"Pan Rich - The First Album"

“Pan Rich - The First Album” is a fun project by Czech-German film composer Richard Blaha, which he produced while the Corona lockdown 2020. It’s a conceptual and a bit funny and ironic album with twelve silly songs about music making.

Each song has a different style. A part of the concept is that Pan Rich is not using Instagram or Facebook, because everyone is.

What first drew you to music?

I spent my childhood in a very musical family in Prague. At the age of 4 and 5 my mother gave me piano lessons and my grandmother taught me how to play the violin.

When I was eight my father and I escaped from the socialistic dictatorship in Czechoslovakia to West Germany, thinking that my mother and and my sister would follow soon. But the Czech secret service didn’t allow my mother to see me for nine years.

During that time, I lived only with my father. He was a cab driver in Giessen, a small town near Frankfurt, and he had almost no money. After he bought me a Commodore C64 and and a little Yamaha PSS Keyboard. So I escaped into my own world of music and composed my first own pieces on both devices. At 15 I started to play in Rock and Pop bands and had free guitar lessons by a famous German classical guitarist. At that time I’ve decided to make a living from music making.

Do you have a preferred or chosen genre?

Not really. I like almost all genres except German Schlager and some folk and country music. I’m not committed and that’s why I like to combine different genres.

You cleverly named your new release and each of the songs. Is there a story behind it?

I’m making music now for a long time. I wrote songs for other artists and I mainly composed soundtracks. Then I had the idea to make an album about making an album. So I thought it might be funny, if my first song will be just called The First Song. Then I decided to name all the songs in order of their production.

Except the seventh song. It’s called The Coffee Lab. Actually this song has been really a soundtrack, I composed for the global DeLonghi coffee automat campaign. On the album it is a bit like a coffee break but as well I’m singing in The Sixth Song about what you have to know if you compose a track for a global commercial campaign.

Is “The Eighth Song” your lead song?

No, but it’s one of the songs my colleagues and friends like. I actually think that it is the weakest song on my album. That’s why I’ve decided to show this one to the world. Sometime it seems that I’m thinking a bit in different ways.0

Do you write your own music, or do you collaborate?

Yes. Making professional music is almost not possible without collaboration.

What is the best song you ever released and why?

Hard to say. I’m not thinking if a song is best or worst but I personally like The Ninth Song from my album because it has nice hook lines (imho) and an interesting arrangement where I used different styles in bridges, transitions (first one is just two bars of 90ies Syke European Techno) and especially in the guitar solo: It begins with Pop, then it transits into Jazz/Bigband and then to Heavy Metall and comes back to the pop chorus.

What song do fans seem to favor?

Definitely The Second Song. But girls from Berlin love The Third Song. They say it’s sweet…

Which of your songs is, or do you think would be, fun to perform live?

The First Song, because sometimes I’m a bit lazy and it’s the most easiest song to perform. And The Fifth Song because you can bring in a lot of comedy. But most fun would be The Coffee Lab. Would be great to suddenly conduct a big band and an orchestra.

Are there any challenging aspects to writing and/ or recording your music?

Always. The most challenging aspect might be to decide how to produce your songs. For ‘Pan Rich - The First Album’ I chose a quite “trashy” production. My first drafts sounded just too good and that killed somehow the idea for the album. So I decided to re-record everything and to use almost only first takes and to keep minor mistakes in the mix.

Is there hidden meaning in your music?

Music has always to say something. Even if it’s just dance music with stupid lyrics, it means that you can dance to it. Regarding my music: I guess that you have to listen to the whole album in order to understand what it is really about. There’s a lot of criticism on the music industry but as well a lot of advices for not giving up, even when the business you’re in is trying to take advantage of you. Just be real, be yourself and don’t give up. The typical things every professional musician is going to say at least one time in his or her life.

Do you create music for yourself or for fans?

Usually I create bright polished music for my clients, so I decided to do some music for myself first. As I’ve realised that my friends and colleagues liked my songs, I thought it would be nice to build a little fan base. That’s what I’m doing now. When I’ll release my second album, it’s gonna be especially for fans.

Would you like to travel to other countries to perform your music? If so, what would be your first stop?

Of course. But not before the Pandemic is under control. My first stop would be definitely Prague. For emotional reasons. The city where I’ve been born and that I was forced to leave. And when I was allowed to come back in the 90ies, and saw my family again after a very long time I took my guitar and jammed regularly with street musicians on the Old Town Square. That was a very happy time for me.

Tell about a magical moment or positive experience that has happened during your career.

A very magical moment happened in 2005, when I wrote an arrangement for a big orchestra and went to Prague in order to record my piece with The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. When I stood in front of the huge orchestra and they played the first bars of my piece I’ve had an indescribable and unforgettable emotional moment. In this magical moment I just knew, that I’m doing exactly the right thing with my whole life.

Other than fame & fortune, is there something you hope to achieve through music?

I’d like to make some people laugh, when they’re in a bad mood and I’d like, as I said before, to give young musicians and other artist hope for not giving up their dreams.

Who inspires you musically?

Ludwig van Beethoven, The Beatles, Frédéric Chopin, David Bowie, John Williams, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Billie Eilish, Ryuichi Sakamoto, The Residents, Eels, Frank Sinatra, Nick Cave, Madonna, Brainchild, Einstürzende Neubauten, Michael Nyman, Alva Noto… just to mention a few out of thousands.

If one artist were to perform at your party, who would get the call?

I guess I’d call the old rock guys from my neighbourhood. They have a band called Rammstein and they’re fun and very entertaining. But they wouldn’t do that. I would call anyway.

What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?

Be inspired but always stay yourself, even when some people don’t like what you are doing. If you’re doing it your way, then it’s always the right way.

How do you feel the Internet has impacted sharing your music?

I think that it’s quite unfair that independent artist can’t really make a living from streams on Spotify etc. It’s the same for me. But in the end it’s the best promotion medium.

What is your favorite/best outlet to connect with your followers Instagram, Spotify, FB, Twitter, iTunes? How would you want them to follow?

Actually a part of my concept is, that I won’t use any social media by myself. The best one for me is definitely iTunes.

What does the future hold for you?

If I knew, they would call me Pan Oracle. But there will be a second album, completely different to ‘ The First Album’ only with catchy dance music.

Did I forget to ask something? Something you would like to say, that I did not address?

I think everything has been said. Thank you!