Suzanne Ciani: Buchla Master Shares her Knowledge In Montreal As Part Of The RBMA

The Buchla is an enigma of an instrument; the complexity and beauty of the music it creates is overwhelming. As I prepared for this piece I spent much time agonising over this instrument, trying to understand  — even at the most basic level — what it was and how it works. The instrument itself is a large machine with multi-coloured knobs, dials, and wires connected everywhere; an intimidating but very intriguing instrument.

Suzanne Ciani was one of the original pioneers using this mysterious piece of equipment in her musical performances and she was just in Montreal to give a lecture and play a private show for the Red Bull Music Academy, both designed to give all of us a better understanding of this instrument, and she certainly didn't disappoint. Ciani has almost become a part of the Buchla; merging together creating wondrous soundscapes. I feel like this melding of herself and the instrument comes from her dedication to learning it in the beginning. “I mastered the instrument by living with it, spending endless hours with it, engaging with it.  Its not about books or manuals or classes, it’s about just being with the instrument and finding your own voice through it,” Ciani explained.

On top of her live performances and recordings with the Buchla, Cianni also does classical/new age music and she earned several Grammy nominations in the New Age category.

Don Buchla, the creator of the Buchla, helped pioneer the field of sound synthesisers. Unfortunately this September he passed away, leaving behind his gift of sound. Ciani is dedicated to keeping his legacy bright: “My goal now is to impart my knowledge and history as it pertains to the Buchla.  With Don Buchla’s passing, I feel more focused on imparting my special connection to his work as the consummate electronic instrument designer.  I represent only the modular system…I never played the Marimba Lumina or the Thunder or Lightning.  But I had dedicated many years to the 200 and want to impact the concepts of live performance going forward.”

The most interesting thing about the Buchla is it is all created live in front of you, they do not work off of pre-recorded sounds. When you see her perform live you are witnessing the music being created in front of you. “Buchla created his interfaces with the goal of live performance and I think we need more concentration on that dimension.  I am not a fan of watching someone sit on a stage and live mix pre-recorded sounds.  Perhaps that is a viable genre, but that’s not what I care about.  I want to show that one can perform electronic music without using any pre-recorded material.  Also, I am committed to the spatial dynamics of a performance, moving the sound in space and creating virtual dimensions.”

Ciani really began her career in the 1970’s after she did classical musical training and then completed an MA in music composition at Berkeley, where she met Don Buchla.  In 1974 she formed her own company, Ciani/Musica using a Buchla Analog Modular Synthesiser. Ciani really helped pave the way for women in electronic music and broke many barriers. “I think that women have a special contribution to make in this field.  Many of the pioneers in electronic music were, in fact, women.”

When Ciani started her work with the Buchla very few people of either gender were doing it. The first hurdle Ciani explained that she faced was earning enough money to even get the Buchla.  After obtaining the Buchla she had her next big challenge of getting a record deal, because in those days she expressed, you needed a record deal in order to make an LP.   Her first deal was in Japan, after she searched all through the U.S. and Europe. She had unwavering dedication to her craft and has persevered all of this time doing this because, “I had a will to survive because I was committed to my work, to the greater message of my work.”

The Buchla synthesiser was originally viewed by many as a masculine instrument and still sometimes is today. Ciani has overcome many barriers to become such a successful artist. I asked her for some words of wisdom to women entering the electronic music realm (that is still mostly dominated by men today). “Women are so talented in electronic music and I think they just need to have more self-confidence and be strong about what they have to say in this music.  Women in general are over-achievers…they feel they need to be the best in order to speak out…that is understandable given that they are often discredited, but I say just do your thing, go forward, demand to be heard, don’t be afraid.”

Ciani recently did a collaboration with Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith who works on the Buchla Music Easel, which is a bit more compact. Ciani met Smith in her small town of Bolinas, California, and she hired her as a studio assistant. Smith suggested that they collaborate within a series that paired an older artist with a younger artist, the FRKWYS series.  So they organized a few days in Ciani’s studio to improvise live and record the improvisations, Ciani explained. 

The resulting album from their union is Sunergy, which is comprised of three pieces, “A New Day,” “Closed Circuit,” and “Retrograde”. Ciani is going full circle with her sound and returning to her roots with the Buchla pure electronic performance. “The important thing for me is the energy of the album, primarily because it is generated live and is inspired by the energy of the sun,” she explains. You can hear the ocean and ripples of synth; it is a musical soundscape.

Ciani is an inspiring person to listen to and reflect upon. I think what she wanted to express is important for artists today. “I’m excited that there is a resurgence of interest in modular electronic instruments and that they are more affordable and prevalent.  I encourage players to spend time with their instruments and to explore live performance without using pre-recorded sounds.  I encourage the exploration of spatial parameters of music.  I encourage the hybrid partnership of the performer and the engineer…the engineer approaches the instrument from the inside out and the performer from the outside in.  There is some confusion that one needs to be an engineer to play.  The engineering can actually be a distraction away from playing.  I encourage exploring Don Buchla’s designs for their sophistication and thoughtfulness and human awareness.  We need to explore the ground already covered in order to move on in a meaningful way.”

You can check out her lecture from the Red Bull Music Academy here.

Photo: Maxwell Schiano/RBMA