Following the release of the album Room for Other People, Harald Walkate spoke with Ron Schepper, editor at the publication Textura. In his review, Ron called the album “brilliant” and “one of the standout releases of the year”. In the wide-ranging interview, Harald discusses his main musical influences as well as the collaboration with trumpeter Teus Nobel, vibraphonist Rob Waring, and saxophonist (and co-producer for the album) Tom Beek.
“For the most recent album there are three influences that make themselves heard in the music in particular: Pat Metheny, Antônio Carlos Jobim, and Steve Reich. It seems Metheny-like long-form harmonies and melodies have conspired with Reich’s stretched-out rhythmic patterns and Jobim’s languid bossa nova feel to create the music and arrangements on the album. I didn’t set out for it to be that way; it’s just what came out when I sat down at the piano, but one of Vivian Maier’s biographers sent me a nice e-mail saying, “The music perfectly captures Vivian’s world,” so there must be some kind of deep chemistry going on …”