{"id":14706,"date":"2021-02-17T20:58:08","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T20:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/skylight.gr\/?p=14706"},"modified":"2021-02-17T21:05:10","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T21:05:10","slug":"eternal-return-the-nomads-of-prog-rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/2021\/02\/17\/eternal-return-the-nomads-of-prog-rock\/","title":{"rendered":"ETERNAL RETURN – The Nomads of Prog Rock"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1. Is Eternal Return a full band or a project and how do you  rehearse during the Covid days?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Godwin(piano, vocals, production): I consider it a full band  that I hope will get to perform live and record a follow up to  \u201cOnce Only\u201d called \u201cOnce Again\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have been collaborating in various combinations during  Covid, using internet collaboration techniques such as sending  tracks and overdubbing on new works together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert J\u00fcrjendal, Electric Guitar: In my opinion it started as a  project but it has a great potential to go further. Unfortunately  no rehearsing \/ performing plans during Covid time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colin Edwin: I am not quite sure of the distinction between  \u201cband\u201d or \u201cproject\u201d, but it\u2019s a full band in as much as everyone  has found their own role and space in the music quite naturally  and with minimal discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No rehearsals at this point, it\u2019s an untested activity with Eternal  Return, the bones of the album were mostly recorded live, in the  moment and with minimal preparation and few overdubs. Usually I do a lot of preparation before getting to a \u201clive in the  studio situation\u201d but this time I let it just happen, as the concept  was to try and create around some basic forms as  sponatnaeously as possible, at least that\u2019s what I was told! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miguel Noya:  Eternal Return for me is a band result of a proposed project. It is started as a kind of new way of transnational collaboration. It is a new step in the Godwin-Noya-Dogon process, The evolution took a few years to this new point. First step opened up the G-N-D process into Europe and the meeting of J\u00fcrjendal in Estonia 2016, with a previous encounter in Berlin, these 2 events on a european tour were for me the first steps on the ladder towards Eternal Return. The project proposed by Godwin in 2019 that for a moment I saw as a solo Godwin Album with guest musicians ended up tied as a Band by means of the Music process at the Berlin Studio. All collaborators were hooked by the enchanting process of free creation within the boundaries of some germs aesthetics ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miguel Toro: at the moment of the recording we where a full  band, that is what that moment needed, a full band. Now the  reality is greater than our expectations and we adapt and survive,  like Joe Strummer said: \u201cthe future is unwritten\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Nomads are the main theme of the new work recorded by the  band, do you feel a nomad?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PG: I am not a nomad at this time. As an American citizen  having lived through the last four years of xenophobic and racist  policies, behaviors and propaganda by our government and  elements in our country, my family and I are constantly  considering the possibility of nomadic choices post-Covid. This  would be intentional digital nomadism, not driven by economic  reasons, but yes, influenced by political forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CE: I\u2019ve always considered travel a very important life activity,  to go somewhere quite different and experience diverse cultures<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and places and to take in as much as possible. Until recently, my  motto was always \u201chave bass will travel\u201d and music offered me  a good way to get around, I hope I can get back to it soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MN:I am a Nomad. I feel and live like a Nomad these days. Defying the risk of the virus I had to embrace sites and countries according to how projects come along. The generic basic Chords and arpeggios for the song came in Madrid and the final scheme of the piano parts were finished in Berlin just a few days before the recording process. It is hard for me to think about a plaee to establish for now since there is a genocide procees in my original home country, so, I had to embrace my European nationality and reach for the whole planet citizenship (which is cool in a way). I am a foreigner or alien in all places that I reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RJ: Mentally, yes..but physically I would like to stay together  more and more with my family<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miguel Toro: I have never really felt from somewhere specific,  since you don\u2019t get to choose the country you are born, I can say  that I feel free being from nowhere while living somewhere. I  always felt I didn\u2019t fit in the country where I was born, so yes,  being a nomad is greater than a birth certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. There’s an ongoing trend among countries to attract digital  nomads (people working from remote) as a type of new tourism.  Have you ever thought of becoming a nomad in other country?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PG: We were excited by Estonia\u2019s announcement of E-Citizen  Progra m and the country\u2019s outspoken character in asking peopleto consider a long-term visit as a digital nomad. We are seriously  considering this program!