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THIS WEEK MUSIC maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 MAY 2019 4 Accomplished percussionist Renzo Spiteri speaks to TEODOR RELJIC about the upcoming multi-disciplinary event Now Here | Nowhere, organised under the 'Engage Creatives' umbrella and allowing Spiteri to collaborate with a number of eclectic artists Multi-disciplinary events often have interesting 'origin stories', not least because they involve the coming together of different creatives from different disciplines to work in unison. Was this element always present while 'Now Here | Nowhere' was being devised, and what were the reasons behind picking this particular gathering of artists? 'Now Here | Nowhere' knows its genesis as a chance encounter. While flipping through the pages of an in- flight magazine, I came across a short poem by Giulia Privitelli. It was a serendipitous encounter and the rest of my time on that flight had me en- tertaining ideas of how I could make something out of a writing that had resonated with me in such a particu- lar manner. When that happens, I know that sooner or later I would need to start negotiating with different strands of thought that help shape prospective projects. The more I read, the more intrigued I became and soon I was thinking of who to involve in this project and how to devise a creative process for it. Having worked with Erica Muscat in the past, I was very aware of her sensitivity to text. I roped her in pri- marily for that reason. People know her as an actor but that was the one thing that I didn't want from her. This is not a music-literary evening and there is no role-playing either. 'Now Here | Nowhere' does not fol- low this idiom but is a projection of a strong commitment towards insights of the selected poetry and delicate weaving of sounds and words. To compliment these ideas, I asked Italian guitarist Fabrizio Fedele to be part of this journey. I met Fabrizio a couple of years ago and ever since there was this strong common desire to work together. I felt this was the right time and the right project to de- velop an artistic discourse. I have enjoyed hearing and seeing what he has brought to the project, with his improvisation skills comple- menting my ideas and direction in a very sensitive manner. The main triggers that inform the event appear to be quite topical -- from migration to fake news and environmental collapse/devastation. Why were these themes so crucial, and do you believe that the event can help us process them in a more cogent and satisfying way? I hope so! In my mind, this project had to serve as a reflective moment and the merging of sounds, words and visuals ought to serve as a plat- form for processing topical events with which we are surrounded or bombarded every day of our life. Mi- gration, the devastation of our natu- ral environment and life's coping strategies are just a few of the themes that the poems and our performance deal with. These social-political realities trig- ger us to make passive or active choices and 'Now Here | Nowhere' seeks to focus on offering a space for thought and considerations. Once the artists were selected and the themes decided upon, what was the process of actually composing and devising the event like? How did the team adjust to each other's respective disciplines and processes before the event could come together as a cohesive piece? In the initial stages, I wanted to spend time with Giulia's text and formulate my own commentary, thoughts and reactions to it. Teodor Reljic "The shortcomings of the Valletta 2018 Foundation amplified a failure in the system, instead of propelling more of the exciting, daring and relevant art forms during last year and in terms of long-term strategies too" Engagement across disciplines Renzo Spiteri. Photo by George Scintilla