String Theory: A journey through the magical musical world of Margaret Hermant

With her debut album, Freedom now out, I sat down with Margaret Hermant to find out about her classical training, her work with Echo Collective, solo projects, and what the future holds.

Hi Margaret, great to talk to you. Can we start with a bit of background? Can you tell me a bit about your training at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, and how it has shaped your career and your approach to music-making?

I absolutely loved my years at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, largely thanks to my violin professor, Shirly Laub. Choosing your teacher at the conservatory is perhaps one of the most important decisions you can make. She helped structure my technique, encouraged me to stay curious and to explore the many possible interpretations of repertoire music, but above all, she gave me confidence.

I think confidence is one of the greatest assets in an artist’s career: feeling that you can succeed, that you are legitimate, and that you have something meaningful to bring to the world. And when someone gives you the tools to build and nurture that confidence day after day, what a gift that is.

The conservatory is also where you meet a huge variety of personalities: future colleagues, people who teach you through their own experiences. For me, that was one of the most formative aspects of all, learning how to make music together. Every musician and every instrumentalist has their own way of hearing things: how they think about rhythm, intonation, musical phrasing… So learning to play together is also about discovering what resonates with everyone involved.

I have to say, I was very lucky to meet an amazing group of people at the conservatory, many of whom I still collaborate with today.

How did you come to found Echo Collective, and what have been the highlights of that project?

Neil Leiter called me one day to ask if I would like to form a trio with him and Charlotte Danhier to accompany A Winged Victory for the Sullen, a band whose name and music I didn’t know at all at the time. I listened to their work, and I immediately loved it. That’s really where the adventure began for me: it felt like a new door opening onto a musical universe I had never explored before, and yet one that somehow felt deeply familiar.

After a few years of collaborating together, Neil and I felt the desire to give a more concrete shape to our partnership. We gave our group a name, Echo Collective,  and from there, one project followed another: a mix of collaborations with other artists, alongside a series of albums released under our own name.

Our first album was Echo Collective Plays Amnesiac, followed by The See Within, which was our very first album of original compositions. Then came 12 Conversations with Thilo Heinzmann, an interpretation of Jóhann Jóhannsson’s quartet work, and most recently Mirror Image, our latest immersive adventure using  4D sound.

If I think about the highlights of our journey so far, I would probably mention our collaboration with Jóhann Jóhannsson, the Orphée tour, and the recording of 12 Conversations with Thilo Heinzmann. But I also have such vivid memories of performing at the BBC Proms with Dustin O’Halloran and Adam Wiltzie, an unforgettable moment.

I understand you have worked with artists as far apart as Erasure and Jóhann Jóhannsson. How different, or how similar, were those experiences?

The music itself was completely different, but the nature of the projects was very different as well.

With Erasure, we worked on arrangements of existing compositions in order to create an album with a more acoustic accompaniment, a different approach from their usual setup and sound world. We didn’t perform concerts together, and the collaboration was really great, but relatively limited in time and scope.

With Jóhann Jóhannsson, it was an entirely different kind of journey, one that in many ways is still continuing today. We first toured with him on the Orphée project, and later he asked us to look at his quartet work, 12 Conversations with Thilo Heinzmann, a project that, according to him, still didn’t feel completely finished.

Then he left us far too soon, and afterward, Deutsche Grammophon approached us about recording this beautiful work. It became a project that we truly carried forward, and one that we still perform today.

How much did the work on the soundtracks for A la Cara and Mallorca Confidencial influence the sounds you achieved on Freedom? What would you say are some of the influences that have informed the music you make in general, and also specifically, whilst composing the music on Freedom?

Actually, Freedom was composed and recorded long before I wrote the scores for A la Cara and Mallorca Confidencial. It’s true that the releases happened around the same period, but in my case, the album came out a long time after it had been composed. I spent a great deal of time working on the mix, the mastering, the artwork design, and then, of course, there is also the release schedule of record labels. When you approach a label, they rarely release an album the following week! There is always a calendar to follow, along with preparation for promotion and all the timing that comes with it.

That said, certain film scores absolutely can inspire pieces on my albums. A Leap into Silence, for example, grew out of a score that Fabien Leseure and I wrote for a deeply moving documentary that unfortunately has not yet been released publicly. Unseen was also inspired by a commissioned piece for a dance performance, which emerged following my collaboration with Vera Tussing. Shadow also grew out of sonic colors I had explored while composing a soundtrack for a documentary by Martina Moor.