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CE: I\u2019ll certainly be the first in the queue to get out and about  once the Covid situation subsides, being more mobile and less  tied to the UK was becoming a distinct possibilty for me before  the lockdowns. I am also not being alarmist to say that the UK  has also been hijacked by fanatics, (for anyone unaware just  look up \u201chostile environment\u201d or \u201cWindrush scandal\u201d) so  regular escape will be welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RJ: There is certainly a \u201egood\u201d side of the Covid which teached  musicians how to collaborate in the distance. I personally have  made 4-5 albums in this way and somehow it’s possible. But I  still miss the physical contact with other musicians. There is  nothing which can replace these relations. Maybe I’m too  sentimental, who knows..<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MN: I kind of like to be integrated in places I reach. You have to be involved in projects and work to get to see and know each country. I realized many years ago that tourism is ok, but for me it is an incomplete experience. On the other hand if you go to a country with a work purpose you get to contact people and relate to the place more deeply. The online is just another tool. The body experience is always where the real stuff happens specially when interacting with other bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miguel Toro: I like more the touring life, nomadic and short.  Although you never really get to know a place where you play  because you are there for a limited amount of time, you get to  know people that you click with and maintain contact afterwards. I really enjoy the \u201ctouch and go\u201d reality, I like to be  there present, even if it is for a short amount of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. When and how did you record your new album?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PG:The music was composed in Berlin, only weeks before the  recording sessions. Most of the musicians had not heard more  than a demo or two before coming to the sessions. As producer, I  trusted these musician\u2019s instincts to encourage improvisation in  the recording process. So in fact, the album was recorded mostly  live with very few overdubs. This was done over a three day  period for basic tracks in late September 2019. Three more days  for overdubs a week later. Drums and bass were in a large room  together, guitar and piano in a another room with no visual  connection to bass and drums (use those ears!). Synthesizers  were played in the control room by Miguel Noya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RJ: I enjoyed the recording process, the whole team was in  charge, very friendly and supportive, creative atmosphere. A  good balance between the free improvisation and pre-written  form.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember the feeling of the free improvisation we made with\u00a0 Colin, there was a lot of music around.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CE: The eccentric atmosphere of Berlin\u2019s Famous Gold Watch  Studios, a converted underground space and former munitions  factory, September 2019. A great setting for some impromtu  Urban Exploration between takes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also stayed together in a converted industrial building, which  might have been either an electricity substation or water tower  repurposed as a guest house, a setting which matched the studio  in terms of being both unusual but welcoming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MN: Paul and I shared some ideas before the recording sessions, specifically for Nomad and The Sky. So those two songs had a kind of map of sections and structure to work around. So the other material grew on the spot, and also with previous references of Godwin Dogon like The Triggering Town that came from a previous work called Smellucinations I. I agree totally with Colin  on the subject of the set – setting of the experience, not only on the studio but also on the personnel involved in the whole project. Crazy historical building  with so many memories recorded on the walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miguel Toro: I can only add that I went to visit the studio weeks  before we got there to record and remember saying, \u201cI really  want to get here and record\u201d. Just the atmosphere of the place is  so Berlin 1999 mixed with reminiscences of 1920. This city was  just like that studio before the hordes of techno tourist came here  shouting \u201c aaahhh Berlin is sooo cououououl\u201d, and then the  Russian and British investors came to multiply their gold and  didn\u2019t realise (actually never cared) that the reason why this city  was so special is because THEY where all somewhere else and  not here, destroying New York or London and we could live as  we pleased. I guess it would have been n\u00e4ive to think that the  capital of Germany would stay like that forever\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5. How did you approach this new album from a musical  perspective in terms of orchestration and mixing?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PG: Colin Edwin suggested we consider mixing in London on  Pete Townsend\u2019s boat studio \u201cGrand Cru\u201dwith Jonathon Hucks  engineering. Fortunately they found some time for us within a  few weeks and Miguel Noya and I went ahead to mix. It was quite special hanging on Pete\u2019s boat and in fact at one point I  was inspired to add some vocals to \u201cThe Bottom of the  Pond\u201d (track 5) which had a decidedly Who-like inspiration,  though masked in a huge wash of guitars and drums in a post rock approach. Orchestration was created as the \u201cmuse\u201d pointed  us in the direction that each song would take. If a player heard  an overdub they wanted to add that was encouraged, though  frequently the tracks performed on the basics were the tracks  that made it to the end. We added a muted and then mutated  trumpet by a Syrian trumpet player living in Berlin, Milad  Khawam. In one case on \u201cThe Sky,\u201d we decided to add a 12- string guitar which Robert J\u00fcrjendal sent over the web, he had  already returned to Estonia. No other orchestrations were added  after the sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RJ: Love it, it’s done with a good musical taste. It was really  interesting to hear the differences between original takes vs final  production.