Andy Tillison is a man of an mission! Two years after the release of the amazing “COMM”, and with his progressive sensibilities in full swing, the British composer came up with another mind-blowing album in the form of “Le Sacre Du Travail”. As I am sure you can appreciate, not interviewing the man was simply not an option for us and, credit to Andy, the responses he provided to my humble questionnaire give not only a clear insight onto the mind of this very skilled musician/composer but also make quite an entertaining read.

By Yiannis (John) Stefanis.

Hi Andy. First of all, let me congratulate you on an album well done. I am well aware that it is still early days, as “Le Sacre Du Travail” has only really become available since the 24^th of June, but what has been the reaction thus far?

Andy: It’s been a good start and we’ve had an excellent take up of the CD from our headquarters here in Yorkshire. Our biggest mail-out to date and that’s very pleasing. There’s been a slew of great reviews and so far only two bad ones of which one is a stinker!! So we’re off and running and very happy with such a positive start.

Can I kindly ask you to clarify Theo Travis’ status within the band? Certain sources I have seen describe him as a full-time member while others as a guest musician. What is the case here?

Andy: If Theo is guest he’s stayed a long time! He’s been on every release since 2004! He’s a member of the Tangent on record and he occasionally plays live with us – he has a busy schedule with other artists of course and we would never ask him to risk the chances of good work to just come and play a one off gig with us. I see him as a proper full member of The Tangent and always have.

“Le Sacre Du Travail” finds the band following a musical course described in the album’s press release as “risky and courageous”. Do you share these sentiments? Do you believe that even bands of a progressive orientation, who are ‘forced’ by definition towards innovation, should worry about what they can or cannot do with their music?

Andy: This of course goes back to the old problem of what Progressive Rock is and whether the word “Progressive” is a manifesto . (i.e. the music will be innovative and constantly developing itself among artists in the genre) or whether it’s a description, (the music itself progresses through a number of points, developing as it goes). I far prefer to think of it as the second definition and always have done. Therefore I subscribe to the view that “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys and “Paranoid Android” by Radiohead are both examples of Progressive Rock. Within Progressive Rock is a more specific genre which seems to have become “Prog” as we call it. And Prog has a number of characteristics of its own, and The Tangent tick enough of the requisite boxes to be “in” that category I guess. I see my job now, after having developed over ten years firmly IN that category, as to put my foot tentatively outside the area in bring in some other stuff. Prog itself was formed by bringing stuff together and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t still feel free to do that. But we are not forced to do this, and I DO worry about losing my audience if I try something new – let’s for example say I want to incorporate some Dubstep or performance DJ techniques into the next one – how friendly will our existing fanbase be to that? It’s all a question of exercising care and developing at a pace the audience can cope with. This is our 7^th album. “Relayer” was Yes’ 7^th. Where we go from here is a question I cannot answer.

One of the main focal points of this album are orchestral arrangements that can be found in abundance throughout. Can you please describe the process by which these beautiful suites came to life? How many additional musicians were involved in the creative and recording process?

Andy: The orchestral sections are 80 percent synthesised and the other 20 percent is Theo Travis using flutes, clarinets and soprano saxophones. I use a fairly old orchestral simulator which is simple to use and easy to express myself with – a type of updated Mellotron, and I didn’t try to make a perfect simulation of a symphony orchestra… just make the sounds I wanted to hear. I describe the thing as an ELECTRIC Sinfonia and as a fan of synthesisers and electronic instruments it made sense to use these techniques. There are no extra musicians on the album, just the ones listed on the cover!

Indulging in long compositions is not a new thing for you but in the first half of the album we find two such tracks, one of which exceeds, and one of which almost reaches, the twenty-minute mark. Both these compositions, however, come across as very accessible and audience-friendly. How on earth did you manage to achieve such an impressive result?

Andy: Well that’s a kind observation. At the root of what I am and what I do is the fact that I’m a songwriter. Not a virtuoso musician, just a simple songwriter and a simple song is always at the heart of my music. The complexities I add to these simple songs have been learned from and inspired by everyone from Stravinsky to Van Der Graaf Generator, Tamla Motown to S Club 7. I have studied music independently for a lifetime and as a very young boy realised that the most important things about music to me were the story and the melody. If I have those, I can start work.

Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” has fed the imagination of many bands in the past and traces of such influence can be found in songs like “3^rd Movement: Afternoon Malaise”. Do you agree with my assessment or do you think that this is a sort of ‘curse’ that every dramatic, narrative-style vocal arrangement recorded after 1979 is ‘plagued’ by?

Andy: I don’t like “The Wall”. A rich and successful man moaning about how awful it is being rich and successful does nothing for me (although I totally see it as a valid and rather brave concept.) Undoubtedly my least favourite Floyd album. I do however like “Amused To Death” a great deal and there are more influences of that album than there are from the Wall to be sure. The Wall is of course a benchmark, but as an album I avoid listening to wherever possible I don’t really see it as having much of an impact on this album. “Final Cut” – that’s a different matter.

I found the use of French in “5^th Movement: Evening TV” to be both ftting and tasteful. Having grown up in Greece, French was always considered to be the language of the arts, adding both colour and prestige. Is there a similar reasoning behind your decision to name your eighth studio album the way you did? Can you now even begin to imagine this body of work being presented under a different name?

