A little bit more than a month is left till Yaga Gathering 2017 festival. We are talking with Purl (Ludvig Cimbrelius), who will be playing at Chillout stage, as one of the headliners of Yaga. For those, who are seeing and hearing Ludvig for the first time, I recommend checking his Purl project, which is one of this highly productive swede faces. His album Form is Emptiness I placed between my favourite albums of the year 2016. Energetical tranquility!
Hi Ludvig, what you’re doing at the moment?
Hey Marius! I am always working on multiple projects, but right now my main focus is to prepare myself for playing a live set at the Andra Vaerlden gathering in Sweden this weekend. Finding the right setup for the emotions to flow from the inner world and take form as sound.
What are your plans for this summer? What countries you have plans to visit?
I try to keep plans loose to maintain a sense of fluidity in life, but I know that I will visit Norway (visiting my sister who lives there) and Lithuania for the Yaga gathering in August.
What are your favorite places in the world, you have visited so far?
There is something special with every place. Three places stand out in my mind: India, New Zeeland and California. I discovered a deeper resonance within myself being in those environments, opening new doors to possible future realities.
Does nature give you influence, inspiration towards your music?
Nature is my love, my stable resting place and peaceful playground in the external world. As a young teenager I was struggling with school and feeling lost in life and I started going for long walks in nature. I began to discover that the natural surroundings was a reflection that was guiding me back to my inner sanctuary, the loving Source of my existence. I was longing to express the feelings that were evoked in me in music. That desire continues to this day…
You’re very productive in terms of quantity of releases. How many time per week or day do you spend for music production?
Music is a constant in my life, it the center. I usually work on somewhere between 5 and 10 projects simultaneously, always trying not to start new ones haha… but it happens all by itself. I don’t count the hours, but I can probably say that I’ve spent more hours with music than sleeping.
Let’s do some fantasy exercise – what would you do if you would not create music?
I would not exist as me. It is an impossible fantasy. It’s like asking “who would you be if you weren’t yourself?” 🙂
Which alias of yours is closest for your heart?
Purl was my first alias and somehow remains closest.
Most of your music is connected very closely to ambient. Do you have any ritual how do you start creating music? Does it have any specific time of the day or ..?
I have no rituals as such. I have the same process for everything in life: first I want to find the foundation, the basic core feeling of well-being, a way into the energy flow. And once I am relaxed and in an open state, I can begin to receive. It’s the same when I go to work in the morning; I sit in meditation to find the feeling that I want to experience during the day, a feeling of being open and happy, and then I try to stay in that flow as much as possible throughout the day.
Which your album has been most successful for you? (In recognition, sales, etc)
I think it is probably Stillpoint [2015] by Purl, released on Silent Season. The CD’s sold out within 24 hrs. As usual, I wasn’t too happy with it when it was released, but after reading some feedback and reviews, I realized it was touching people deeply. A year later I listened to it again and could reconnect with the depth and energy of the music.
I really enjoy your Form Is Emptiness album. Can you tell a little bit of creation of that album? Was anything special about it?
What was most special for me with that album was connecting with Agustín Mena (Warmth). I have worked with many people since I started releasing my music in 2008 and I’ve had all kinds of experiences. Working with Agustín is effortless, it is so easy to rest in his honest, dependable and sensitive spirit, knowing that he listens and works carefully with all the details involved in completing and releasing a record. We started talking about me doing a release for his label Archives, and from the energy in our communication I began to go through my own archives, discovering tracks I had made and then left and forgotten about. I was going deep into the process, reshaping sounds, finding the core of the tracks and making sure it had a space to speak, keeping things simple while retaining the emotion… eventually finding a configuration of tracks that felt good. Agustín’s encouragement was supporting me to finish the process, and it turned out to be one of the easiest Purl albums for me to complete.
What music do you love besides electronic?
I don’t think about the music I make or listen to as electronic. It is an organic flow of living breathing consciousness… whether it was made from synthesizers, computers or instruments is not really that important to me. And to really answer your question, I would need to write a book because there is so much music I love. But to give you something unexpected, I can admit that I am a sucker for sexy r’n’b songs (especially if they were made in the 80’s).
How does your studio look like?
Haha. My living space is so tiny, I almost have the studio in my bed. It is simple and centered on a laptop. Lately I record more and more vocals and piano (I have access to an acoustic one now) so I’m thinking to invest in a good microphone.
Which musician do you like most to listen to?
Another impossible question.
What is your exceptional music album of all time? Or few of them?
Third impossible question. First off my mind:
Kate Bush 50 Words for Snow
The Police Synchronicity (the b-side of the vinyl, this was one of my first loves finding in my parents record collection as a kid)
Stars of the Lid And Their Refinement of the Decline
What do you think about music industry for the future, what is gonna change or evolve?
More grassroots, less big corporations. Evolving systems for easy content delivery, connecting listeners and artists in a more intimate, direct way. More focus on the live experience – the music making the journey back from the advanced studios and the latest gadgets to live into the bodies of the musicians, who can then use all the technology without loosing the “soul” of that music is.
What experiment in your music you would like to do? Like to play in opera, or with a band, or similar?
I’d love to again play the drums in an awesome energetic pop/post-rock/experimental band… I know exactly how it would feel and sound. One day…
What do you know about Lithuania? Honestly.
My new friend Marius lives there, who was asking cool questions and who I look forward to meet one day (maybe at Yaga?)!
Yes, of course! We will meet there.
Thank you and warmest wishes!
Yaga Gathering 2017 – see you soon!
