Interview with Qubuz Magazine/2023.5.8. A video in which Dominic is given a series of ten albums about musicians he has influenced or worked with and comments on them. These people include Sebastian Tapajos, Egberto Gismonti, Mark Hollis, John McLaughlin and Phil Collins. One of the most interesting is Mercedes Sosa, whom he introduces as ‘the Elvis Presley of Argentina’.
One Cover One Word Interview
Dominic Miller | One Cover One Word Interview | Qobuz
Qobuz
Dominic Miller | Interview | Qobuz MAGAZINERencontre avec le célèbre guitariste de Sting à l’occasion de la sortie de son album solo « Vagabond », publié sur le label ECM. Une interview One Cover One Wor…
Video in which Dominic comments on ten albums by musicians he has been influenced by or inspired to work with. Sebastian Tapajos,Egberto Gismonti, Mark Hollis (Talk Talk), John McLaughlin and Phil Collins. Most interestingly, he introduces Mercedes Sosa as “the Elvis Presley of Argentina”.
The only music from Argentina on the other side of the world that is known in Japan is tango, especially Libertango by Astra Piazzolla, but to be honest, little else is known. By the way, Dominic does not seem to dislike tango, but he is not very influenced by it. Dominic’s past influences include the following Argentinean musicians.
Q: Who is your favourite Argentine guitarist?
I like Eduardo Falú. Also Atahualpa Yupanqui, who is the master of Argentine guitar. I’m interested in Argentinian music, not just its guitarists. La Misa criolla, by Ariel Ramírez, Mercedes Sosa. Nito Mestre and Charly García, The Divididos.
One of the factors I like about musician Dominic Miller is that his musical background is so global and diverse. Musicians with such a broad musical background as his are quite rare in the world. So I really enjoy being exposed to and learning about music through Dominic that I wouldn’t normally be exposed to in my own life. I’m still learning about the people he mentions as musical influences in interviews. But I’d like to know what parts of him are influenced by them and what their musical characteristics are.
It’s a good opportunity to learn a bit about Argentine music.
Dominic is someone who has absorbed a lot of South American folk music (folklore) through his guitar. And this musical element of his is one of the main factors that made him an interesting musician for Manfred Eicher, founder of ECM, to which Dominic now belongs.
Two guitarists, Eduardo Falúand Atahualpa Yupanqui, are among the masters of folklore. Farou in particular was popular in Japan, so you may have heard his music even if you do not know his name. He was quite popular, giving nearly 300 concerts in Japan over a period of ten years. (I don’t know him because of my age).
Ariel Ramírez is a well-known Argentine composer, whose best-known work is “Misa Criolla“, which Dominic mentions by name. Although this piece is called a mass, its mood is quite different from what we think of as a mass, and is based on traditional South American rhythms and scales. It has been recorded by well-known singers such as José Carreras, one of the world’s three greatest tenors, and Mercedes Sosa, Argentina’s national singer, whom Dominic describes as ‘the Argentine Presley’.
Charlie Garcia is a well-known Argentine rock singer who, along with the aforementioned Nito Mestre, was a member of the legendary 1970s psychedelic folk rock band Sui Generis. Charlie Garcia is also known as the ‘father of Argentine rock’ and has had a major influence on the Spanish-speaking rock scene. However, Dominic says that he has played with this Charlie Garcia in the past, but ‘doesn’t remember much’. Oh My God!
Divididos are an Argentinian rock band. It seems to be a good mix of rock and Argentinean folk music. They also do covers of Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.
How was it? There is still so much music on earth that we don’t know about!