{"id":26471,"date":"2020-08-19T17:00:01","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T21:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/?post_type=interviews&p=26471"},"modified":"2020-08-19T17:38:56","modified_gmt":"2020-08-19T21:38:56","slug":"turning-jewels-into-water-ritual-but-not-habitual","status":"publish","type":"interviews","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/interviews-panm360\/turning-jewels-into-water-ritual-but-not-habitual\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning Jewels Into Water: Ritual, but not habitual"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TJIW Photos: Ed Marshall Photography<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeanty, Momin recalls, \u201cwas the first person that I met who was channeling electronics with this spiritual vibe. I’d never really experienced that. I’d only heard experimental electronics like blips and screech, or very much four-on-the floor techno in New York. So it was incredible to hear experimentation rooted in Haitian rhythms, and have it still be all digital.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWorking with Momin has been exciting,\u201d says Jeanty, \u201cbecause in the Indian culture, the music is very spiritual. So, we have that connection instantly. And he’s also very progressive, pushing it as far as using triggers, using Ableton Live. That’s the stuff that I love. It’s just great to have similar aspirations as far as keeping connected to the culture, but working with electronic instruments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360 corresponded with TJIW for more insights into what they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360:<\/strong> When we posted about the video for your track \u201cOur Reflection Adorned by Newly Formed Stars\u201d, we took the opportunity to establish a new category in our database \u2013 drum music. The term doesn\u2019t necessarily mean music that\u2019s exclusively drumming, but rather, that\u2019s centered around drums and percussion. Do you think the term is accurate in the case of TJIW?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning Jewels Into Water:<\/strong> Of course, lots of music ensembles out there, from Afrobeat to salsa, come with a large percussion section \u2013 which is necessary to propel the music. While the percussion becomes an essential component, it\u2019s not the only thing that defines the music, as there are plenty of other melodic and harmonic elements in play. In a similar manner, I\u2019m more inclined to think of our own music as \u201cfolk music from nowhere\u201d, as we\u2019re also taking melodic inspirations from global folk music traditions and blending them with Haitian, Indian, and other rhythms from underground dance music, such as kuduro and gqom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360: <\/strong>Because drums, beats, and percussion \u2013 the sounds of which a brief and pronounced, rather than sustained or extensively variable \u2013 are so fundamental in your music, it feels like there\u2019s a strong sense of space, of the positioning of sounds within space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TJIW:<\/strong> Indeed! To follow up to my point above, while we certainly derive musical inspiration from those melodic elements, we do write the tracks with the rhythms first, so what you\u2019re saying makes sense. We\u2019re also blending digital and analog elements along with samples and field recordings, which helps add a sonic richness and spaciousness to our sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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