Interview with David Sandercock - New Age Recording Artist

David Sandercock is an international award winning producer and composer.

David has had extensive classical training, beginning piano and violin lessons at the age of three. He then went on to complete his Bachelor of Music, Honors in Music, and Licentiate of Music. Since then David has been working as a producer and composer, gaining international recognition with his soundtracks for film.

Click to hear David Sandercock's song, "The Bedouin".

INTERVIEW

Shan-Lyn Forsythe: Hi David....first of all thank you for accepting to be interviewed. As you know, through a mutual friend of ours, I came to know about you and your wonderful inspirational music! I'd like to explore your talent with you now.

So tell me David, when did you first realize or when did it dawn upon you that music would or should be an integral part of your life? In other words, what led up for you to be a musician?

David Sandercock: I was born into a very musical family, of four children. My father had studied classical piano, and we all were taken to piano and violin lessons at a very early age. I began playing at age three, and studied music all my childhood and adolescent years. I just thought it was the normal thing to do. I guess music moved me at a very early age... I really enjoyed artists like Bach and Bartok. It was something I was good at, and something I enjoyed.

As I finished High School, I had to decide what to actually do with my life. I received good scores in school, and could have progressed to any career, but I never really wanted to "work". Traditional work never made sense to me.....(it) seemed like a waste of a life. I then began playing in bands, and after a few years of partying, decided to go onto University and study classical piano. I then finished my Bachelor of Music and Licentiate of Music in my final year.

I finished university playing piano at a fairly high level.... I played Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano concerto and one of my graduating recitals. However, after leaving I became a bit disillusioned with the whole classical music scene. I felt as if I wanted to compose music more, and that the classical scene was not quite what I wanted.

SLF: Do you believe musical talent is in the genes? If so, which relative passed musical talent to you, your parents, grandparents, great grandparents?

DS: I believe that music can be genetic, however I believe it may be probably that our genes can actually change to conditioning....(that) they are perhaps flexible. Musician with "perfect pitch" have a larger "reptilian brain" then those without, so I would say there is a role in biology in this field. I could say that I received my musical talents from my father, however my mother played an important role in making sure everyone practiced.

SLF: Who was the person or who were the people in your life who most influenced you towards your music, and how?

DS: I must say that probably my piano teachers over the years have had a fundamental role in the development of my musicianship. As far as artists have been concerned, on the contemporary side, Pink Floyd is one of my more favorable bands. Others include Bowie, Vangelis, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofieff.

SLF: What musical instruments do you like playing? Do you play more than one? And why do you like playing them?

DS: My main instrument is the piano. Of course that has led me to playing and using many synthesis and computers. I learned the violin at an early age, but didn't enjoy it as much because there was not a lot of "harmonic ability". I also learned drums and percussion at school, which was pretty cool at the time....(I) don't get to play drums very much now, but I still have an electronic drum kit hanging around somewhere. I do like playing the glockenspiel though....such a lovely sound.

SLF: What events do you think played a key role in your need to express your musical creativity?

DS: My emotions play in a big role in the want to express; that and the understanding that the world, on all levels, is not what it appears to be. Everything is very twisted....there are so many games going on, and most people do not even realize that they are in it, or who controls them. So I guess any events I witness or experience, get trapped emotionally inside, and eventually get out, one way or the other.

SLF: What does it mean for you to be a musician?

DS: I guess the zenith for me of my comprehension of being a musician occurs when you are directly tapped into some source, and creating music from somewhere...drawing it out.... channeling it, at the expense of sounding corny.....to get in that zone, and to sit back and hear a tune unfold as you play it, not quite sure where it's going next, but feeling where it's going....(I) guess it must be like surfing somehow. You go with the vibe, it feels good, and there is a knowing there....and then you sit back and listen and think, that was ok.

SLF: What inspires you to create?

DS: Mostly emotion; a feeling, sometimes sadness, sometimes insanity, sometimes happiness. Sometimes the feelings are there, buried, and then come out if given the chance.....or, you could just see a picture, and ride the emotions that you feel what you see.

SLF: David, what motivated you to be a producer and composer?

DS: I have always been interested from a young age in synthesizers and technology. I can be quite a prolific writer sometimes, and enjoy the writing process. I like to create music, and to become a producer and composer seemed a natural progression of my musical training and life.

