Going
back to the 1970s, guitarist / composer Roine Stolt has time
and again come up with a range of musically inventive projects. 2016
found Roine releasing an album of all new material called Invention
Of Knowledge with YES co-founder and prog visionary
Jon Anderson. As the second half of 2016 unwinds Roine is back
in the music news again with a new studio album from his band Kaipa,
which is now called Kaipa DaCapo, to differentiate it from
the Hans Lundin led Kaipa. Featuring several key members from the
original 1970s Kaipa band, Dårskapens Monotoniwhich
translates to sort of Perpetual Insanityis filled
with the trademark Swedish progressive rock sound that has permeated
Roines works in Kaipa, Flower Kings, Transatlantic and his solo
debut from 1979. Even with the Swedish lyrics dominating the center
stage, the prog-rock energy pours through making it one of the more
dynamic-sounding prog-rock albums of 2016. Commenting on Dårskapens
Monotoni, Roine tells mwe3.com, Kaipa Da Capo features
the original Kaipa members - Ingemar Bergman (drums), Tomas Eriksson
(bass), Roine Stolt (guitar, vocals) and new members Max Lorentz (keyboards,
vocals) and Michael Stolt (vocal, guitars). We all wrote music for
this new album. We had had a plan to make it less of a technical affair
and to focus more on the songs and the feel of the music. There is
a retro vibe going on, no doubt but we did try to be open and put
the music in focus, not just to make the retro thing a gimmick.
Between Invention Of Knowledge and Kaipa DaCapos
Dårskapens Monotoni, 2016 has turned out quite well for
Roine Stolt and his evolutionary prog-rock vision.
mwe3.com presents an interview with
ROINE STOLT
mwe3:
Do you sometimes look back on your career and shake your head at how
amazing its all turned out for you? From your early works in
Kaipa and Flower Kings and then I remember playing your first solo
album Fantasia during that incredible 1979 / 1980 scene.
Roine Stolt: Of course, it is a bit strange to see how things
turned out. When I was 13 and first started playing the bass in a
band I could not even imagine making one record and now Ive
made over 200 ! I could not imagine touring Sweden and I did many
times
not being on radio or TV, not getting awarded numerous
times and not ever play a show outside of Sweden. Now, Ive toured
the world many times, including the USA, Canada, Japan, South and
Central America and Europe.
Also, it was impossible to imagine Id play with people like
Steve Hackett, Jon Anderson, Adrian Belew, Thijs Van Leer
and,
of course, the album I just made with Jon Anderson is like a magic
dream. These guys are all people I looked up to for decades and I
still do. The Fantasia album came about back in 1979 because
I wanted to stretch a bit after being locked into the Kaipa thing
of touring and recording for 5 years straight.
mwe3: Tell us about the new Kaipa album, whats it called
and why did you make the decision to include all Swedish lyrics?
Roine Stolt: The new Kaipa Da Capo album is called Dårskapens
Monotoni, which translates to sort of Perpetual Insanity.
We wanted to sing in Swedish because we used to in the old Kaipa days
but also to distinguish it from some of my other bands that feature
entirely English lyrics
mwe3:
Who is in the current Kaipa band, who wrote the music on the new album
and how is the new Kaipa album different from the other Kaipa albums?
Roine Stolt: Kaipa Da Capo features the original Kaipa members
- Ingemar Bergman (drums), Tomas Eriksson (bass), Roine Stolt (guitar,
vocals) and new members Max Lorentz (keyboards, vocals) and Michael
Stolt (vocal, guitars). We all wrote music for this new album. We
had had a plan to make it less of a technical affair and to focus
more on the songs and the feel of the music. There is a retro vibe
going on, no doubt but we did try to be open and put the music in
focus, not just to make the retro thing a gimmick. We played the music
together in a real studio and also ninety percent on real instruments,
including Hammond organ, grand piano, Rhodes piano, pipe organ, sitar,
harmonium, flute, dobro, lap steel, accordion, saxophone and of course,
all sorts of guitars and bass and drums.
mwe3: How many albums have you made with Kaipa and how has
the bands personnel and sound and vision changed over the years?
Roine
Stolt: We made 3 classic albums in the 1970s and the band
made 2 other albums after I left before caving in and then there was
a big gap of silence. Then the bands keyboardist made a few
albums again under the name of Kaipa but thats another band
that was just hired using studio musicians and not a real live band.
So Kaipa now exist in 2 entirely different versions! But this Kaipa
DaCapo is a living band that actually tours and play music together
in the studio and functions like a democracy, just like in the 70s.
mwe3: How different from Kaipa is Invention Of Knowledge,
your 2016 album with YES founder Jon Anderson? Do both albums
show different sides of your musical personality? I read that you
first worked with Jon in Transatlantic, backing a version of The
Revealing Science Of God. Whose idea was that? Was Jon in California
for the whole time making the Invention Of Knowledge album?
