Steve Hackman wears a many-feathered cap, yet he’s probably most well known for his innovative blending of classical and contemporary music.

From conducting orchestras and vocal groups to reimagining revered pieces of music, his work challenges traditional boundaries and invites listeners to explore and experience live music through a wholly new and invigorating lens. We sat down with him to delve into the inspirations, aspirations and innovations behind his newest and boldest venture yet: Radiohead x Brahms.

Your career as a multi-hyphenate music creator is truly inspiring! What originally sparked your passion for such a diverse range of musical roles?

I knew from a very young age how important music was to me. It was just a feeling, a deep and soulful draw to it. From that point forward, as I fell in love time and time again with different composers, artists, bands, producers, DJs, and performers- and as these creators and their music were my ever-present companions and soundtrack — I could think of no more rewarding thing than to be able to reach and inspire people that same way with my own music. The only reason I am some sort of 'multi-hyphenate' is that I have been on this journey for so long, absorbing and developing techniques as it has gone on. And since it has actually been a double journey- concurrently going down the classical and popular music paths- there have been double the amount of techniques and tools to try to learn, develop and implement.

Could you share a personal milestone or an impactful moment in your career that profoundly shaped your approach to music creation and performance?

I had the opportunity to compose a piece for the spectacular choral ensemble Chanticleer. It was a free fantasy based on the Emily Dickinson poem 'Waiting' and the M83 song 'Wait'. The first thing they did was record it in the studio. The recording was clean and precise, but a bit lifeless. They then toured this piece around the world, singing it hundreds of times. I attended a concert in Brooklyn at the very end of this run. Witnessing the complete transformation of the work, and beholding the visceral connection that each one of those twelve singers now had to it, on every level, from performative to physiological to emotional, was one of the great thrills of my life. My heart has never beat faster. It had come to life in a way that left me awestruck. This was a transcendent moment for me because of the realisation that perhaps I was capable of reaching people strictly as a composer; and perhaps that was my higher calling.

How has your classical background influenced your contemporary projects, and what do you hope to impart to musicians and audiences through your work?

I'd like to answer by inverting the question, and speaking to how classical training actually inhibits work in the popular space — then work back from there. Because, to a great extent, it does. The classical technique is prone to maximalism. Orchestras of one hundred players, choirs of two hundred, symphonies that are ninety minutes, contrapuntal facility that allows us to aggregate line after line after line. 

Popular music is the opposite. It is Bob Dylan and his guitar. Nina Simone at the microphone. John, Paul, George and Ringo. Tupac. Popular music is reductive, not additive. How little can we get away with, and still make our point? Because the more we strip it down, the purer it gets, the more genuine the reaction. I am of course being general here. But the point is this: if you have been raised and trained at the highest level in the additive, the maximalist, the largesse, it is very tricky to also figure out the opposite. Because all your instincts are going to be wrong.

But — if you can push through, if you can learn that new language, fight your instincts and train yourself in a different way — the opportunities are endless. If, within the reductive framework of contemporary and popular music, you can apply those classical techniques — you can make magic. That's George Martin and the Beatles, Brian Wilson on Pet Sounds, Ludwig Göransson and Childish Gambino, Brian Eno and the Talking Heads and David Bowie, and Philip Glass, or Dave Longstreth and Dirty Projectors, Björk, Jacob Collier, or Bon Iver and Rob Moose/Colin Stetson/S. Carey or Kendrick Lamar and Terrace Martin/Robert Glasper/Kamasi Washington/etc. OK I'll stop.

Could you walk us through your process of creating an orchestral fusion like Radiohead X Brahms? What specific techniques do you employ to blend these musical worlds?

Since this was one of the first full-scale fusions I attempted, I chose music I was intimately familiar with. I had conducted the Brahms First several times and listened to OK Computer ad nauseam. This allowed me to get into the improvisatory state quickly. I always begin away from the piano, just thinking about the piece and taking notes. Whether listening at the gym, on a bike ride, on the subway, or in the car, I start to consider which songs might be paired aptly with the different movements and themes of the derivative classical piece. Make note of key signatures, harmonies, time signatures, or melodies that could potentially overlap as I am listening. So by the time I hit the piano, I have some rough notes and concepts, and maybe even a sketch of the overall structure.

Then it is a process of opening up the score and playing and just exploring, improvising, being as open-minded and free as possible. The hardest part is actually giving yourself permission to change the music, because it is perfect the way it is, and we only know it that one way. It's the same initial hump you have to get over when creating a remix. In some ways, the more familiar you are with it, the harder it is, because the harder your instincts will fight against you altering it. But once I get over this, it becomes a thrill. Without fail it also becomes a great challenge; just like with writing any large-scale piece, there are so many moments when you are convinced that it simply can't work. But you push through!

What are the essential stages in developing and rehearsing a performance like Radiohead X Brahms? How do you ensure the seamless integration of the symphony orchestra and vocalists to achieve a cohesive and powerful experience?

