An immersive experience spanning memories – we spoke with Andor Sanderson about Fragments

Andor Sanderson will visit Veszprém twice in December to present his latest double album. However, Fragments is more than just a traditional concert. During the total art production, we may easily feel as if we have been transported to another world. The many small details in the six-sided space of CODE the Hexagon, become a whole, of which not only the creators but also the audience are an integral part.

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing ceramics by joining broken pieces together with powdered gold. The method perfectly demonstrates how a broken object that at first glance appears to be beyond repair can be made whole again. Among other things, this art form inspired Andor Sanderson in the creation of his upcoming double album, as fragments refer to several smaller pieces fragments that represent the lights, music, movement, visuals, and extraordinary space.

Andor Sanderson's upcoming double album is based on a fusion of classical and electronic music. As he says, his attachment to classical music stems from his childhood, as he was a member of the Hungarian State Opera's children's choir at a very young age. "I went through the usual classical training: I performed in musicals, operas, operettas, and smaller solo pieces, which gave me a lot of practice for my current stage presence."

Later, during his high school years, Andor began to explore alternative and electronic music: he remembers this period as a turbulent time, inspired by the music of Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Björk, and Radiohead, among others. "That's when I really started composing music: I've been on this path for practically 15 years, and one of the results is Wave of Sound, my own solo production."

Italy plays an important role in Andor's life in many ways – one of the highlights of his creative career is also linked to the Italians. "A few years ago, I was approached by Blue Spiral Records, a German-Italian label, which deals with modern and classical music, who wanted to release my album. I've been working with them ever since, and luckily, thanks to this collaboration, I've had the opportunity to perform at several Piano City festivals. The first was in Milan in 2023."

According to Andor, not only the different social environment, but also other impulses gained in Italy strongly influenced his creative process. "Completely new perspectives opened up in me, as I had incredibly inspiring experiences: whether it was a moment sitting on a rocky cliff near Polignano a Mare, watching people and the breathtaking power of the sea for a long time, or a train journey through the mountains near Naples.”

Fragments is a complex concert experience featuring the Makró VJ duo, visual artist Polena Réka, Variart Trio chamber orchestra, and dancer Mayer Dorina. Andor has worked with almost all of them before, and in his opinion, the joint creative process was easy, "I thought it was important to set certain boundaries, but I didn't want to take complete control. I was curious to see what creative processes the different songs would bring out in classical music, the visual world, or dance movements."

The CODE venue and the six-sided space, Hexagon, are not unfamiliar to Andor, as he already performed here in May at Planet Lens festival. The spring concert was followed by an exciting testing process, as a result of which we can experience two concerts in December that are anything but a traditional concert experience in Veszprém.

Andor also told us that planning the performance was a serious professional challenge and task, which required him to completely transform his attitude from a musical point of view. "This unique space can show the pieces of a given work from many angles, but to do that, we first have to understand and experience where we are, and we also have to see the technical processes in a complex project like this. It is very exciting that the performance will come to life in CODE, which I think will be a new experience for both the audience and us creators."

The new album is a continuation of Andor's previous record and an inner journey, which was also strongly inspired by his relationships with his friends and family. "The first song is about my relationship with my family: I've had a lot of experiences with them recently, and I've managed to tap into some very deep emotions with these songs, so I think this is one of my most honest works. Every connection to my feelings is reinforced, and the new songs can provide a lot of support."

The upcoming double album is particularly complex, characterized by duality in many ways. This is not the first project in Andor's career in which he artistically expresses man's connection to nature through music. As he says, the duality of the December performances serves as a mirror and reveals the fragility inherent in them. In fact, the fragility of nature can also be linked to the complexity of the event. "It is important that people recognize this fragility, and the presentation's special macroscopic and digital visual approach helps in this: we use a macro lens to show what is invisible to the naked eye. For example, how a leaf that once lived falls to the ground, and then Réka's visual world takes it apart and rethinks it."

This duality is also characteristic of the two poles of the new album, the pairing of classical and electronic music, which, according to Andor, often behave like human emotions."It's a bit like our feelings when we're angry and want to scream, but then we just need to take a deep breath and remember something calming. The same can be observed on the album: the electronic line is a little more dynamic, while the more classical line, based on piano and string instrumentation, is a little more subtle."

The December performances also differ from traditional concerts in that, like theater plays, they consist of two acts."In the first part, we want to introduce the audience to the production more slowly, to lull them into a sense of calm, so to speak. Before the second act, there will be a brief pause, which will give the audience time to take in the details and process them. In the second part, however, the real catharsis comes, during which we are powerfully gripped by emotions."