Hi Rick, I’m pleased to have you on the Grande Rock webzine. Congrats on your new album “Altered States”. Grand Rock has named it the “Album of the Month”!
R: Hi. Thank you very much. It’s an honour to have my album considered for Album of the Month.
It only took you one year to release a new album. How’s that? Did you have any unfinished ideas from the previous album, or did you start composing from the beginning?
R: There are always unfinished ideas floating around. It’s more a matter however of having the time and of course the inspiration. I started on it in early 2022 and once I get going on a project, I tend to go hard at it, so it really only took 6 months or so to finish.
How does this album differ from your previous releases?
R: I would suggest that this one is a bit more atmospheric and more focused on the vocals. I experimented with adding more layers of backing vocals. You can really hear that in songs like “Borrowed Time”.
How did you approach songwriting for the new album this time?
R: Pretty much the same as always. It starts with a melody in my head that I develop on the piano. I then start putting things together mostly using midi instruments. Once I get a really good feel for things, I bring in the musicians.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while recording this album?
R: Other than the replacement of my computer, not really anything worth noting.
Once again, you’ve worked with the majority of the musicians that they played on your previous album –Giulia Cacciavillani on flute, Sarah Young on flute, Barry Haggarty on guitar, Mateusz Swoboda on cello, Kane Miller on violin and Will on drums and percussion. It appears like you have a good chemistry and that they comprehend your artistic music concept, or what??
R: Oh, yes. Other than Guilia, I have worked with everyone plenty of times in the past. I contacted Guilia through Fiveer, as Sarah Young had been really busy at work (she is a school teacher) and wasn’t available a lot of the time. Other than that, it was pretty much business as usual. There is always a good understanding of what I am looking for.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while recording this album? Did you try any new techniques or approaches? Any changes due to the pandemic or any other issues?
R: The pandemic has more or less faded into the background here. I did however work with Duncan Storr on the album artwork. Duncan is a well known and established artist who had done plenty of work mostly with metal bands in the past. He contacted me out of the blue last year after listening to a few of my albums and we struck up somewhat of an online friendship. He sent me some of his work and I sent him some unfinished songs I was working on. Things just went from there.
How did you choose the title “Altered States” for the album? Is there any relation with the cover artwork? The lizard seems to be wired and have digital parts as well.
R: The overall theme of the album has to do with going through changes in states of existence. The lyrics in the title track, “Altered States” bear this out. I was thinking of the book, Jonathan Livingston Seagull when I wrote the lyrics. The cover art was a painting done by Duncan that I thought matched what I was trying to do well. A chameleon in different states of existence. There are plenty of subtle things going on in that painting if you look closely.
Please give us a hint about each track… (just a line or two)
R:“Altered States”: “The gull who sees farthest flies highest”.
“New Moon Prelude”: An instrumental prelude to “Wolf Moon”.
“Wolf Moon”: The ultimate, although fictional change of state for a human from man to beast.
“Borrowed Time”: Actually, two tunes tied together. The first part is a flute-based melody, then moving into a heavily layered vocal arrangement.
“The Trap”: An instrumental consisting of several different parts inspired by one of Duncan Storr’s paintings by the same name.
“Old Secrets”: A bit of a throwback to my last album, “Old Souls”. Lyrics about past lives, Karma, etc.
“Half Moon”: Another flute based instrumental.
“A Dream Within A Dream”: Based on the poem by EA Poe. What if this life is just a dream within a dream?
“Full Moon Rising”: A short finale. I wanted to bring back the dark atmosphere at the end.
The album’s superb production is another strong point. Based on your previous album, are you the one who handles the recordings, mixing, and mastering, right?
R: Not everything. I do some work at Barry Haggarty’s studio, Haggarty Sound. Once the tracks have been recorded and mixed, I get him to do the premastering. I find it useful to have an objective set of ears for this part. I then complete things on my own.
Once again you decided to release the album independently. Why’s that? Have you also signed a special deal with PPR?
R: I do have a deal with PPR for CD distribution and with another company for digital distribution. I also post my albums on Bandcamp. That is pretty much all I need.
