Made Now Music and a little bit of Duchamp: Brodie Mcallister

Hello! My name is Brodie McAllister. I am a trombonist/composer/educator/organiser,born, raised and residing in Brisbane, Australia. Peter Breen has offered me the opportunity to write about my career and artistic process, so if that is something you’d find interesting,please read on!

Brodie [ Left] and his good mate, Caleb Colledge at the opening of the Glasshouse at 33 Charlotte Street Brisbane CBD.

I co-founded the music label, Made Now Music in May of 2017 alongside theoutrageously talented, kind and dedicated jack-of-all-trades, Caleb Colledge. I am a coremember of the team behind the Talkin’ Jazz program: an initiative that teaches high schoolaged students about learning and playing jazz. I teach both within schools and privately, and I play/compose for various projects from experimental (solo works, Rogue Three ,Muhng-Gruhl ) through to hip-hop brass band, BULLHORN . A great deal of my work todaycentres around the idea of bringing value to a community.

If there’s one take away from my time working with Peter Breen, it’s that compassion,consideration and determination are the lifeblood of the working artist, and the community at large. I first met Peter on my way to an early meeting with him and Ben Marks (for Underscored festival, curated by Janet McKay) at Jugglers around September 2012… Peter was staring me down on the train ride in! Once we officially met, it felt like a connection that was waiting to be found. We have worked on many projects over the years, starting with Underscored, followed by the Paint it Red series (curated by Luke Carbon and Molly Collier-O’Boyle), the developmental and early stages of The Stairwell Project and Made Now Music , and in more recent times, the music venue, Glasshouse. All projects are community projects at their core and have only survived and/or thrived through the generosity and guidance of Peter and the artistic community.

I studied jazz on the trombone in early high school and throughout my undergraduate studies and was very fortunate to learn from some of the most amazing teachers and mentors that I now call friends. My studies in jazz landed me somewhere near late Coltrane, Anthony Braxton and Ornette Coleman. During my undergrad, I was incredibly fortunate to be learning from the guru himself, Ben Marks. Through Ben I was exposed to the musical world known to me as ‘New Music’ through the works of Giacinto Scelsi, Iannis Xenakis, John Cage, and Morton Feldman, to name a few. The music I make today is, of course, an amalgamation of both of these traditions; combining notation with improvisation, jazz with noise, and exploring the outer reaches of both genres as best as I can through my creative lens. If you’d like to hear some of the projects I’ve led or been involved in, please check out: BMJO , Muhng-Gruhl , Eigengrau Ensemble/Brass Trio , Lawrence English’s ‘ Cruel Optimism ’,Ben Marks’ ‘ Circular Ruins 1-3 ’ and Clocked Out’s ‘ The Piano Mill ’ Easter event.

Over the years, my approach to making work has evolved into something resembling a code. If there’s any takeaway from this writing, I feel it’s probably this:

"Design Principles/Aesthetic" Strong intention is always visible (clarity):

Explore until you have a clear vision/idea and present that idea; don’t dilute your expression and don’t fall victim to trends. Stay as authentically you as possible.

FORM is PARAMOUNT:

The construction of material/ideas is the most important aspect of a piece of work; we learnt the practical application of this through Marcel Duchamp.

TRADITION to back INNOVATION:

You can only truly start exploring the boundaries once you have a grounded understanding of the shoulders on which you’re building upon. Don’t skip the research; acknowledge the work of the makers before you.

Minimalist (no excess):

Say what you need to say and then be silent! There’s too much noise already.

Contrary to (obvious) emotions:

Subvert the obvious and kindly ask your audience to search for ‘meaning’ (if there is one); it’s better to search and find your own meaning than be told what to think.

If you are able, you must (community):

Remain community focused and remember, change comes from numbers not narcissism.

Create without agenda:

Make things you think are amazing and maybe others will too.

“ Be the change you want to see in the world ”.

“Art is to disturb the comfortable and to comfort the disturbed” - Cesar A. Cruz

I think it’s appropriate to end this writing with a glimpse at future aspirations (as I’vebeen waffling on about the past for too many words) and luckily they are pretty simple from where I sit: I’d like to see Made Now Music expand upon the work we’ve been doing (local releases, concerts, workshops) and continue to assist in growing the loving, considerate and supportive community we’ve come to expect from Brisbane creators. I’d like to see a community form around the idea of creating for the sake of creating, taking risks and perform self-sustaining practices.

Personally, I am focusing on my role as a performer/composer and as an educator (expect some recordings and performances of my own work this year). Finally, I think the way forward is together; connect regularly, offer what you can to the community (time, skills), support new works (shows, albums, exhibitions) and create new works yourself! The plant (community)can’t grow without soil (support) and water (creators). Times are challenging, and it can be difficult to stay hopeful, but that’s part of the job. Don’t shy away… run towards the fear.

#swampcityrideordie

Brodie and a few friends in the early Stairwell Project days, RBWH.