Andy: I gave it the French name because Stravinsky chose a French name for the piece that inspired mine – even though he was Russian. Languages are beautiful things and I can speak three. French is a big part of my life and who I am and I like to use it. Why should I not? I learned it, after all, just like I learned the piano. It’s another colour in my paintbox. It’s only in England where people call it “pretentious” to use other languages. Most other people in Europe do it all the time. We are 22 miles away from France, yet we treat the place like it’s a different planet.

The limited edition version of the album contains, amongst other extras, a Radio Edit version of the song “Evening TV”. Do you find that this composition is a fitting ‘ambassador’ for “Le Sacre Du Travail”?

Andy: I’m not sure actually now you mention it!!. I think it’s a good track to sell the album – it’s an obvious “Prog Track” and one that made sure our fans realised that this is not just an orchestral suite. Of course, it gives very little indication of the orchestral nature of the album… but I think releasing an orchestral section wouldn’t have caused a sudden interest among Mussorgsky and Prokofiev Fans!! But you posed an interesting point there!!

Another bonus track on offer is the Punk infused, one minute live version of “Hat” which was recorded back in 1979. Looking back at those days and considering how much you have evolved as an artist since then must create an abundance of different emotions, right?

Andy: Yes of course. I was 17 years old when the Sex Pistols landed. I had no great keyboards ability at the time and punk was my first way into playing in a band. I loved the whole vibe of the time, and saw the Clash, Damned, Pistols, Sham 69 and many others in my college years. Dave Greenfield from The Stranglers and Barry Andrews from XTC were my keyboards heroes at the time and they were doing some stuff I COULD play where Emerson & Wakeman were both totally leagues above me. So that’s where I started. I included the “Hat” song because the song is only 1.5 minutes long, but it has the same subject matter – “Working” – as the rest of the album but seen from the point of view of a 19 year old whereas the new stuff is the point of view of a 53 year old. I have come a long way to be sure, but so have many others!

How much time did you spent in the studio working on the album? Are you one of those people who enters this environment fully prepared or are you constantly shifting ideas around even after the ‘record’ button has been pushed?

Andy: The album occupied a great deal of my life for two years. I do not find writing music at all easy. It is very involving, frustrating and tiring for me. I enjoy the process, but it’s slow. For this album it wasn’t a case of “Jamming” or cool riffs, it was an organised process based around the melodies and lyrics and working out which pieces belonged together. It was about building the right emotions in the music with the emotions in the words and making them matter – together. I stopped thinking about “whether it sounds like The Tangent or not” and just got on with writing what it was, not what it was supposed to be.

I appreciate it may be a bit of a cliché question, but if you had the power to make any changes in the album at this moment in time what would these be?

Andy: I think that everything is more or less as I wanted it to be – but that the lyrics don’t make myself 100 percent clear and I had to do a lot of explaining on the album sleeve instead. I’d rather the lyrics were utterly clear in their message. Some people WILL miss out on the overall message as a result of that. A few reviewers who don’t have access to the sleeve notes mis-interpreted my lyrics and I’d like to work harder toward getting that right. But we live and we learn. I have never stopped learning and I doubt I ever will.

Apart from the numerous interviews which I am well aware have been scheduled for you, do you have any other plans for further promoting the album? Are you at all considering making a music video, for instance, or is such a medium not relevant to a band like The Tangent?

Andy: At present I have a number of ideas for further promotions but can’t really say much about them until we have a realistic idea of how much money we would be able to justify spending on such things. Video IS relevant of course, but I am mainly focussed on the music which I believe is a stand-alone subject – I have always far preferred listening to music than watching it on screens.

What are your current touring plans? As we are already half way through festival season, should we expect a full scale tour to begin sometime in the autumn?

Andy: There are currently no touring plans. But…..

How do you plan to recreate all those intelligent orchestral arrangements in a live environment? Will it be solely via pre-recorded samples or will there be any special shows featuring, perhaps, a mini orchestra? Is London part of your touring plans?

Andy: Tum ti tum ti tum!!!

Eight studio albums and various musical collaborations later, what would you say has been left for you to achieve as a musician?

Andy: Er… some form of success would be nice! I’d like some new keyboards as most of mine are clapped out and were cheap, I’ve had to sell all my good stuff just to keep the band going and I haven’t had a proper holiday in 10 years. Not even a week in a cheap hotel by the sea.

Progressive music is currently enjoying a form of renaissance, so to speak. Are there any young bands/artists that you are aware of and who definitely deserve our attention?

Andy: There are. Three spring to mind imnmediately, Beardfish are of course already known to most people in Prog as a brilliant and imaginative band led by one of the most multi-talented people on the scene in decades. I am hyper impressed by Sky Architect, a Dutch band who I was fortunate enough to work with in Belgium one night – and of course my friends and former colleagues Maschine are about to be unleashed on the world, and I promise you very special results. It’s a healthy and invigorating scene and one that promises to provide ME with good music as I become too old to play it myself. As if that will ever happen….

How would you describe Andy Tillison as a person and what would be a typical day for you?

Andy: I am a young spirit trapped in the body of a grumpy old man. I am fragile, over sensitive, committed and frustrated. There is no typical day in my life. Teachers and musicians cannot guarantee typicality. As I am both, I have no idea what to expect from the minute the alarm goes off.

Andy, thank you very much for doing this interview with us. I wish you every success for “Le Sacre Du Travail” and I hope that we get many more good quality albums out of you in the near future. The last words are yours.

Andy: Thank-you for your time in not just interviewing ME, but for the fact that you take interest in an area of music that deserves more attention than it has been given in the past 40 years.

Album review

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DEFENCES Breathe It In (Long Branch Records)

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