Steve Rothery Interview
PV - Progressive Voyages
SR Steve Rothery
PV Good afternoon, Steve how are you doing today ?
SR I'm going well thank you
PV I’m here to talk about hour new bioscope album
SR OK fire away
PV How did the album come about
SR Because of a friendship that came about when Marillion were playing on the 2015 Cruise To The Edge progressive rock Cruise out of Miami around the Caribbean and Tangerine Dream were also on the bill, we met and found some shared interests, Thorsten Quaschning came to see us in Utrecht and we de idea that we’d like to do something together, the process took 6 years in total in part because of the pandemic which scuppered everyone for 18 months or so, but we got together in 2022 and have done so every December for a few days in a gap in our schedules to make something together although we had no set plan we just jammed together to see what came out of those sessions.
PV How come all the tracks are named after camera ‘s or are film related
SR That’s because Outside of Marillion my other major passion is Photography and Film
For example Vanishing point is named after the 1971 classic movie where a man drives an American Muscle Car cross country pursued by the cops
It is also a photographic term for where the sky meets the horizon.
PV You played with Tangerine Dream most notably in Coventry Cathedral in 2022 that has just been released on the Virgin to Quantum Years set, how was that for you?
SR Memorable I’ve actually played with them a few times, once at the Royal College of music in Manchester and also in London, we basically play a standard Tangerine Dream stand then have 45 minutes of unrehearsed jamming where they will lay down a soundscape and I will try and play something that goes with it, I have to have my wits about me but it usually comes out fine, I enjoy the challenge really, they are such a great bunch of musicians to play with feel honoured to get the opportunity when it is offered to me.
PV – You have some shows coming up for Bioscope, don’t you ?
SR Yes, we have after the last marillion weekend in Utrecht, 2 shows in Holland, 2 in Germany and 1 in Poland
PV No UK shows though?
SR I’m hoping we can do a few once the new Marillion album is completed, I’m thinking maybe Cadogan Hall in London would be suitable venue for such a show.
PV, I saw a picture recently on Facebook with you and Steve Hackett and a keyboard player what was that all about?
SR Steve and I are having working on an album together, for a while when we both can find a gap in our schedules to get together and do something to move it along a little further, well we have now completed recording sessions after about 6 years of working on it, All I can tell you is that it is an instrumental album with a Nautical theme.
We will work it up from here to get it complete and ready to release hopefully next year.
PV I’ve always thought you should do a guitar collaborations album with players you admire like Steve, Andy Latimer and the like that could be an interesting project?
SR I am starting to do some you tube sessions in that sort of vein, watch this space.
PV You’re playing on this album is interesting in that you seem to be taking a layering approach,
SR Well the music calls for that approach and a lot of what you think is keyboards could actually be a treated guitar as I’ve been able to experiment with sounds on this album it has been a really interesting project that’s only taken 5 our 6 years to bring to fruition, I’m glad it’s finally seeing the light of day I think folks may find it interesting
PV, I think Tangerine Dream fans will probably take to it more easily as they are used to longer forms of music as TD play over a rhythm and evolve it throughout the piece,
SR Yes possibly so, but it’s an album that has much to offer if you listen carefully enough
PV I’ve seen Tangerine Dream several times over the years first in 1975 in Birmingham Town hall where they played in the dark with only minimal lighting it was surreal to hear this strange music being created, obviously Phaedra and Rubycon had come out but this was what became the Ricochet album a unique and memorable experience for sure, I’ve kept up with Tangerine Dream over the years through the good times and the less so times.
SR When they were on the Cruise, they had some backing singers 3 women and it was not really to my liking at all but still Thorsten has done a grand job in keeping the spirit of Edgar Froese’s vision alive in its current incarnation.
PV Well I really like them as they are and I like this Bioscope album as well I think it fits well in their canon or work anyway Steve my time has gone so thank you for talking to me today, I will get this transcribed and this will appear on the Progressive Voyages Website soon. Thank you for your answers to my questions I really do appreciate it.