The first essential stage of preparation is the critical work with the vocalists. They are the 'front lines' of communication for this work, and without them none of this is possible. Beyond the assumed work of them learning the parts, and paying special attention to all the harmonies and melodies that have been altered and stray from the versions they know, we need to then make sure all the lines feel natural to them, and that they can sing them like themselves, bringing their own individuality and artistry. That is the magic they bring. Then it is the essential phase of making sure the composite of those three parts feels right and true, and conveys what I had in mind with the piece as a whole.

As for the seamless integration of the vocalists and orchestra, this is a chance for me to shout out my brilliant sound engineer Patrick Dillon Curry, who understands intimately both sound worlds, and is a genius in bringing them together in a way that is both faithful to each and an entirely new and fresh sonic experience. Patrick works with me both in the studio and live, and we speak endlessly about the techniques he will use to bring the music to life. He is innovating on the engineering side just like I am seeking to innovate on the music side.

In the Radiohead X Brahms performance, what specific elements from Brahms’ First Symphony and Radiohead’s OK Computer do you focus on to highlight their unique and shared qualities?

The core emotional connection between the Brahms First Symphony and OK Computer is their shared anxiety, tension, and pathos. Radiohead wrote this album at the dawn of the internet age. They were expressing their reservation for where society was headed. As for Brahms, he had been heralded as Beethoven's successor since his twenties, and he knew that his first symphonic effort would give the critical public their true opportunity to judge him. He described the phantom of Beethoven to a friend in a letter: 'You have no idea what it is like to hear the footsteps of that juggernaut who has marched before me'. We hear those thunderous footsteps of Beethoven in the very first bar of the symphony, as the timpani drums, contrabasses and contrabassoon pound out the lowest C's they can play. Brahms wove all that anxiety and desperation into the music, especially the first movement and the introduction to the fourth; you can feel his anxiety.

In what ways do you see the SYMPHONYFUSE series transforming the cultural landscape, particularly in how younger audiences perceive and engage with classical music?

One of the most beautiful things about music is sharing it; I have always been passionate about sharing classical music with people. I was always that guy trying to build a bridge between those artists and classical composers, and these fusions are the manifestation of that advocacy. I think one reason they work is that I am also my target audience. I understand pop music and love it as much as they do. I understand how serious these fans are about their music, and how passionate they are. I’ve known from the beginning that this is an entire group of people (and a BIG one at that) that the classical world hasn’t been reaching: people who LOVE music but just don’t love classical music yet, because they haven’t been exposed to it, haven’t had access to it, or don’t feel welcomed in the symphony hall. The fact that the SYMPHONYFUSE productions have turned on so many new people to Brahms and Mahler and Beethoven, and provided the first experience for these new folks in a concert hall, means the world to me.

What drives you to push the boundaries of classical music, and how do you keep your creative spirit energised for ambitious projects like The Resurrection Mixtape?

I am so grateful for this fusion work because of the very reason that these pieces have taken so much of me, and have required all of what I've learned and developed. They have set a standard for me for what creative work should be. But a couple years ago I realised there was more that I wasn't using- my own songwriting and composing. This is the realisation that led to my original project THE BRINK. I think what keeps my creative spirit energised is that pursuit of art that is wholly, totally, and unapologetically unique and individual — that is me. That is what the greats have done; that is what Radiohead and Brahms did. What is so beautiful is that each one of us has the capability to achieve this, no matter how extensive or broad-ranging our techniques and backgrounds are. We simply need to listen to everything within us, even the parts that others have told us to ignore, and integrate it all together. That's how you get to where Stravinsky got.

How have your collaborations influenced your musical compositions and the way you approach performances?

Collaborations have moved me forward creatively at every turn, in critical ways that now define who I am. Being music director of the a cappella group 'The Other Guys' in my undergraduate years at University of Illinois was my first real experience leading musicians and working with them to create a shared musical identity. Without those two years of development as an artistic director and conductor, I would not have had the confidence and competence to win the audition at Curtis and Juilliard for the conducting program. I know how absurd that sounds, but it is the absolute truth. Then meeting Time for Three at Curtis; the decade I spent working with them set the stage for so much of my subsequent work.

Those guys constantly pushed me, encouraging me to make arrangements more involved, more reimagined, more innovative. And their electric and infectious live performances set the standard for me for what live performances should be. These were the foundational tools that I've used to create the SYMPHONYFUSE productions. Then most recently, meeting the choreographer Jacob Jonas while working with Kanye, and working closely with him for the last four years. Jacob is one of the most powerful creators I have ever known, with such a self-assured, modernist and original voice. I've learned so much from that. We have such an incredible and dynamic chemistry, and I feel we bring the best out in one another. Again, he encourages me to go deeper and push further. I feel the work we are doing together is some of the best I have ever done.

Steve Hackman’s Radiohead x Brahms concert will be playing in Los Angeles this Friday, June 28th.