STEVE HACKETT - "To hell with nationalism!"

Anyone who talks to Steve Hackett about music should bring a lot of time with them. The ex-Genesis guitarist has no prepared 08/15 statements ready. The 67-year-old answers all questions in detail, likes to digress and comes from the hundredth to the thousandth. No problem He uses the eclipsed interview not only to promote his new studio album "The Night Siren". The state of the world that he sees on the abyss is of special concern to him. Xenophobia, narrow-mindedness and the autocratic leadership style of people like Donald Trump are horrors to him, and he openly expresses them. And once in motion, also some of his ex-genesis colleagues get one with..

eclipsed: We will reach you in the USA, where you have already done some shows of the current tour. How'd it go?

Steve Hackett: Very good, thank you! We played two concerts in Nashville and one in Ithaca. We have already performed twice before on the ship of "Cruise To The Edge". It starts very well.

eclipsed: After more than forty-five years in business and forty years as a solo artist, how do you see the development you've made with your music?

Hackett: My music today is more varied than at the beginning of my solo career. It's no longer just rock music, but other genres are now playing in here and there. At first, I separated them more sharply. In the meantime I have come to the conclusion that one can mix the genres more and more. It's, if you like, a music without rules, with lots of surprises. I have a lot of fun with variety live, even if it's incredibly challenging, if you constantly want to push into unexpected, undiscovered realms. Today I can enjoy the shows and also the great concert halls much more, I go much more relaxed on stage. That's wonderful.

eclipsed: Your new album "The Night Siren" was postulated as a "wake-up call". What exactly do you mean by that?

Hackett: Right. Twenty different artists from all parts of the world were involved in the record - musicians from Peru or Azerbaijan play with musicians from Iceland or Hungary, Swedes and Palestinians with Americans and Britons. All together have tried to record a record that is supposed to be a peace album. "West To East" contains a clear message of peace, "Behind The Smoke" deals more with destruction and the refugee problem. The world is on the edge. We're going through a big turning point. That's why I say let's not fall into a car burgmentality. If we do that, we're lost.

eclipsed: What's on your mind? The Brexit decision? The emergence of right-wing, anti-democratic parties and currents?

Hackett: I am very worried about the Brexit. Many people think that this is the solution, but it is not: it is a problem. There must be no European rupture, because there are many people who do not realise that people like Le Pen will not be able to solve the problems. They just light the fires. To hell with nationalism! We live in the midst of a crazy time. Just look after America. The press is already critical of the Trump administration. But Trump questions the free press, he blames everyone and everyone - the media, the judiciary. Unfortunately, people are like lemmings who ultimately fall into their own undoing. The free world, all its achievements like civil rights in America, are threatened. We have to be very careful.

Lest mehr im eclipsed Nr. 189 (04-2017).