Year after year, Steve Hackett manages to keep the Genesis traditionalists at his side by regularly roaming the country with retro programs. On the other hand, he finds the inspiration and the time to record new studio productions again and again and to put them on the market. All of them solid to brilliant works. The latest recording is called "At The Edge Of Light" and definitely falls into the second category.
The older Steve Hackett gets, it seems, the more industrious he gets, the more intimately he snoggles with the muse. Not only that he seems to be on tour all the time, not only that he is somehow the only relevant administrator of the Genesis music of the 70s. The down-to-earth Englishman, who turns 69 on 12 February, also has enough time to record a new solo work every two years. "I've been resting inside myself for quite some time," says the gifted guitarist right at the beginning of the conversation, "which has a lot to do with my love for my wife [Hackett's third wife Joanna "Jo" Lehmann, with whom he's been married since 2011]. I must take advantage of this wonderful state."
eclipsed: Could it be that oriental influences are playing an ever greater role in your sound, or is the impression deceptive?
Steve Hackett: No, he's not, I can calm you down! (laughs) This has to do mainly with the fact that I am increasingly encountering artists from countries such as Azerbaijan, Mongolia and India. Their work fascinates me and expands my horizon immensely. I can also do a lot with the famous Russian soul in its wonderful melancholic dissension. My wife and I are constantly on the move in oriental countries. The impressions collected there naturally rub off on my work.
eclipsed: What significance does "At The Edge Of Light" have for you in your complete works?
Hackett: When I occasionally listen to older albums of mine, I'm embarrassed by some of the songs, they just sound weak in the meantime. But on the new record I find - at least until now - no flaw. Probably not because the chemistry between all participants was excellent and very inspiring.
eclipsed: The lyrics of the new songs are remarkably strongly concerned with political things.
Hackett: The older I get, the more I understand the meaning of the classical protest song. Our existence is finite. Therefore it is important in the face of the constantly advancing death that every single one of us rebels when something stinks to him, that he does not keep his opinion behind the mountain. We must stand together to fight for elementary things like peace, freedom and humanity. These basic humanistic values are getting worse and worse. That is why we must stop putting our fate in the hands of antisocial politicians.
