It could have all been so festive and beautiful: in 1990, the blues-progrock formation Flying Circus was founded in Grevenbroich near Düsseldorf. And now, on the occasion of their thirtieth anniversary, they wanted to go on an anniversary tour, with a "best-of" album in their luggage, on which 15 songs from the seven studio productions released so far can be found: partly re-recorded, partly remixed, partly in the original version. This record, simply named after the band, has recently been on sale. However, it's only in its 31st year after the quintet's formation. And the live performance falls flat. Frontman Michael Dorp is nevertheless not frustrated: "There are also better times coming again for us creatives", the 52-year-old says hopefully in the interview.
eclipsed: The idea of creating a "best-of" compilation - when did that come up?
Michael Dorp: Shortly before the Virus appeared on the scene. We had just released our last studio album "1968" and the public response was wonderful. There was a concept behind it, musically as well as in terms of content and artwork. A lot of people were enthusiastic about it. This inspired us to work on an anniversary story - even if "thanks to" Corona with a little delay. The record for the thirtieth anniversary is a reminiscence of ourselves, of hanging in there for a long time.
eclipsed: How did the selection of the pieces come about?
Dorp: It was hard-fought within the group. But finally we came to the consensus that two songs from each record have to be on it. Because in the end it's about giving the listener an overview of what Flying Circus stand for. After all, the bandwidth ranges from classic heavy rock to acoustic ballads.
eclipsed: When people keep stuffing you guys into the "progressive rock corner", do you feel comfortable or constricted there?
Dorp: We definitely don't feel constricted. Because prog offers you an incredible amount of creative freedom. Within the framework of this genre almost everything is allowed. That makes it wonderfully easy for someone inspired by free art to aim for new heights.
