TEE "The Earth Explorer"

TEE is a five piece flute front progressive rock band from Tokyo, Japan. Their so-called 'European' sound is unique considering their far-east origin. The imaginative tunes with complex ensembles and rhythms will definitely catch the attention of prog lovers all over the world. Their sound will remind you bands like Camel, King Crimson, Asia Minor or even Frank Zappa on some parts. The band was formed in 2004 when... more

Kevin BARTLETT

You may not know his name but you have definitely heard his music more than once or twice in your life. Maybe on HBO, or on MTV, or on VH1, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel. Doesn't ring the bell? How about American Idol Rewind, or Dr. 90210? We had interviewed Kevin Bartlett a couple of years ago when his second solo album GLOW IN THE DARK was released. Bartlett has been quiet since that time but but he has been secretly brewing new projects. A few months ago he had put a new song...more

Peter Hammill, founding member of Van Der Graaf Generator, released his 28th solo album " nearly 3 months ago. He recently got back home from a short tour covering North America, Canada and Italy. In the 70's when bands like...more

FRIGHT PIG Barque At The Lune *** REVERSAL OF GRAVITY Scuba Gear ***

Interview with PETER HAMMILL by Hande BURDG

Peter Hammill, founding member of Van Der Graaf Generator, released his 28th solo album "Thin Air" nearly 3 months ago. He recently got back home from a short tour covering North America, Canada and Italy. In the 70's when bands like Genesis, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer were dominating the progressive rock music scene, Van Der Graaf Generator was slowly but surely reaching an underground audience and even walking to a newer ground to be called "punk". Hammill who never cared much for the label "prog" once said: "It began to seem that in order to be in a successful group, you had to have 23 banks of keyboards and a zillion lights and all that sort of thing". We are very glad to have him as our interview guest this month. Hammill's new album can be purchased at: BURNINGSHED.COM as well as AMAZON and RHAPSODY.

TPF: My first question will be about your lyrics. It seems like when you write for VDGG, you tackle issues in a more humorist way as opposed to your solo albums' lyrics. I find the latter to be more intense or confrontational and at the same time personal. Do you agree, and if so what is the reason behind this?

PH: There's certainly a (darkly) humourous element to the VdGG lyrics, particularly the most recent ones. Obviously I have a consciousness of it when I'm writing a VdGG set of words. Although they're still "mine" they also have to be representative of what we all think/feel and so there's an element of Group Mind involved there. Since we're all now 60 and still belting it out onstage and off there's an element of humour there in the basic set-up.

On solo projects, of course, I simply write what comes to me.

TPF: In 2003 you had a near death experience. Has having a heart attack changed your every day life or your thoughts about the purpose (or lack of purpose) of "existence" in general?

PH: It certainly did at first in terms of everyday life. In a positive way generally (cf "Our Eyes give it Shape") But it's surprising how quickly one reverts to the feeling of immortality after such things.

It didn't change my views or lack of them on the possiblity of afterlife or, indeed, on the meaning or lack of same to existence.

TPF: Starting with the cover of the "Thin Air" CD: Its imagery is very foggy and mystical. However the lyrics aren't so; although they appear to be in the first few listens as they deal with topics like "disappearance", "death" or "loss" and how unexpectedly or sometimes predictably (like in the song "If We Must Part Like This") these changes occur in someone's life. Maybe I am wrong, but when I first looked at the cover and then listened to the songs I got the feeling like I was zooming into the picture and starting to notice the details one by one, and I am not just talking about lyrics here but instrumentation as well. In the first listen the instrumentation appears to be very simple but with each listen you notice something else. Is this my own experience, or do you find your work on this album matches my description? What are your opinions on this?

PH: An exhaustive question! Fundemantally, I agree. I did my best to make things appear very, very simple. Behind that front page, though, there are a lot of minor, naggin details, little sonic/vocal disturbances, which are meant to be like things glimpsed out of the corner of the eye.

er, yes, is the short answer.

TPF: When you are asked about the business side of music, like having your own label etc. you often say nobody could under-promote you better than you would, but, with the wide spread of internet and social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook and Twitter (and a zillion other ones that I wasn't able to keep up with), do you think more people are becoming aware of your music, like maybe younger generations, without you even trying?

PH: It's an abiding source of interest and bemusement to me that somehow (younger) people do manage to keep discovering the stuff. And I guess a large part of that (in view of the lack of coverage in the larger media world) must be through friends nudging each other with stuff...

I don't, though, MySpace, Face or Twit myself!

TPF: I read about how you started playing guitar as a teen ager and wrote your first songs, but when did you start to play piano? Do you remember the first song you wrote on piano?

PH: Around the same time, actually. And while my early guitar songs were (very lame) 12 bar blues (!) so were my piano ones, only probably even lamer!

TPF: Going back to "Thin Air", I have read a lot of comments from people comparing the sound of this new album to the sound of "A Black Box", and the comments mostly were: "Peter Hammill rediscovered his experimental side". What are your thoughts on this?

PH: Not just "A Black Box". Some of that "Future Now"/"pH7" aspect too, as well as an influence from the earliest solo efforts.

Not that I was trying to recreate anything - one must always try to go forward, after all - but I was consciously NOT trying to dot every i and cross every t, which is a characteristic, I think, of the more experimental side of my recording work...

TPF: You recently resumed North American leg of your tour with VDGG. Are you planning to come back to the States later in the year as solo?

PH: Not this year. In fact, as of right now neither I (solo) nor the group know where or when the next show will be...

TPF: How much do you use new technology to write songs? For example do you or would you ever write songs on the computer? I know you like effects, but do you use samples etc.?

PH: I've been working with computers for many years now to record and write. But I'm playing instruments into them rather than using them as building blocks per se, And I do use samples. But I hope not to be used by them. Anything which will make a tune work is good for me!

TPF: In one of your interviews you talk about your experimental sound and say you had a limited number of instruments available to you at that time so you had to be extreme with them in order to create new sounds. And you also say that now with the technology there are so many sounds that are available, also the temptation of not to be extreme. Do you think technology perhaps limits a musician in the creative process by offering him/her so many options to choose from?

PH: Absolutely. And it also offers the poisoned chalice of delaying decisions until the last moment. In which case you won't be able to decide on anything. These days I try to take my decisions early and then live with the results.

TPF: The last question is, what is in your CD player these days?

PH: I don't listen to so much music to be honest. But right now it's some Messaien organ stuff, played by the composer himself.

TPF: Thank you very much Peter for answering our questions!

Visit Hammill's website at: http://www.sofasound.com.

Visit Van Der Graaf Generator's website at: http://www.vandergraafgenerator.co.uk.