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Unheard Of Music: An Interview With The Musicians of OUM Interview by Luvli Lotus PURCHASE DIVINE REVOLUTION AFFIRMATION PRINTS here    
Printed on TREE-FREE card-stock click here  UOM originated in early 2007 as a multi-disciplinary project with emphasis on non-traditional instruments and technique. The musicians of OUM make music with handmade bells (made out of sliced gas tanks), sheet metal, copper pipes, all sorts of percussion, cello, heavily processed electric guitar, bass, melodica, whistles, toy instruments, harmoniums, typewriters, synths, etc. UOM blends these non-traditional instruments and noise-makers with more sophisticated forms of sound production, such as cutting edge real-time recording and looping and the use of current and vintage electronics. UOM's music sums up a world of complexities: the primordial versus the technological, the popular versus the academic, and the improvised against the formal. This all-embracing approach has taken the project through a path of collaboration with visual and performing artists. Often hilarious and always unexpected, UOM's performances are sure to entertain, stimulate and provoke. UOM is: Eduardo Balerdi- A musical composer and guitar player. He has been on stage since an early age and developed various successful bands in his homeland, Argentina. He has composed music theater and top broadcasting television companies like MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1. Sebastian Leder Kremer- Sebastian has studied classical guitar and electro-acoustic composition. Abandoning formal composition srudies, he persued conservatory studies, but continued playing and writing contemporary music. In 1999, he settled in Miami where he continued his cello studies, played with seasonal orchestras, in cafes and as a street performer. Daniel Fiorda- Daniel first encountered art through his aunt's acoustic piano, which he began to play by ear during his early teens. Later he took formal studies at the music conservatory for three years and shifted his career to self-taught visual artist. Working in the medium of metal  sculptures, Daniel continued playing music, and building musical instruments, such as the oxygen tanks and bells that are used in UOM's music LL: How did the three of you meet?
UOM: Eduardo: I was introduced to Daniel by a mutual friend from Argentina , Diego Serna--a virtuoso guitar player--and soon became friends. After a couple of years we started developing this project; Daniel introduced me to Sebastian, and as we began playing, it was Bingo!
Daniel: I remember that we began to play with Eduardo during parties, we would pick up whatever instrument was at hand. That is magic, and you feel it! I also remember going together with Sebastian in a kind of “blind date” to see a Pat Metheny concert, 7 years ago or more.
So, when we talked with Eduardo about doing "something" I immediately thought of Sebastian, I don’t not why.... this thing happened so mystically!
LL: You all have somewhat of a formal musical background. How did it feel to make the leap into non-traditional or experimental music?
UOM: Eduardo: Appearances can be deceptive, formality doesn’t mean content nor substance; for me it is as natural as something I’ve been doing all my life, one way or another.
Daniel: I agree with Eduardo, and I think experimentation is something that I do all day, all my life. With respect to Music, I listen to all the sounds and noises around as a part of a big universal symphony.
Sebastian: I think we all had a mixed background, with healthy doses of classical, popular and avant-garde influences. Going completely experimental didn’t feel like a leap but, rather, like a logical next step. How it felt to go all the way? It was a wonderful sense of liberation: to discover that we could create something beautiful and challenging without submitting to a worn-out musical language.
LL: How do you describe your music?
UOM: Eduardo: I think is very plastic, unexpected, playful, decidedly not easy listening but hauntingly trippy.
Daniel : Very cinematic, epic-like, imaginary, dreamlike, free & recycled.
LL: Daniel, were you already creating instruments out of things like oxygen tanks and other found objects when UOM became a band?
 UOM: Daniel: yes, all the time, and wherever I go, I am making music. Since I am also a metal sculptor, I often find myself dealing with objects that have an incredible and unexplored musical quality. That is what I like to do.
LL: What are some of the most interesting musical instruments that UOM has experimented with?
UOM: Eduardo and Daniel: the bells set, the combination of harmoniums and typewriters, and the pipes. But every instrument is interesting. Our collective state of mind playing together as musicians and instrument makers, is uniqueness, it's a blessing! Sebastian: I have to agree. We are constantly developing the ultimate musical instrument: imagination.
LL: What is your creative process for one of your songs?
UOM: Eduardo: We turn everything on. One of us plays something; the others then add the more layers. We try to maintain first takes almost always, 99 %. Other times, we just start to play. Maybe we’ll finish 20 minutes later, maybe one hour and a half later.
Daniel: I agree, but remember: we don’t do songs (per se) we do Musicotherapy.
Sebastian: the process is totally improvised, and the result is always unexpected. But we always reach a “tipping point” where we all click together and seem to find a common language that makes perfect sense.
LL: Please describe an UOM live performance?
UOM: Eduardo: Very open, as when we play in rehearsals, the three of us, but live with so many people. I think every living being’s energy that circulates around us is being brought to the music.
Daniel: our performances are visual installations as well. Our set of instruments on stage looks very Sci-Fi. I personally hope to have contemporary dancers improvising choreographs as we play!
LL: What are your visions for the future of UOM?
UOM: Eduardo: Perpetual change
Daniel: travel around the globe with our music to bring peoples together for peace!
Sebastian: I see UOM getting involved in inter-disciplinary collaboration: music, dance, theater and comedy coming together.
LL: I love to call your music "green music" (because you find inventive ways to reuse things). Do you have a title for the kind of music that UOM creates?
UOM: Eduardo: Not really
Daniel : eh...? is very green "Cloned Hydroponic” maybe.
Sebastian: The name says it all… Unheard Of Music
LL: What would you say to someone who really wants pursue a creative dream, and asked you for insight or advice?
UOM: Eduardo: Do it no matter what, learn from your mistakes and follow on. Never give up!
Daniel: Play with your heart, Follow your heart, be yourself, and take a look at yourself. Work out your self esteem, and vote for Obama.
Sebastian: Learn the rules… forget the rules
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