It is really difficult to find a real musician sodden with music from toes to the tips of hair. Even more difficult however is to find a well-oriented real musician with an open mind and heart. Mr. Eugen Botoš personates all these features and besides that he belongs to princes among men who performed their music with music stars like Marcus Miller or Dionne Warwick.
Mr. Botos, since you have been active on the world music scene, which is by the way really amazing, I am sure you also have an overview about what is happening at our domestic scene. That´s why I would like to ask you about the situation and relations here. What does the Slovak music scene currently looks like?
Actually it is true I do not like to make statements concerning the music scene in Slovakia. Most of all I am worrying about the fact that there is a real “quality” missing there. Nowadays the level of the music is evaluated upon the virtual numbers (numbers of views on youtube or number of fans on facebook…)
Now the buddy is promoting another buddy, every second musician is a genie or virtuoso, all of them are priding themselves on their unique projects. It is a part of present time and I can only accept that fact. On the other side it is also true that the last Slovak CD I had bought when I was fourteen years old.
It is because of the fastidiousness of the time we are living in. There is negativism flowing to us from all sides and the contemporary Slovak music seems to be (for me) depressive, purposeless – without any imaginativeness.
I know you recorded your album in the USA and my next question will be just about America. How did you feel while recording in “States”? What was an atmosphere recording of your album had been surrounded with?
It was a dream that had really come true thanks to a significant help from my friend Johnny Kulhanek who has been still firmly standing by my side and believes in my talent. While recording I did not realize what a honour I had. Only now, after time lapsed, I fully realized my dream had come true. I am little bit fret about the fact that many people here are sure I succeeded only thanks to money. Believe me you would not buy artists I had cooperated with while recording my CD even if you´d pay them one million dollars if they did not like my music. At the beginning I really had no ambitions to address people like Brian McKnight, Dionne Warwick or Marcus Miller. Without Johnny I would have never addressed anybody of them. Now they are part of my album and I am glad that it offers such a great music nobody here has ever made.
There was a fantastic atmosphere during the album recording. Laugh, quarrels, remorse, joy, annoyances – we enjoyed all of that and you can hear it also in particular tracks.
Album shall be released on December 2, 2016 – in Japan, in one of the largest publishing houses all over the world called P-Vine. There are stars like Herbie Hancock, Mark Ronson, Elton John, BB King or Incognito cooperating with this publishing house.
There were many interesting artists cooperating on your album. I am attracted by one name – Dionne Warwick. She has cooperated with exquisite names of the world music sky. How did you succeed to persuade her to cooperate?
There is an interesting story related with Dionne Warwick. None of us wanted to address her. But then a coincidence happened which helped us – one of our guests, singer Kenny Wessley organized a charity concert in New York where Dionne sang too. After the concert Kenny offers her to drive her home to New Jersey. In that moment I sent Kenny my demo songs that if he would like any of them I would be glad him to sing it. And it was this CD he had been listening in the car while driving and Dionne Warwick could listen it too. She was listening and then came the song „Symphony of broken hearts“. Dionne asked Kenny about a composer saying she likes it a lot and she would like to sing that song herself. Two months later we met in New York and recorded that song.
Let´s get back home. Many musicians I could speak with have assured me that it is very difficult to earn for living. Do you have the same feeling? Or what are you doing to earn for your living in order you to be able to exist here?
It is very difficult. Slovakia represents a small market with many musicians and minimum opportunities to play. One and the same customer is reluctant to pay for a top band but on the other side he has no problem to pay to the rapper who asks triple of what the six-members band asks. It makes no sense to state that the rapper recites like a little pupil of the elementary school at the “Hviezdoslavov Kubín” Competition and in addition he uses playback. Unfortunately, that is how the time, we are living in, looks like. Substandard artists are performing on the “big” stages while real artist are sitting at home. I acted in the Slovak National Theatre Opera eight years. I love opera, ballets. We performed more than 30 frequencies (performances) a month. Unfortunately the salary was insufficient and low. I have been earning for my living by music since my fifteen. I used to play in my father´s orchestra – Violin Orchestra Bratislava and I am also a producer of songs for various bands and musicians. I love music, does not matter whether classic, folk, pop or jazz. I do not like a musical cliché anyway I am so stubborn that though I did not have much money I rather refused to produce an interpret music of whom did not address me in spite of the fact that he had money to pay for that. Now everybody expects music to entertain! Nevertheless he or she forgets about art, about music that has certain testimonial value. .
