unusual life in terms of creativity. I’m active in a wide range of creative activities including design and visual art but also a lot of digital media and digital fabrication such as 3D printing. I’m much more involved with 3D printing than most people realise. I’ve been pretty active in the industry for the last seven years with a friend of mine, Eugene Chang, who is a prodigy in terms of such things. So my life is music, family and 3D printing. Aside from that and other forms of creativity I don’t do much else. I don’t have an active social life outside of my creative work and have no interest in that or any forms of leisure. I’m focused on creative work.

So there is very little effort in terms of nurturing creativity but a lot of effort in nurturing a creative life. It’s sort of the same thing and sort of isn’t.

If you could collaborate with or perform together with any other living artist, who would it be? And who would it be if you could’ve done so with any artist who has already passed?

Bootsy Collins on bass and John Fruciante on guitar. Michael Shrieves on drums. That’s a hell of a band right there. I would have said Carlos Santana or Cindy Blackman Santana but that seems greedy. I’m so grateful for their appreciation of the record and his endorsement that I can’t really ask for anything more, even conceptually. In terms of any artist who has passed, I’d love to play with Bernie Worrell again. I have some regrets about not playing with him more when the opportunity was there. Rest in Peace. His genius is hard to fathom. I’m grateful to have appreciated it up close. I’d love to play with Ray Barretto or Mongo Santamaria just once but again that seems greedy. I know people who have played with both of those guys.

The music landscape has changed so much in the past decade – it would be hard to fathom for artists living, say, 20 years ago. Do you see any rising opportunities or obstacles for new or seasoned musicians starting to appear on the horizon?

At some point a business model needs to emerge that actually makes sense to nurture new and creative artists. Streaming is certainly not the answer in that regard. But things seem to be moving in the wrong direction with AI and all that looming. I’ve been putting off thinking about AI until after Reverberations comes out, though people are talking about it every day. At some point soon I’ll get my head around this AI situation and what it all means, but not yet. In the meantime we recorded Reverberations using the most analog process I’ve experienced with a very minimal, almost non existent amount of digital editing. And it will be available in retail outlets (both CD and vinyl) for people to find with their hands and eyes. So I am moving backwards while things get crazy in terms of forward progress. “Certified organic” as a friend of mine said.

What does the next year or so hold for Nevaris?

I’m already working on the next record in terms of writing and honestly ready to start tracking pretty soon. Lockatron and I were just talking about it. I’ve been a bit of a studio recluse but I’d be down to start doing some shows at the right venues. There’s been some movement on that end lately. The next project will be more focused on Funk and I might call it Funk City because that’s a good description of where I grew up and how it was at the time. Hopefully we can keep up the momentum and put out a good follow up to Reverberations. For now I’m going to see how things go with it and try and enjoy the experience of sharing the work.

Listen to Reverberations below