In any case, I don’t think I can completely separate myself from one artistic universe and simply forget it. There are always connections, even if they are not immediately audible, or even if the music has evolved far away from the original inspiration. Personally, I don’t resist those connections when the gestures of new compositions begin to appear, so yes, they can absolutely be linked.

And actually, that’s what is so wonderful about it. All of these experiences have nourished my musical language: the many collaborations I’ve had, the different musical styles I’ve interpreted, and the connections with other artistic mediums. All of that feeds the inspiration I have today.

And on Freedom, the greatest influence was, of course, my collaboration with Fabien Leseure, who really opened up the whole world of production for me, his electronic and modular music approach especially. That is truly what made Freedom such a new adventure for me.

Freedom is your debut album. Why did the time feel right to make a solo album now?

That’s a beautiful question… and I think there are probably several answers to it.

I felt a real desire to explore something personal with the harp, also because I so often hear it played in a more traditional way, while I was hearing different sounds in my mind, sounds I still wanted to explore. Meeting Fabien Leseure made that idea much more tangible. He suggested using an effects pedal setup with the harp, and he also brought in so many sonic ideas through his production approach.

Suddenly, I could actually hear things that I had sometimes imagined internally but could never fully realise on my own, because technically I didn’t really know which direction to take. That was extremely important for me.

And then, as a little anecdote: we found ourselves backstage before a concert by Dustin O’Halloran, and Fabien simply said, “What would you think about opening the next Dustin tour?” And Dustin just said yes… So everything suddenly became very concrete, and it also had to happen very quickly. I suddenly had a deadline where I not only had to compose the music, but also perform it live! What an incredible challenge that was.

Even today, I realize that I ended up doing things in quite an intuitive way, because normally you compose an album, then release it, and only afterward take it on stage… whereas I more or less did everything in reverse! And with great joy, I must say.

Being an instrumental album, there are obviously no lyrics to guide the listener in terms of themes, messages, or concepts, but is there anything you are trying to say, any dialogues that you are trying to start with your audience?

For my part, I don’t really compose with a specific message or discourse in mind. It is more about a feeling, an atmosphere, something intuitive that I try to follow. In that sense, instrumental music feels especially natural for Freedom.

At the same time, Freedom is also the central thread running through the album. The feeling of freedom, as well as the feeling of being in love, are probably among the emotions I try to cultivate most in my own life, and perhaps also those I most wish for others.

Freedom, to me, can take many different forms: emotional freedom, artistic freedom, the freedom to love, to transform, to let go, to accept oneself, or simply the freedom to dream and imagine another reality for a moment. I also find it very beautiful that two people can hear the same piece and experience something completely different.

These are deeply personal sensations, which naturally vary from one person to another. So yes, there is something running through the album that quietly invites each listener to explore what freedom might mean for them.

How rewarding has it been to present the album to a live audience? Were there any challenges along the way in terms of realizing the music in a live context? How have you felt about the public reception to Freedom, and how have you felt about releasing a purely solo album?

The album was actually written to be performed live; that was really my intention from the very beginning. I wanted something organic, and also something that could be performed technically in its entirety on stage without having to compromise the production. That is also why Fabien Leseure performs with me on stage.

In addition to my pedalboard, which I use to manipulate sounds live, Fabien also performs live production: he reshapes and processes the sound in real time, and also plays his modular synthesizer. It creates a very special setup where everything is constantly alive and evolving on stage.

It is truly a beautiful feeling to be able to perform the album in that way. As a performer, I really enjoy sharing on stage; it is one of the most meaningful moments for me, a moment where I can meet people and hopefully offer something that resonates with them.

I have received very beautiful feedback from audiences, and perhaps that is also what I appreciate most: being able to connect with people through their reactions after the concert, or through messages shared on social media. It really matters to me, and it is always very special when someone takes the time to say a few words after a performance. That sense of sharing is essential.

And looking to the future, what lies ahead for you, musically and personally?

Ouch, that’s always a difficult one for me, as I tend to stay very much in the present moment. But if I try to project a feeling, it would be the desire to remain free to explore whatever projects come to mind, and to be able to pursue them without too many obstacles.

I also hope to keep finding a balance between collaborations, live performance, other album projects, and scoring for films. I truly love composing for film; it is also a wonderful adventure for me.

And somewhere along the way, I would love to imagine a visual art installation as well. That feels like something that could be a natural next step for me, as it is a field I have never explored before, but would really like to.

Thank you so much for such insightful and eloquent answers. Best of luck with everything you are doing and whatever the future brings.