How do you feel about recording in remote locations?
Roine Stolt: It is very different. The music alone of course
With Jon, I write music together as a project. Its very intense
and we try build a fantastic and very professional effort that need
to be able to be compared with all that Jon has done with Yes and
Vangelis. It had a big budget and we were aiming very high.
As with Kaipa Da Capo it is more of a gathering of old friends who
try to do our best to re-create the magic of our 70s albums.
Yes, I worked with Jon on that cruise where we backed him on a few
YES songs including the Topographic Oceans stuff plus And
You And I, Long Distance Runaround and Starship
Trooper. It was fun and from that experience we realized we
could work together, as suggested by my record label boss Thomas Waber.
We started working on Invention Of Knowledge in late 2014 I
think. For the recording we worked by sending files and I developed
Jons ideas over here. He had early versions that he had written
with some friends around the world.
mwe3: It seems so odd that so many people still talk about
Jon Anderson leaving YES and do you feel Invention Of Knowledge
is a much needed shot in the arm for fans for YES fans?
Roine Stolt: Yes, theres been lots of talk after Jon
left Yes, while he was ill. I think many people probably thought that
was it and he was finished with singing with a full band. Then we
played about an hour of YES music together on a boat in the Caribbean,
which was fun and went well. I think the album Invention Of Knowledge
came out at a very good time in our lives for both me and Jon. It
was the album that actually re-affirmed that Jon is as creative as
ever, vital, in good voice and that he was able to help compose and
sing to full band backing. Jon recently said Invention Of Knowledge
is a cornerstone in his career and I was very happy to hear that something
I helped create meant a lot to him.
mwe3: How about your other musical partnerships with Flower
Kings and Transatlantic? Is Transatlantic on the back burner considering
your latest albums with Jon Anderson and Kaipa and how many albums
have you made with Transatlantic?
Roine Stolt: The Flower Kings have been going for a long, long
time with many, many albums so I definitely think its time for
a break. Transatlantic
I really dont know. Not sure when
or if there will be more. I think Mike (Portnoy) probably think it
is his band so its up to him. We made 4 studio albums. Personally,
I think The Whirlwind was a great album, and a happy tour but
Im not sure if it a good idea to just go on unless everyone
commits with heart and soul. I like to do different things, new projects
so at this moment, doing this Kaipa DaCapo album was right even if
it is a low profile project, not aiming at making a lot of money.
Also there are small steps starting work on new songs by Jon and myself
and the possibility of performing shows with the Invention Of Knowledge
material in 2017.
mwe3:
How would you describe the current progressive rock music scene in
Sweden? Which artists and bands are you listening to at the current
time?
Roine Stolt: The music scene is not particularly progressive
but yes there are a few proggy bands. I do not listen much to them
however. I try instead to listen to other music such as fusion, classical,
Indian, pop to inspire me. I just downloaded some David Crosby. I
love his latest work. I went to see Anoushka Shankar play Indian music
the other week. I love Snarky Puppy, Muse and I saw King Crimson a
couple of weeks ago. It was great, U2 likewise.
mwe3: Do you feel musicians are getting the right amount of
support they need in the age of the internet?
Roine Stolt: Well, we all got to eat and pay rent. We need
money so of course we prefer that people pay for our work. We just
hope that enough people are honest enough to buy instead of download
for free.
mwe3: How about working with Steve Hackett on his Wolflight
tour in 2015? That album was so great. What are your thoughts on Hacketts
immense, though sometimes overlooked contributions to progressive
rock and also classical guitar? Do you have a period of Hackett that
you like best and what did you think of the Squackett album?
Roine
Stolt: Working with Hackett was great. Steve and his wife are
wonderful people and we had lots of fun. They are always very kind
and generous. Also having Nad Sylvan in the band was great, hes
great singer and great and fun friend. Playing the old Genesis songs
was great fun. We did 85 shows together. Hackett was a big part of
the Genesis sound and now he is the only one carrying on the real
progressive style. Also he is a very fine nylon guitar player, his
tone is beautiful. I have a few of his classical guitar albums. I
have only heard one or two songs from the Squackettnot enough
to have an opinion.
mwe3: What plans are you prepared to undertake in 2017 as 2016
winds down to an eerie conclusion? Will you be reactivating other
bands and are you prepared to keep the progressive music fires burning
still?
Roine Stolt: I will tour a bit with Kaipa DaCapo at the beginning
of next year, 2017. We just released the album, Dårskapens
Monotoni and I have already started some small steps towards working
on new album together with Jon Anderson. Well see where all
of this goes. Then I will work together with a couple of guys on a
new band project. It's too early to tell now but it is very exciting.
The future looks bright as I see it.
Learn more at :
https://twitter.com/kaipadacapo
www.facebook.com/groups/kaipadacapo/?fref=nf
www.facebook.com/AndersonStolt/?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/TheFlowerKings
https://twitter.com/#!/TheFlowerKings
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