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Multi-instrumentalist Ruben Zahra, the son of novelist Trevor Zahra, has become one of the island’s most prolific musicians and composers, taking his art all over the world and exporting Maltese folk music and rhythms practically across the entire globe, even making his mark in Hollywood as a composer.
You’ve been based in Hollywood for a while. What’s life like down there?
Two years on the fast lane. Hit Los Angeles with a small suitcase, checked in a student hostel on Hollywood Boulevard (five guys sleeping in one room). Faked my credentials to get a job in an Italian restaurant right next to the Kodak Theatre, where every year they host the Oscars. In LA when you work as a waiter in a good restaurant you make a ridiculous amount of cash on tips and you get to meet the players: the producers, the editors, the people that matter in the business. Occasionally a celebrity would walk in but they cannot do much. The film industry is highly specialised and actors only shine on the screen for a few moments. I was more interested in touching base with the guys pulling the strings. I used to have a demo CD tucked inside my apron and I would hand it politely with the bill whenever I target a potential customer. Of course the manager at the restaurant had no clue. It’s strictly prohibited and I knew I would get my ass fired if caught! But that’s what got me the first job. An editor needed a quick fix on the music for a film and I plunged in at the offer. I was in! I moved on to work as a film composer on three American film projects and one European. LA is a jungle, competition is aggressive simply because you’re running with the best. I had to learn fast: ditch the blows, lay out a strategy and move fast. Sometimes I do miss the adrenaline rush.
You’ve also worked alongside Ennio Morricone…
I met maestro Morricone (as they call him in Italy) in 1993 in Siena, Tuscany. I was doing a master class course in music composition with late Italian composer Franco Donatoni and Morricone was invited to conduct a workshop on film music with director Giuseppe Tornatore (Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, Malena). It was great because they illustrated the way a director works with the composer. I moved to Italy in 1995 to study at the National Music Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome and Andrea Morricone, Ennio’s son, was my colleague in the class. We hit it off and I got to know the whole family. Ennio Morricone is very reserved, only speaks Italian and keeps a low profile. Rather astonishing with all the Hollywood movies that bear his signature. On one occasion I helped Morricone co-ordinate a concert of his music in Frosinone, right outside Rome. The programme was not film music because besides film genre he has a vast catalogue of concert music. The event went really well and I remember that after the concert there was a huge banquet in a local trattoria. I got wasted on vino, but Morricone was his usual self: quiet and pensive.
What kind of music are you listening to and playing currently?
I listen to all sorts of different genres. I go through the day with a kaleidoscopic listening experience, switching from Stravinsky to Led Zeppelin to Piazzolla. Other bands and singers that I’m listening to right now are Sting, Björk, Marilyn Manson and System of a Down. I’m also spending some time with a CD from the Deutsche Grammophon 20th century classics series featuring the LaSalle string quartet performing works by Lutosawski, Penderecki, Mayuzumi and Cage. As for my playing I started to practice the zaqq again because I’d like to research its technical potential and possibly expand it without changing any of its physical characteristics. This will be a work in progress that hopefully leads to new repertoire.
We hear you have a new folk music ensemble, Nafra. What’s your vision with this new group?
Nafra is an ensemble rather than a band. I consider it almost as a chamber group. The concept here is to have an acoustic group. No electric guitars, no keyboards and no mainstream or jazz crossovers. I am blessed with a handful of good musicians and I’m very happy with the progress and the chemistry between the performers. Just good music rooted in local heritage. Nafra will of course feature the ethnic prototypes: zaqq, zummara, flejguta, tanbur and zafzafa with the support of violin, guitar, accordion and percussion. We are scheduled to perform in Portugal and Dubai but do not miss out on the local dates. Nafra will perform tonight at the Independence Gardens at Sliema at 8:30 pm for the ECHO environment fest.
You also specialise in transposing traditional music into contemporary modalities…
I guess that has to do a lot with my approach as a composer. My interest in musical anthropology is to establish the framework on which I will then construct new material. When I was in San Francisco I had the opportunity to work with a group of Chinese drummers. We worked together for months so that I would slowly learn the techniques and the tradition that supports the performance. I then used these materials to create a piece that pushed the music beyond the traditional form, creating more complex relationships between the rhythms and challenging the performers to think outside their regular routines. When it comes to the Maltese instruments, one cannot help notice the narrow margin of diversity. We have very few melodies for the zaqq and the instrument itself (like most primitive horn-pipes) has a unique but constrained range. In this case variety can be created through a diversity of accompaniment, having different instruments accompany the ethnic prototype. You can leave the original melody virtually intact, but lavish it by highlighting its unique characteristics by means of an illuminating accompaniment or by adding an introduction and conclusion. Hungarian composer Béla Bartók adopts this method in his research on folk songs and likens the technique to the technique of a jeweller fixing a precious stone in its setting.
Actus Melicus is a music/theatre piece you are creating for the Summer Arts festival that involves body-art, music and physical action. How do all these levels come together within the performance?
Actus Melicus is an interdisciplinary piece featuring two performers: actress Sharon Bezzina and violinist Roberta Attard. The body of the actress is covered in musical notes. The choreography is structured around the violinist so that the notes are close enough for the musician to sight the notes in motion. The ‘scraps’ of notation and musical gestures on the costume are the basis for a musical improvisation on the violin that constitutes the soundtrack of the performance. The music is enhanced by a backdrop of electronic music. I think it will be a very entertaining piece of contemporary art that appeals to any audience due to its simple, yet clever concept. The public will be amused watching the violinist snatch musical ideas from the dance as the performance unfolds. Actus Melicus will be part of a dance programme called Reflections for the Malta Summer Arts Festival at the Valletta Waterfront on the 30 and 31 July.
What other projects will you be producing for the up-coming Summer season?
Besides the concerts with Nafra and the premiere of Actus Melicus in July, I am also producing Hrejjef: a multimedia performance featuring Maltese folktales, theatre and music. Hrejjef combines music and Maltese folk tales within an inter-disciplinary performance. Joseph Galea, who is a very talented actor, will recite a collection of six Maltese folk tales accompanied by live music which enhances the drama of the narrative. The music for this project is a piano cycle specifically composed to complement the story and will be performed by Tricia Dawn Williams. Hrejjef will feature as part of the Evenings on Campus festival on 20 August.
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