The Tangent interview (Andy Tillison)

As he is regularly doing in every two years, Andy Tillison with the ever changing Tangent has released an album that maintains the band as one of the most interesting groups of traditional prog rock of our times. However this time, although the core of his music remains the same, he has a bigger vision of what he wants to do and with the help of some of the best musicians around, each in his instrument, he manages to impress us once again, almost in the same way as when we first discovered him.

Andy, congratulations on your new album, I find it to be one of your best. You usually have a concept in mind in each new album. Can you tell us a little more about the one behind "Le Sacre Du Travail"?
Obviously some of the previous albums have had themes running through them, but I think there hasn't been a suitable phrase coined for the 'themed album' yet. "Sacre" is essentially a musical travelogue through a working day from the moment the bedside alarm goes off until the moment we collapse into bed to get ready for the next one. As such it's a linear journey and like an album with a storyline, or an Opera, it has the story or concept at its heart. The working day has always interested me, and when viewed objectively it does form a kind of dance or ritual. It's something nearly all of us are locked into, a routine we have become so used to that we are trapped in it and the album is about the feelings of so many people who wish they could escape. There's another concept too though, and that's the whole idea of re-visiting the idea of Classical Music involving Rock Bands, like in the days of Jon Lord and his Concerto, or the Nice and Five Bridges... I wanted to take another look at that idea and see if I could work with it and re-examine it if you like.

I think that in this album there is one of the most noticeable changes in style in Tangent history. Do you agree?
Yes I do - the fact that it is the first proper concept album, that the whole album is constructed like a Classical piece, it has lots of orchestration - it's a whole 'reboot' of the band and a 'reboot' of what I think Progressive Rock music can be - there's less 'references to specific bands' more Tangent, less Van Der Graaf, less Flower Kings. We have brought in a co-producer (Paul Brow) too who has greatly contributed to the way this album sounds, and a Vocal specialist (David Longdon) who has restructured the way the voice works within the band's sound. Most of all, I wrote this thing differently - deliberately trying to make an album that went to a different place.

Although the press release mentions some classical influences, I have to say that what I mostly noticed was a more jazzy and even psychedelic direction. Do you see that?
The Tangent has had a strong Jazz vibe since the first album I think, I don't agree with that as a "new" thing in our music - this is our 7th album and there's been lots of Jazz on the six that came before it.  But yeah, there are some psychedelic sections and a few funky bits here and there in the piece - funk is one of my favourite things to listen to at home, I'm a big Earth Wind & Fire fan, always have been. the album is of course a fusion of the elements of music that has inspired me through my lifetime. I have tried to make these all belong to each other - that has bee the hardest thing to do, to make orchestral, classical, rock, jazz funk and psychedelic work TOGETHER in just ONE piece of music rather than just be a lot of different sounding bits. That took a lot of work. Whether it worked or not is up to you to decide!

This album sees the return of several high profile guests and I have to admit that it shows in the music as well. Especially the rhythm section is really impressive. Could you describe in short what you think each musician brought to this album?
Jakko got the ball rolling. His guitar playing is understated and subtle, yet really shines out when it needs to. He made it melodic and fragile, and his Lead Vocals in the "Steve Wright In The Afternoon" section are just beautiful. That's a nice treat for all the people out there who hate my voice but like my music. A Tangent track with a good singer! He's a great presence in a band - I always enjoy working with him and he links in with so many of my favourite musicians so he knows what I'm talking about and what I need. Theo has always made a great contribution to the Tangent, this is his 6th studio appearance with us along with his 2 live DVD contributions. On this album he really provided a fantastic common thread between the orchestral and rock and jazz sections. His instruments are common to all three and helped me smooth over the joins brilliantly. He's easy to work with and always enjoys his time working with us. We enjoy it too! Gavin Harrison was the new boy this time. He is a legendary drummer and the legends are all true. His work on the album is fantastic, inventive and incredibly groovy. He's flamboyant, powerful and captured exactly what I needed first time. There were no re-takes. This album needed real imagination from the drummer. We Got it! Jonas goes back to the very first Tangent album of course. This is his fifth studio album with us and he's just as good as he ever was. He decided to leave the fretless bass at home and perform this album with his Fender Jazz fretted - using a lot of plectrum work. It's aggressive, powerful and wasn't what I was expecting at all. He made it better, and he and Gavin are a phenomenal rhythm section who have never met each other! Wow! David Longdon was brought into the project to do something new for the Tangent. He's not there to be a lead vocalist, but to be a part of the overall arrangement of the pieces. His voice added new harmonies and textures to the music - like a one man choir. He helped support my voice, helped me sound stronger than normal. It's a great role he played and crucial to the way the album sounds.

