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M.I.: Would you like to describe the new Ayreon album with your own words?
Arjen: I tried to make it different this time. "Human Equation" is an album with a very clear story, and very clear vocals and this time I wanted to make an album more difficult with the vocals being more apart of the music and the lyrics more cryptic. "Human Equation" was a very successful album and I couldn't have done it better if I tried to do the same thing again.
M.I.: I don't know about the lyrics, but I think someone can guess the storyline by the many titles. Actually I don't know which list is bigger: the one with the title tracks or the one with the singers!
Arjen: (Laughing) Everything is big again, as usual! Every time I start working I have 5-6 or singers on my mind, but it grows into a monster and I need more emotions and more singers, more parts, so I can't help it!
M.I.: When you write the music do you have a certain voice in your mind?
Arjen: Sometimes I have it and sometimes I first write the music and then I see which singers fits where, I try to divide it and then I write the lyrics for each. I don't look for a certain type of singer when I write my music, otherwise I am limited.
M.I.: How difficult is to get all those singers and make all the arrangements for them and how expensive can this be?
Arjen: Oh, it's both difficult and expensive!
M.I.: So, it's either you are a rich guy or a really nice guy!
Arjen: (Laughing) It doesn't go like this. People know that I sell a lot of albums and I know other people sell a lot of albums. So in this way if we sell a hundred thousand albums we all get a better name. It's one helping another. But if I have the feeling they just do it for the money or if the first thing they ask is how much they are going to get paid I am not going to do it.
M.I.: So you need a more personal feeling for your singers.
Arjen: I need them to like my music. If they don't like my music…I fly them all into my studio, they all come and stand next to me and we are working together to make a great product.
M.I.: Is there any singer you haven't worked with so far and you are trying to?
Arjen: It's all the things I have been listening as a boy: Pink Floyd, Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath. I keep trying with all those musicians but they don't know me. Their roots are different so my music is kind of weird for them. It's not easy to get big names.
M.I.: Who are you trying to find from Pink Floyd?
Arjen: David Gilmour. I interviewed him once for a magazine and I gave him a CD of "Into The Electric Castle" and I asked him to listen to it and he was like "Yeah, sure" and I saw on his face he is not into this music, he is too old for that. If Paul McCartney asked him we would do it, but he wouldn't be there for a nobody like me.
M.I.: Are there any plans for concerts?
Arjen: No, there are 25 guest musician in this album, it's just impossible.
M.I.: Have you ever thought of doing it just one time?
Arjen: Well, to get it all together and rehearsed it would take months and you don't want to spend that much time just to do it one time. And each of those musicians has its own band touring and recording, so it's lucky to get them for one day but nothing more.
M.I.: Is it possible to do it with less singers than the characters?
Arjen: Well, it would be like Jesus Christ Superstar but then you would have to be at the same time Maria, Kaiafas and Pontius Pilatus…
M.I.: …and returning each time on stage with different clothing…
Arjen: (laughing) …or like half clothes…And of course the story is huge. How are you going to put that on stage? It could be done only with "Human Equation" but then you would have to hire actors and have something like a small theatre.
M.I.: So is it one of your dreams or are you familiar with the idea that you never going to play live with Ayreon?
Arjen: Playing live is the best thing there is, watching the fans, playing for the fans. But the travelling, the waiting, the not sleeping are the bad side of it.
M.I.: But you have been on the road for a long time since the Vengeance era.
Arjen: I've been on the road for 25 years and it was great. Partying, chasing girls and having fun, but if I do this anymore it would be really difficult, these days are over.
M.I.: Although you do look younger than your age!
Arjen: Thank you, but if I had been playing live for all those years I would really look older!
M.I.: What about your other projects?
Arjen: Ambeon has been on of my favourite albums and the girl, fourteen years old at the time, she was so good! But, unfortunately she has a lot of personal problems and she is not doing so well.
M.I.: Otherwise she could be a part of Ayreon too.
Arjen: Actually, I asked her to and she wanted to participate, but she said she wasn't ready. Anytime she wants I would be in for it. With Star One the feeling was great. The one month we had together rehearsing was magic, but already after the tour I felt that the excitement was gone. To do it again with the same cast wouldn't get the same excitement, maybe with another cast. But yet again, when you have worked with Russel Allen who is probably the best singer and performer in the word, with who are you going to work after that? I am still trying to find the solution.
M.I.: Can you name some bands as your influences for this record?
Arjen: Of course the old bands like Pink Floyd, but also Rammstein, I love their production and their show, they are German but they try to be American. Lots of other things, Muse, Porcupine Tree and many other prog or pop bands that maybe you have never have heard of. I listen to music every day.
(Here we talked a little bit about Muse and how much we both like them. Arjen characterized Mat's live performance as "scary"!)
M.I.: I also sensed some Genesis influences in the album.
Arjen: That would probably be the old Genesis although their best albums are without Gabriel, some of the best melodies are in there.
M.I.: Is that the kind of music you grew up with?
Arjen: It was mostly the 60's music like Beatles that defined me as a kid. And then all the early progressive shit that happened in 1969 and 1970. In the 80's, although it was the best time, they discovered all those samplers and people didn't know and they overused them.
M.I.: Neglecting the original inspiration?
Arjen: Yes, they took away the feeling. Take Def Leppard for example. In their first record they are a garage band and on the next ones everything sounds programmed through a computer. A lot of people were angry when the whole grunge thing started, but I was like "Yes!" because you could here real bands going for it. That was the same when punk started. All the progsters would say that punk was dead, while I loved punk. I remember going to see Sex Pistols shouting "God save the Queen" and pogoing in the audience, there was emotion. I so much prefer this than all the programmed shit and the things we listen to the radio with all those singers auto-tuned.
M.I.: I really like that you are so much of a music fan. And you can tell that in Ayreon records, there are so many different parts that have influences from different styles and different decades.
Arjen: The moment I lose this, it is the moment when I will stop writing music. If I get stuck in the 70's and then do that kind of stuff then what's the use? If you take Pink Floyd and you combine it with Rammstein people won't recognise it as either, you can create something new. For example there is also a Thin Lizzy part in the new album.
M.I.: But this is like a tribute to the band, it is honest.
Arjen: Yes. I hate the bands doing that and then saying "I don't like them" and then saying that they listen to something trendy. I mean, come on, why would you hide it when it's so obvious?
M.I.: What are you planning to do after this album? Do you have any new ideas coming?
Arjen: Well, I put everything I had in this album. There are some bands that keep stuff for the next album being afraid of maybe they won't think of something until then. But the fans can understand that and once you let them down they drop you. So, I put everything I have in each album, I don't know if the fans will like it, but at least it will have quality and emotion. So, I don't have any idea for now. I usually wait until it comes to me. Although I know I don't want to do another Ayreon album for the next couple of years. I want to do something small, something less bombastic.
M.I.: Can you tell under which name or project will that be?
Arjen: It all depends on how it's turning into.
M.I.: Thank you very much for your time Arjen.
Arjen: Thank you very much too!
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