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CE: Being a predominantly live in the studio creation, there  were a lot of fast decisions made and also a lot of space for the  indiviuals to shine through. Definately a \u201cless is more\u201d approach  and a sense of direct emotional communication which I feel has come out well. Mixing was handled at Grand Cru, a fantastic  facility in the heart of London, I can\u2019t recommend it enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MN: I loved the fact of playing live with the band and to the band results on the DAW. I did enjoy for the first time playing a live piano part written (nomad) and performing with a band in a studio situation. After many years of electronic and MIDI music some live action was very refreshing. That  applied also to the live synth takes that were mostly 1 take. So this approach of live improvisation and direct playing was an unique experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miguel Toro: I really didn\u2019t approach nothing, the songs  approached me and I had to deal with them the best way I could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. You have a multicultural line up of musicians, how does it  affect the final result of the album?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PG: These musicians were drawn together by their love of  certain kind of sounds and genres – and so actually, though we  are multi-nationals – the musical result transcends borders and  the kind of world music fusions that we have created in other  ensembles with those intentions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RJ: Somehow it’s strange that during these sessions I never  thought about this fact. Maybe because the musical relations  stayed always higher than our cultural backgrounds.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CE: In any team, which is how I think of a band, coming from  such diverse backgrounds is usually a positive in that it will lead to different perspectives coming into the picture, and usually  some unexpected results. Although this was our first meeting  together, I also knew Robert Jurjendal beforehand, as we\u2019d made  an album called \u201cAnother World\u201d together in 2018, so I felt  there would be some initial chemistry we could build on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MN: Dogon (band with Paul Godwin and guests) is originally a transnational art and music project. The difference this time is the live contact with a very special group of musicians. I came from doing a distant collaboration with Robert and our encounter was very special at 2016 Kukemuru Festival in Estonia. Miguel Toro I met in Caracas and also is a close friend. Paul and I had been collaborating since 1981 and Colin was a very warm and special surprise that clicked in. I feel lucky to be active and connected with such an amazing group of creative musicians and human beings. A true multiethnic event. Well define by the name \u201cEternal Return\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miguel Toro: I think meeting Colin and Robert was the highlight  of the situation, Paul I know since a while and Miguel is a friend  that I met when I was just a kid learning from working in art  galleries in that tiny city called Caracas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The baggage of experience of all those cultures makes us play in  a certain way but being very open and listening extra hard  makes us click in a especific moment and that moment was the  recording moment. Our common language helped us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

7<\/strong>. By reading the Press Release of the new album, I came across  the word “progressive.” Do you feel progressive and if yes  which are the elements that define your music as “progressive?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PG: I think that our project adheres to most of the important  definitions of \u201cprogressive rock.\u201d Ideas such as: eschewing  \u201cpop\u201d in favor of instrumentation and compositional techniques  more associated with jazz or classical music. Lyrics that are  poetic, rather than direct or intentionally hooky, etc. Technology  harnassed for new sounds, music approached as \u201cart\u201d and the  studio rather than the stage as the focus of musical activity.  Music for listening rather than dancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RJ: Considering the word \u201eprog\u201d there is something different  going on. You can’t measure this album with any standard tools..  I believe that the music of Eternal Return belongs to our time.  Odd meters and sudden tempo changes are not the most  important things here. But it’s hard to find another category, so  I’m happy with this anyway. In my point of view, this album is  not just separate songs, its one strong whole thing. And I’m sure,  the lyrics are carrying an important part here…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CE: I\u2019d rather leave any sort of classification to journalists, but I  do think the term \u201cprogressive\u201d means that the album might  appeal to the more immersive and adventurous listeners, rather  than the more casual playlist consumers. It\u2019s not a commercial  album but it\u2019s accessible and rewards the patient listener\u2019s  attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MN: I coincide with Colin, also the fact of no boundaries and freedom of choices while playing and performing, along with a refined aesthetics as a goal  extending one’s own vocabulary is a progressive  approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miguel Toro: yes, I think we definitely made progress after that  recording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Do you plan to release the album in both physical\/digital  formats?