Knowing that making art in practice is not as romantic as someone might think, should we assume that the previous Tangent albums were successful enough to allow you to work with a bigger budget in this one or is it a risk, financially speaking?
I didn't have a bigger budget! But our fans helped out by pre-ordering our CD at a vastly inflated price. This helped with some of the extra expenses. So, well I know that is like just having a bigger budget, but that's not how I saw it. And it is still, very much, a risk. Progressive Rock is a very very high risk music, because you don't risk being very successful. It's often a case of how much you lose than how much you earn. That is always at the back of my (and everyone else in this field) mind.

Would you consider the "experiment" of the Tangent as a steady touring and recording line-up as finished?
"Finished" is too much like closing a door. I don't close doors. We are going to wait and see the reaction to our album and then decide if there is sufficient interest to do a tour. Jonas Reingold is very keen to do this so we have a base from which to work. Of course at this moment we have no dates planned, and we do not know the exact lineup of the band we would take out. I don't think Gavin Harrison would be a possibility unless the new album miraculously turned into a new Dark Side Of The Moon he won't want to travel around Europe in an old Transit Van to see if we can get the petrol money back! So I think we can rule that out for a while!

I think that you also use the Hammond more extensively than in previous albums. Am I right?
I think you are right. This is really because there was no debate with any people about 'whether the hammond is too present'. This often happens, and bits get dismissed, mixed out, replaced with guitars. Paul Brow, the co producer of this thing, who actually did the final mixes seemed to go for the Hammond as the thing that needed to stay, frequently axing a fair amount of orchestration it its favour. We did get a phenomenal organ sound on this album, largely made possible by a brilliant virtual organ of staggering realism and the fact that if all else failed there is a Hammond T100 and Leslie in my living room. The way the Hammond sounds on the "Sacre" project is the fact that it's actually doing a load of pedestrian stuff - parts that the rhythm guitar might have taken on earlier recordings. Therefore you get to hear more than just the 'features' and solos of the Hammond. Here it's part of the continuo and a key part of the overall ensemble.

I really like that garage-punkish bonus track. Where did that come from?
"Hat" is a recording of my first proper band for which I wrote songs in 1979. The reason why it's on the album is that it's about the same thing as the album - going to work written from my point of view as a 19 year old. Now I'm 53, and I wrote a symphony about it. It's nice to show people where I started my musical career and show how far it has moved on over the years. The song was recorded at a school dance.

There is also another album coming right after the release of "Le Sacre Du Travail", right? Can you tell us what will this include? Is it a "for fans only" release?
Later this year we will release an album of extra material from the sessions exclusive to our own website. Yes it's a Fan release -  which will include my version of a Debussy composition and several songs that were under consideration for the last lineup of the group. You can find out more about that at our website www.thetangent.org of course

Could you please tell us 5 albums of any era that you have mostly been listening to during the past month?
"Music From Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story"" by the Oscar Peterson Trio. To my mind one of the greatest pianists who ever walked the earth. I like this interpretation of the Bernstein very much. It's new to me, but I have already played it a lot "The Raven That Refused To Sing" by Steven Wilson. A super album which sounds even more retro than The Tangent! - Funny how things turn around! Lots of influences - you can play "spot where this bit came from" with it, like you can on some of our stuff. "World In Front Of Me" by The Mars Hollow. Just like this a lot, have played it many times since it was released. Great USA melodic prog. "Moon Rappin'" by Brother Jack McDuff. A cool Jazz organ album with a lot of creativity in there. "Seven"by Magenta - an old favorite of mine. Has the line 'My Life's a mess but there's a hope in my heart'. Good enough for me.