SLF: How would you classify your music?

DS: My music style is quite varied. I do a lot of ambient music, but I also produce a lot of contemporary styles, from rock, jazz, lounge....sometimes a bit disturbed, but you have to laugh sometimes don't you. If I were to give it an overall classification it would be emotional. However, I am probably most well known for my ambient, meditative style.

SLF: Which do you like better: records, 8-tracks, cassettes, Cds, or MP3's and why?

DS: Records are cool, they are analogue, meaning pure and continuous waveform. Mp3s are convenient as they store a lot of info, but most players sound like garbage because of the loss with the conversion process.

SLF: Have you ever played in front of audiences? If so, how did they react to your music?

DS: I have played in front of manyaudiences, in various ensembles or soloist scenarios. Haven't had anything thrown at me yet (laugh)....which could be good or bad. Most seem to get something out of it.

SLF: Do you see music like another language, where you use it to communicate with others?

DS: Music is definitely a language. It has phrases, sentences, structure, meaning, emotion. Musical notes line up with our chakras, and we can feel music on an inner emotional level. Music is better then language, it is universal.

SLF: What is the greatest fulfillment you've ever received in producing and playing your music for audiences worldwide?

DS: There have been a few major highlights that I have experienced. Probably playing Rach 3 with the Western Australia symphony orchestra was pretty satisfying. Also winning international awards for documentary soundtracks was pretty cool. Also, it is nice to have my own Record Label, www.newmindrecords.com , and see it grow and reach many people in the metaphysical scene worldwide.

SLF: Do you feel a need to convey any particular message to your audiences through your music? And if so, what?

DS: I guess ultimately I want to move them emotionally on some level. There are also things I would like to say, but you can't say them, as the fabric of our financial society is a very fragile one, and the controllers who suppress rule with an iron fist, and can be quite unforgiving....just for people to question things, remember their dreams, and try to expand their mind.

SLF: David, would you like to add more to this interview? And if so, what would you like to share with your reading audience?

DS: Yes...I would like to share that reality is really not what it may appear. There is no such thing as a solid object. Time and space is just an illusion, created from a limited bandwidth of consciousness. We cannot see radio waves, just as much as most cannot see the other beings that live around us. As all is vibration, other entities might be standing right next to us, but vibrating at a higher octave, so missing our perception ...being outside the electromagnetic spectrum we perceive as light.

I believe that most of what people know is a lie. There is a greater knowledge out there, but kept secret by the ruling elite. We are not alone, never have been and never will be. That's not to say that those hidden from us are all necessarily "bad". There are many planes of existence, worlds within worlds. Interaction takes place for many every day, and night....but this often happens at the place before our thoughts begin. Do you know where inside your head your thoughts begin, or go to?

To really start to wake up from your sleep, you need to comprehend the spatial geometry of your consciousness. Where is the very epicenter of your conscious, spatially inside your head?.....(if) you think it's impossible, you are not trying enough, but if you try too much you might just miss it. Can you find the very point in where your thoughts come from, to a pinpoint ....somewhere in your head? When you get there can you invert that space?

In between being awake and that of sleep, lies a doorway. If you can stay conscious at that very moment in time when your body naturally goes to sleep, you can leave your body, or induce what they call an out of body experience. You can then escape this space time continuum and explore the other realms of existence. Here you can interact with the spiritual and the extraterrestrial, or the extra dimensional. You will not look at reality the same way ever again. Certainly worth a try. How do you do it? How do you ride a bike......you just do it.

Every night you go to sleep, but most have no idea what happens. This is what happens....you are tired, you think bedtime....you lie down and begin to daydream. Your brainwaves change in frequency, becoming closer to the theta state. Pictures and images begin to appear in your mind's eye....the screen of darkness that you see when you close your eyes. Pretty soon these images become movies, and as soon as you make the transition from subconsciously observing these images to becoming a participant in the movie, you fall asleep....the trick is, see the images but do not get involved in the movie. Let it go. Concentrate only on one thing, maybe your breath.....go deeper and deeper.... and awaken, to a new dawn.

SLF: Wow! I'm impressed! Thank you so much David! I wish you the best on all stepping stones in your life's journey!

DS: You're welcome and thank you.