Do you think “Altered States” will bring new fans to the band’s camp?
R: My fan base is small but enthusiastic, but yes, I do find that with each album, it does grow a bit.
What are your expectations from the new album in general?
R: I get the most out of an album during the making of the album. It’s nice that there are some people out there who enjoy listening to the final product, but I am realistic enough to realize that this type of music doesn’t have a huge reach, so I’m not expecting to get rich from it.
A few years ago, I’ve asked you if you consider yourself to be “workaholic” and you told me that you do not consider making music to be work? Hence, do you think you’re “music-a-holic” in a way? Is music your way to fulfil your inner need to be creative and artistic?
R: Musicaholic?? That’s a good word and perhaps one that suits me. When I start work on an album, I generally go at it pretty hard… but once it is completed, I tend to stay away from it altogether for at least a few months.
Last time we talked you told me that you goal is not to make a living from the music industry. Do you still believe that since many things have changed in the music industry since then? In my opinion, every musician should be able to support himself by their music. Music is more than a hobby. Day jobs are the reason why most musicians quit music in order to make a living, and our music suffers as a result.
R: Of course, it would be nice for any artist to make a living from their art, however we also have to be realistic. To make a living, one has to appeal to a wide audience. This is a huge challenge and for most artists if not impossible altogether. For me personally, I create music to fulfill my own creative needs. Even if no one was listening, I would still do it.
It’s time for our “Strange Questions”!!! Are “social media” a “compulsory part” of music biz these days or bands, artists & labels can do without them as well?
R: In a word, I would say yes. But that doesn’t mean you can’t survive without them. They can help any artist if used properly, but there will always be people like me that really aren’t that interested in going down that road.
What do you think about the “downloading & streaming issue” of our time? Do you prefer the streaming services more or not?
R: I consider it inevitable. As long as music can be converted into ones and zeros, there will be downloading. Some legal, some not. I find that people that pay for downloads on sites like Bandcamp are doing so because they want to help the artist. This is the reality of the recording industry now.
What are those things that you do not like in the music industry nowadays?
R: The fact that the money part of the industry is entirely controlled by just a few companies. Listeners are pretty much force fed what the industry wants them to hear and unfortunately, most people don’t seem to mind that. Popular music as a result has become completely sterile.
Fill in the phrase… “Prog Rock wouldn’t have evolved the way it did, if it hadn’t been for…”
R: The music industry as it was in the 70s.
Which are the Top 3 Prog Rock albums of all time according to you?
R: “Selling England by the Pound”, “Dark Side of The Moon”, “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”.
Which is the most underrated musician/band of all time?
R: Tony Banks…
Put together the best prog rock line-up of all time. Who plays what?
R: Guitar: Dave Gilmour
Keyboards: Tony Banks
Drums: Phil Collins
Bass: Tony Levin
Vocals: Justin Hayward
Which is that band that you’d like to be part of (any time & era)?
R: Genesis in the 70s.
Which do you consider to be the best male & female vocalist in rock history?
R: Male: Justin Hayward – Female: Joni Mitchell.
If you had the opportunity to invite any musician, living or dead, to play on your album whom would you choose and why?
R: David Gilmour. I feel as though his music and mine have a lot of similarities.
What are your thoughts on A.I.? It appears to have taken over the world in every part of our life over the last few months, and this is just the beginning.
R: I’ve heard that although I am skeptical. We have this little box in our kitchen that my children told me was based on AI and that all I had to do was tell it to play something and it would not only play it, but it would know what I would like to hear next. After fighting with this thing over the last few months, I feel I can say for sure now that we are not yet in danger of being taken over by AI. Seriously though, until AI can feel emotions and make decisions based on those emotions, it will never be much more than an extension of our current computing devices.
Thanks for chatting with the Grande Rock webzine. Say whatever you want to say before we conclude… take care, dude!
R: I would just like to say thank you for reaching out to artists like me to bring our music to the world. The internet has provided a platform for people like myself to be heard that if left to the big music companies, would never have happened.
