At the age of 71, Steve Hackett is busier than ever. While his former Genesis companions Collins, Banks and Rutherford want to present their old songs again on the "The Last Domino?" tour soon, their former guitarist (who was not informed about the tour plans) constantly reinvents himself. So Hackett doesn't play it safe on "Surrender Of Silence" either, although there's definitely a risk in this approach, as he admits good-humoredly in the eclipsed interview.
eclipsed: Can a Steve Hackett actually sit quietly and do nothing?
Steve Hackett: I guess not. I've had a very productive period recently with various album releases and my autobiography, that's true.
eclipsed: Where does this motivation to always create something new come from?
Hackett: I think it's important not just to be a living museum, but to keep making new little babies.
eclipsed: A good idea. This is also shown by the fact that "Surrender Of Silence" is our album of the month September.
Hackett: That's great! New music is a lifeblood for me that has fueled me during lockdown. I may not be able to travel right now, which I love. But I can still dream and turn those dreams into songs.
eclipsed: What is "Surrender Of Silence" about?
Hackett: I didn't want to make an album that reflected that Corona period, so it's become more of a social statement about inequality in the world and its ills. Songs like "Fox's Tango" address the question of whether we really want half the world's population living in a prison camp and the other half having the keys to it. "Scorched Earth" addresses the ecological problems on this planet. When I wrote that song, half of Australia was on fire right now. It's been getting worse ever since. Just had the fires in California, our world is going down. I'm very interested in sustainable agriculture or overfishing the oceans. It would take responsible governments, but I fear we have the opposite in many countries. I am more convinced than ever that our species will not survive.
