Sounds of Subconscious with pianist Martin Kohlstedt.
In October 2018, I attended a concert by a German pianist Martin Kohlstedt held here in London. It was one of the most atmospheric concerts that I can remember in my life.
It was held in St. Pancras Old Church. This is one of the most notorious churches in England, not only because it's considered to be one of the oldest places of Christian worship in the country.
But also because In its churchyard the author of Frankenstein Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley met her husband a poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. It is a place where a friend of Lord Byron - John Polidori, who was also a poet is buried.
I hope this is enough to convey the atmosphere that surrounded this place.
I think one of the reasons why this concert got so imprinted into my memory was this combination of Martin Kohlstedt's beautiful sublime music and the church's poetic past.
In this interview Martin told me about his hometown, about the role that subconscious plays in creation of his music and about his connection with trees and why he calls himself 'a child of the forest'.
LISTEN HERE
MARTIN’S LATEST ALBUM ‘FLUR’
Mentions:
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
Martin Kohlstedt calls himself ‘a child of the forest’. This book that was mentioned during the interview is written by a German forester Peter Wohlleben. In this fascinating book Wohlleben tells how trees care about each other; how they warn each other of coming dangers; help and support weak members of the family and much much more
Martin mentioned that he used to listen to this album during teenagehood. ‘Into the Blue’ by The Album Leaf was released in 2006.
