Dan Bornemark's T-shirt with the "Free Hand" cover motif says it all: The singer, multi-instrumentalist and main composer of Green Asphalt is a huge Gentle Giant fan. This can be heard clearly on his band's self-titled debut album, which nevertheless sounds highly independent and is a found food for all those listeners who like complex prog songs full of playfulness
In an interview with eclipsed, the 57-year-old Swede talks about his soft spot for children's music (he has released several albums for small listeners), his long-standing friendship with the musicians of Gentle Giant and, of course, about the "Green Asphalt" album, whose creation process took 17 years. But as they say, all's well that ends well!
eclipsed: Dan, you come from a very musical family, as both your father Valter and your mother Gullan composed. How old were you when you learned your first instrument?
In the course of their now almost 50-year musical journey, the band Journey, founded in 1973 in San Francisco, not only went through many skins - massive disagreements were not left out either. For example, their current main protagonists, guitarist Neal Schon (the only remaining founding member) and keyboardist Jonathan Cain (architect of the band's mass success in the '80s), are not exactly of one heart and soul. In the interview Cain finds both praising and slightly critical words for the new Journey album "Freedom".
The Tedeschi Trucks Band, one of the few big bands in the history of rock, always liked it big. With their last project, a live homage to the legendary album "Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs" by Derek And The Dominos, the group around guitarist couple Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks already laid it on very thick. With the new mammoth work "I Am The Moon" - a cycle of no less than four separately released albums - the large formation now goes a clear step further.
A poem almost nine hundred years old
The legendary "God of Hellfire" has given himself and his worldwide fan community a perfect musical surprise for his 80th birthday with "Long Long Road". Reason enough to arrange a Zoom meeting with the tireless rock legend.
eclipsed: Mr. Brown, you've been in the music business for almost 60 years. How and where did you start?
It was not easy to get Mariusz Duda on the microphone during the last months. Already during the U.S. tour of Riverside various appointments fell through, another interview appointment failed at the last second because the ship of the "Cruise For The Edge" prog cruise left earlier than planned and sailed into the Internet-free zone. During the subsequent flying visit to South America, a renewed contact with the head of the Polish proggers seemed even more unlikely, so that we reached the 46-year-old only in early June after returning to his home country
Former Porcupine Tree bassist COLIN EDWIN has been involved in various other projects for 25 years. For many Porcupine Tree fans, Colin Edwin was always the smiling man in the background, providing tasteful bass lines and being an indispensable part of the band. On the occasion of the reunion of his ex-colleagues, we would like to take the opportunity to draw attention to the many side projects in which the native Australian was or is involved. On top of that, the 51-year-old also told us what he thinks of the comeback of his three former comrades-in-arms
eclipsed: Twenty-five years ago you started playing in other bands apart from Porcupine Tree. The first was Ex-Wise Heads, which you formed with multi-instrumentalist Geoff Leigh, who was once a member of Henry Cow. How did that come about?
One knows the Berlin School with its representatives Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze & Co., who with their hypnotic style significantly defined electronic music in the seventies. Breidablik have now released "Alduorka", an album that ascribes itself to the Bergen School of Electronic Music. A Norwegian counterpart to the famous Berlin School? Mastermind and keyboardist Morten "Klangmajor" Birkeland Nielsen provides clarity.
eclipsed: How did that start with Breidablik?
Morten Birkeland Nielsen: Breidablik started in 2012 as a one-man project of mine. The debut album "Vinter" was released on cassette in 2017. This led to a contract with Pancromatic Records and three LP releases on the label: "Penumbra" (2017), "Nhoohr" (2019) and "Omicron" (2020). Håkon Oftung joined the band for "Omicron." Meanwhile, we are signed to Apollon Records, which released "Alduorka" in 2022. The line-up was expanded with drummer Trond Gjellum.