Have you ever thought about other ways how to make money than music? What does music mean for you?
For me music means absolutely everything. It is manifestation of an absolute freedom. If the artist succeeds to gain recognition and credibility he or she feels a great satisfaction. That is a difference between the artist and so called artist who has been, in most cases, created artificially and who must do and create only what he has been instructed to do or create. Of course I have often contemplated about what else I could do to earn money. Nevertheless I cannot do anything else just playing the violin, piano, bass-guitar and composing songs.
What motivated you to be a professional musician?
I am from a musician´s family. So music was present by us from morning till evening. It was difficult “not to be” a musician. My sister plays the violin; she has a great band and playing a lot of concerts. I have been concentrating on my album for last three years – from composing, recording, editing and managing up to its final production.
Current state of the music, not only here, is more favourable for seasonal musicians and music. You are more into jazz if I omit to refer to your career of a violinist. What about the genre current generations seems not be willing to understand? They will rather listen to “lemonades” and forget about quality music. Do you think it is a way out from this state?
This applies worldwide. Japanese publisher after listening to my album said they were interested in songs sung in the pop-funk style. Therefore I sent them a demo tracks I composed and now there are eleven pop-funk songs and three instrumental compositions on that Japanese album. And I can assure you those instrumental ones will be the most successful. I have no problem with genres. However I do have problem to compose an „empty“music. A famous musician Jeff Lorber said me once: „Rather do what you feel though knowing it will be appraised by one hundred people than doing something you are not identified with and it would be appraised by ten people barely” And that is what I follow. I do not have an ambition to elevate jazz above current pop. Jazz will always be a minority genre. I am only sorry I had to release and publish my album 10000 miles away from play I have been living in just to prove my qualities to our people here.
Based on the not very good situation in our culture and music have you ever considered a possibility to start career somewhere abroad?
Yes, I am already working on that. I think that country will be the Japan. In any case I will do whatever would be needed to succeed there. I have never ever met with such a professional approach like that of people from a Japanese publishing house. What they promised, they fulfilled. (contrary to our country where many promises are given but none of them is kept, Eugen might have got to a country of miracles – redactor´s note)
Now we are in the situation when almost everyone is an artist, painter, composer, musician, singer or poet. Don´t you have a feeling that it looks like many people have no self-reflexion? They are full of cocksureness but there is quality missing.
But this is not these people´s fault. A below-average artist often gets a chance to perform in TV. People are applauding him or her, everybody pays him or her compliments. He or she starts to get a high remuneration thinking he or she is the best. Their management pays for millions of views on Facebook and that poor man or woman believes in his or her talent. I often face the reality when I visit Facebook and there are facts “yelling” out of particular profiles about excellent drummers, excellent singers, virtuous guitarists or bass-guitarists. Then I got a “business” and find out that in Slovakia there are three singers, two guitarists, three drummers and four bass-guitarists. And the same applies to bands that 30 years ago could play only in some Slovak restaurant. Now they are artists. That is the time – average. Values are out of fashion, culture became a business that helped to wash out people´s brains. I think we are facing a major problem here in Slovakia – namely that everybody here is doing the work he or she does not understand. On the other side if that be contrariwise our country would be much more successful because we can be really proud of many real talents and personalities. The problem is they do not get opportunities.
At the end I would like to ask you how you see the position of a musician. For many of them it is a profitable business but for others it is their life, love and mission. What about your relation to the music?
Music is my life, love, mission and freedom. I believe something will remain here after me. I am glad if my music brings happiness to anybody and I do not need these to be millions of people. I am 34 years old there are few people who know me, scandal-oriented papers are not writing about me, I do not have young mistresses, I do not drive the car worth 150000 EUR but I drive a leased one, I do not spent nights by playing on slot-machines or roulettes, I do not use drugs, I am living a common life just like most of the decent people but in spite of that I know that the right people have been already addressed with my music.
Peter Fritz
Photos: Eugen Botos Archive, Mako Hindy, Libor Csikos