The output of Pink Floyd & Co was and is limited, but there are always new bands for lovers of this special style, which closely follow the original. So also the project Huxley Would Approve...
eclipsed: Could you explain where you came from? For our readers you are still a blank page.
Joe Bolieiro: Hi, I'm Joe Bolieiro from Toronto, Canada.
Rainer Schneider: I come from the Saarland, I'm a musician and perhaps one or the other of the best known singers and bassists in the Pink Floyd tribute band The Final Cut. I'm a big fan of Art-Rock, of classical Prog and Rock (Genesis with Hackett, also likes Hackett solo, Floyd/Waters, Yes, Deep Purple, Rush etc.), of experimental Music (Zappa, King Crimson etc.) as well as more recent Bands and Artists (Crippled Black Phoenix, Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Opeth etc.).
eclipsed: How did the collaboration with Joe Bolieiro come about?
Schneider: A few years ago, I had the idea of editing my own material again and was looking for a copywriter (preferably a native English speaker). Some people contacted me via the Internet. Joe had the most interesting concept idea, and so it came to an ever closer cooperation.
eclipsed: Explain briefly the very basic idea of the project Huxley Would Approve and the name.
Bolieiro: The basic idea is that it is possible to find light in darkness and the uncertainty that surrounds us today. The name comes from a line of text from the "Part Two" of the project. Huxley would, of course, approve of our protagonist's Delta girlfriend. That's all I can say without telling too much.
eclipsed: What is the story of the album, which is only Part I.
Bolieiro: Our protagonist thinks about who he is. He is concerned about what is happening in the world and the indifference of humanity. He tries in vain to break out of his narcissistic prison and searches for answers in his technological "iChurch". It doesn't look good for him at the end of Part I. But in time he becomes more and more a prophet. People should heed his warning.
eclipsed: The concept album refers with name and spirit to the dystopian-warning character of the sci-fi visionary Aldous Huxley and is extremely ambitious: besides Huxley, the psychology of C.G. Jung is also being sausaged? Isn't that too much of a good thing?
Bolieiro: Not really. The album is not about Huxley or Jung. It's about our protagonist. The concept of the album uses Huxley's dystopia as a frame, and we don't drill any deeper because we wouldn't do it justice anyway (read the book). Regarding Jung, our story comes into contact mainly with two of his concepts, namely the "shadow" (our own dark side, which we all have to accept but deny) and the "anima".
Schneider: I found this split of our protagonist very interesting. Through the female voice of Judith Mattes-Schneider (as Anima) in combination with my voice we have tried exactly that to convert musically.
eclipsed: Musically, the clear role model is Pink Floyd. Especially Roger Waters, concerning the lyrics and the paranoid sound character. Just "Amused To Death", Waters' best solo work, shines through here. How do you feel about Waters?
Schneider: I have been a big fan of Pink Floyd and especially Roger Waters for many years. He is certainly a great musical influence for me. Especially the song "A Grave New World" on the CD is a tribute to this great artist.
eclipsed: Aren't you a little too close to the master of post-war and surveillance paranoia when it comes to sounds and sound?
Schneider: Haha, then you should have heard the first versions of the album. "Part One" surely isn't a light fare because of its conceptual theme and the basic mood is very dark - which is nothing unusual in the area of prog. During the musical realization I tried to reproduce these emotions. Of course there are elements that include styles from Floyd or Waters, but I think if you go deeper into the album you'll see many more facets of different musical influences (classical and contemporary).
eclipsed: You're also referring to the famous line from "Wish You Were Here" - what's it all about?
Bolieiro: For me the song is more "Wish (I) Was Here". It could be about me (about all of us, to be exact) and how we are absent from time to time from our relationships, our responsibility to life! Our protagonist looks at himself in the mirror and thinks about who he really is. His reflection is someone else. Could these two contradictory manifestations of the same person just be "two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl year after year running over the same old ground"? Yes! We must become one by accepting our dark side ("shadow").
eclipsed: How do you see the current global developments that you reflect, such as social media delusion, self-monitoring and "smombies"? Do we voluntarily give up our personal liberties?
Schneider: The development is frightening. I watch young people not really communicating with each other anymore. Cyber-reality is penetrating more and more into everyday life. Maybe one should teach the children and young people in the schools again how to enjoy a good CD or LP in peace. That might help.
eclipsed: The album breathes without question great Pink-Floyd spirit. It's just a pity that the production can't keep up with the set standards and will therefore probably remain a fan product. What do you think of that?
Schneider: Our claim was never to make some kind of Floyd album. No one would ever do something like that. I wanted to make an interesting art-rock/prog album and, just like Joe, I'm very happy with the end product. Of course, a project like ours does not have the technical capabilities of Steven Wilson or James Guthrie at its disposal. But we are proud of our debut album, and the response so far has been very positive.
eclipsed: What happens with Huxley Would Approve?
Schneider: We are already working on "Part Two" of the concept album and hope to release it in about a year. This then becomes stylistically less gloomy, and the changed mood of our protagonist gives room for further musical experiments. Afterwards we want to perform the whole concept live. The musicians for this are already in the starting blocks.
Interview: Walter Sehrer
Top 5 Pinkloyd Albums
Rainer: I'm actually not really Floyd-fixed, so here are my 5 top albums in general:
1. Genesis - Foxtrot
2. Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing
3. Roger Waters - Amused To Death
4. Opeth - Pale Communion
5. Crippled Black Phoenix - (Mankind) The Crafty Ape
But if you want to know about Floyd in any case: ;-)
1. Amused To Death
2nd The Wall
3rd Animals
4th The Final Cut
5th The Dark Side Of The Moon
Joe:
1st The Dark Side Of The Moon
2nd The Wall
3rd Wish You Were Here
4th Animals
5th The Final Cut