My way of playing was born from the body, from dance, from wind, rain and water. Each piece is for me a story with entrance, rise, descent, greeting and farewell.
Music and dance: a single energy
When I was young I participated in theater and dance groups and learned different movements from Peru. Music is related to dance: when we interpret a song, the body reacts. With movement we give people part of the meaning of the composition, in the same way that when speaking we move our hands to make ourselves understood.
When playing we do not move our hands freely because the fingers work on the instrument, but the body interprets the sound. Calm music relaxes the body and can transmit that energy; rhythmic music sets it in motion. The sound invades the body, we vibrate and emit that vibration. Music and dance go hand in hand: we blow the instrument and, at the same time, we manifest the music with our body for the audience that watches and listens.
My way of telling a story
All musicians have a particular way of performing. I have mine. For me, instrumental music is a story, a tale that must be interpreted. I give it an entrance, an exit, a rise, a descent, a greeting and a farewell because that's how I feel.
I am no better or worse than other musicians. I have my own style that can make me different, although some people do not perceive that difference. I do know what I do and what I emit: in each performance I tell, with my own feeling, a different story.
Wind, rain, water and sea
My childhood memories are few, but the sounds of nature marked my style: the wind and rain on the trees, the water running in the streams, the sea. I relate that combination to spiritual, calm and relaxing music.
Those sounds were recorded in me and led me towards more meditative music, capable of helping people or, simply, of expressing what I like. I play what I love. If that music reaches me, I know it can also reach others.
When the music gets heavy
Music becomes heavy when the body is not active or when we play the same songs every day and we stop feeling them as we did at the beginning. To regain my senses I spend time with my family, do sports and work with my body. I also go to big concerts and watch other musicians on stage.
Family and sport relax and reactivate the body. A great concert fuels inspiration and awakens the desire to grow. Then I return to work with new ideas, more serenity, more strength and a body full of energy.
When the public does not react
Not all gigs start with an immediate connection. There are times when the public does not react to the vibrations and energy we emit. Then I analyze the situation, I calm down even if there is concern and I seek to create a thread of connection.
I explain what the composition means and tell its story. Then, when playing, I retell that story with the instrument. The public begins to receive the message and feel what I am trying to convey. For me that connection is essential: telling the story is the most direct way to reach the heart of the listener.
Robert Mamani
Peruvian musician, performer and teacher of Andean instruments, creator of the Hawk Spirit project.