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CE: Physical CD version is released at the same time as the  digital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PG: It is released in both, as CD and in all digital formats. In  Europe CDs still have currency, in the US less so, but we like  them as \u201ccalling cards\u201d and many press and radio still request a  physical copy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MN: I would like to see also in the old formats of Vinyl and  Cassette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

9. The mid tempo sound and several music elements in your new  album, remind me of the Porcupine Tree band. Was there any  interest from other Porcupine Tree members to participate?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PG: I don\u2019t think so. But let me know if they do!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CE: I hope that your question is a compliment, perhaps the  character of my bass input being such a recognizable element in  Eternal Return and therefore a strong link to my past, but I am  too close to judge that. Athough there is some shared territory  with PTree in the expansive sound scaping and the all  enveloping atmosphere, I can\u2019t hear too much myself and, as  they say in the movies, \u201c..any resemblance is unintentional\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. How do you adjust in the current status of the music  industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PG: While the transition into purely digital and mostly  streaming music created a long period of adjustment, in some  ways that time is ending. I say this because as the transition  completes and we see the massive output of millions of artists  (40,000 new tracks uploaded on Spotify per day!) – what\u2019s left is  the desire to make music with other musicians. This is what  drove us to create Eternal Return – in the end, real musicians  making music in the same space and then seeing where the  music takes them and how to find an audience for it. This will  never change. I\u2019m very grateful to be making music with these  folks in this day and age!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RJ: I hope that the madness with the massive, cheap streaming  will change.. There are a lot of young people who don’t know  anything about the cd discs any more. The vinyl production is  rising but I’m not sure it will replace the cd business, it’s just a  different form of art. There is a need for a new and sustainable  system which supports both live musicians and writers from  different areas.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CE: My own path for sometime now has been a combination of  extreme flexibilty and total stubborn resistance, the music  industry had lost any semblance of sense it might once have had,  and in the live and recorded arena is now an open season of total  exploitation by massive corporate entities who care for nothing  but their own stock price. Making strong connections with the few supportive labels and business people left, and also to an  audience is more important than ever, but increasingly hard to  do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MN: All formats are totally ok. Live music is always the true  path. Music always has the last word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miguel Toro: I think is positive and moving at the moment, 30  years a go it was unthinkable for a band to be independent and  more or less make a living, you had to be under contract with a  major label. Nowadays is very easy to have your own label and make distribution deals and tour and promote (like Newdog  Records) and all that we thank technology (computers and  internet). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some say that the music industry is in crisis, that the business  it\u2019s changing, and since the beginning it has been changing by  introducing ways of preserving it in order to sell it, (8 ch.  Cartdriges, Vinyl, Cassettes, Minidisk, CD, Mp3) and that\u2019s  their problem because to me I hope we get to a point where I  can \u201cbeam\u201d you my song straight to your brain from my brain  \u201cserver\u201d (there is so much unused space in our brains). Since up there is where music happens (in our brain), the format  is really irrelevant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only way to experience real music is still concerts (and will  always be) and that will still be another way of beaming you the  music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good thing is that the MUSIC has never been in crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information: Eternal Return \u2014 NEWdOG (newdogrecords.com)<\/a>
Music: \u25b6\ufe0e Once Only | Eternal Return (bandcamp.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. Is Eternal Return a full band or a project and how do you  rehearse…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11],"tags":[1497,1498,125,51,121],"class_list":["post-14706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faqs","category-most-wanted-interviews","tag-eternal-return","tag-porcupine-tree","tag-prog","tag-progressive-rock","tag-progrock"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14706"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14715,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14706\/revisions\/14715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}