Beifer

Words by Justin Ruiz

Opposites attract—a law of chemistry, physics, and the universe. Yet, much of mainstream music clings to the familiar, iterating on the past with only subtle nods to contemporary times. Sebastien Pfeifer, known artistically as Beifer, deviates sharply from this norm. By blending the rich, historical elements of jazz with the cutting-edge realms of Artificial Intelligence, he compels us to reevaluate our musical heritage and envision a new trajectory for the future. Beifer isn’t just exploring lesser-known paths; he’s forging new ones entirely.

IN THE BEGINNING…

Beifer started playing piano at age 5. 
So did I. 
Beifer used to not practice or pay attention in his lessons and got kicked out.
So did I. 
Beifer picked up Cello, learned FL Studio off a cracked USB version a friend gave him, taught himself jazz piano and got into the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich by the time he was 19.

And this is where our similarities in youth end.

There’s almost an alchemy at play here. Take an ever-curious intellectual boy, give him instruments and he lights up, driven by the challenge. One part nature, One part nurture. Yet, traditional lessons could have stifled this creativity entirely.

My parents wanted me to have classical piano lessons when I was 5. I hated it and didn’t understand the music I was playing. My classical piano teacher kicked me out because I never practiced the music I didn’t understand in the first place.

I sometimes ponder the divergent paths and possible worlds of ‘What-Ifs’ in life. What if I hadn’t stopped playing? What if I had persisted, would my life be fundamentally different? Would a different version of myself be writing this profile? But for Beifer, such speculative thoughts are foreign; he is driven by a natural inclination to create, with music as his chosen medium.

After a while, I ran out of musical ideas and needed something that teaches me about harmony, melody and rhythm. That’s when I found out about Jazz. I loved the harmony and the improvisation. And if you can improvise, how can you run out of ideas? So I started playing piano again, but this time I improvised. My tracks kept getting more harmonically rich and interesting, the more I studied Jazz. I decided to study Jazz Piano and today I listen to a variety of music to learn about it, experiment and create my own tracks with all the good stuff I’m taking in along the way.

With some training under his belt plus an even deeper passion for creating and exploring what music can do, Beifer forged ahead, soaking up his surroundings and experiences like a sponge. Diving into his eclectic set of influences only continues to reinforce our impression of him as singular, an artist truly one of one.

THE KERNELS OF INSPIRATION

As humans, we continuously absorb the world around us, selectively filtering experiences based on where we are in life and what captivates us at the moment. This selective retention evolves as we do. Reflecting on his artistic journey, Beifer recognizes a consistent theme: an unwavering open-mindedness.

I started really getting into music with Dubstep, Skrillex especially. I just loved the energy and the way it changed my mood.  When I was 14, a friend of mine gave me an USB with FL Studio on it. I started to recreate the sounds I loved and produced my own little tracks. Some big game changers for me were John Coltrane, Virtual Riot, Stravinsky, Messiaen, Schönberg, Flume, Floating Points, Radiohead, Miles Davis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Christian Lillinger and a lot more.

But the more I create music the more I learn about it from other things like photography, video, lyrics, painting, games etc. I always try to be as open as possible to everything.

This openness is central to Beifer’s creative ethos, shaping the experimental and exploratory nature of his work. Describing his sound is a tall order: perhaps Experimental Electronic Fusion Jazz comes close, but even that doesn’t fully capture the essence. I hear all of his influences and more when listening to his debut album, Constant Transition (Nov, ‘23), an aptly titled body of work that melds the discrete worlds of jazz and electronica into one.

A significant source of inspiration is the land he’s chosen to call home, Germany, a country with a rich legacy of attracting artists seeking new environments that foster creative breakthroughs. Berlin’s impact on music history is profound, having shaped pivotal works by David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and later US and R.EM. Similarly, Hamburg played a crucial role in the early development of The Beatles, while Munich’s Musicland Studios has been a hub for countless legendary records.

For Beifer, the innovative and avant-garde spirit pervasive in Germany resonates deeply, influencing his music. He sees the spirit not just as a cultural backdrop but as a vital component of his creative DNA. The kernels of influence, as Beifer finds, are indeed everywhere. How could you not be inspired?

CREATION, PROCESS and AI

In true jazz fashion, Beifer’s approach to creation revolves around improvisation and experimentation. His process is an inquiry into the depths of a musical idea—how extensively can a concept be explored, extended, or transformed? How ‘weird’ can I get?

A lot of my kernels come from experimenting. Whether with some harmonic concepts or with synth sounds. Then I build from there. I add and tweak stuff until it feels right. I usually get one part done and jam on it, until I find new ways where to go next.

In his latest project, ERDEN, Beifer pushed the boundaries of both sonic and technological exploration. Utilizing Neutone plugins, he allowed the composition to develop organically, reflecting a stream-of-consciousness style that personalizes the music deeply.

ERDEN was created like a diary. I just started with a string sample because I liked it that day. When I personally had a bad day, I produced some contrasting distorted sounds to what was created before and didn’t question it. This went on for quite a while and it became a very unique and personal piece of music for me.

The rise of AI in the Arts has been meteoric, sparking a flurry of technological advancements and opening new avenues for creative expression. Yet, this rapid integration also introduces daunting challenges, compelling us to reconsider our norms and ethics. Beifer views these challenges as inherent to any significant change, focusing on how these tools are utilized.

Like with everything new, there is always a resistance in society first. It depends on how you use it. There was a time when they released the Nexus Plugin. You could choose a preset, press one MIDI note and it played a whole trance drop with chords and drums and everything. But it came out of fashion eventually. The same is with MIDI Chord Packs. I don’t think that those things are valuable when you use them just like that. But you can do creative stuff with them. Same is with AI.  I think AI should be presented as a tool, like a plugin that fucks with your audio data you feed it, not as a way to make everything irrelevant (textbox to “perfect” radio song).

If the trend now is ‘I put some prompts in a textbox and it creates me a 3 minute radio pop track’ and the people actually like it, then I think it is devaluing this genre, because it shows how meaningless and plain radio pop music can be. But just like with everything, it is just a phase. Sooner or later the trend will go towards more authentic music with real people behind it and the musicians will find ways to use AI to not sound like AI. Aside from that, the making of music is the real creative side, not the finished track.

THE FUTURE IS NOW

As we peer into the future, a future where we aim to forge a symbiotic relationship with AI, Beifer stands at the forefront, filled with anticipation. This future holds endless possibilities: new ways to engage with technology, a redefined music industry that may finally cherish rather than exploit its artists, and a deeper contemplation of what creativity will signify in an age increasingly shaped by algorithms.

On how AI will shape the creative future, I really have no clue. I think it’s not really about the AI, it’s more about the people using it. Will they create top notch pop songs in a matter of seconds and make a lot of money with it? Or will they use AI to shape their own sound and create outerworldly textures?

I think the people who consume the music will play a big role in this question. Will they like completely generated tracks or do they want real faces behind their favorite music? It will probably be something in between.

The common thread, the force that grounds Beifer, is the recognition that our collective choices will shape this future.

I am excited about the new music we will hear, how it shapes jazz and the way we play music. Also AI can be a great tool for installations and exhibitions, so I am very excited for all the new possibilities it creates.

From getting kicked out of piano lessons to now touring live, Beifer’s journey has been anything but ordinary. As he continues to chart his unique course, blending jazz with the digital age, the music world watches eagerly. This is a future full of potential, a future we are all keen to witness, and for Beifer, it’s just the beginning.

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