Dear readers, it is with great pleasure that we offer you an interview with a historic Progressive Rock band, active since the early 1980s. Their new album “Light Up” was released on January 2023 via GEP Records, which we had the pleasure of listening to and reviewing on the pages of our webzine. We welcome Solstice.
First of all thank you for this interview, how are you?
Hi Jacopo, I’m well and really excited to get out and play live with the band again this year,
The history of the band begins in the early 1980s, how has your sound evolved since then?
Well the first album was produced by the great Nigel Mazlyn Jones but, to be honest, it didn’t sound like the band live which is what we’d hoped for. Ever since then I’ve engineered the albums so the sound has been closer to our intentions and has evolved as we’ve improved as musicians and technicians. The most significant change in our sound came when Jess Holland joined in 2020. She brings a fresh style to the vocals that’s inspired us all.
(Andy) Is there any anecdote or detail you would like to remember from the band’s early years, something to tell old and new fans?
You might think it would be from playing a show but actually many of my memories are more about getting to the gigs. Back in the day we toured in an old bus that needed constant repairs to keep it on the road. I was the only guy with some mechanical knowledge so it was always me lying under the bus in the snow trying to fix a fuel line 😁
One daily problem with the bus was that it wouldn’t start on the key… and even if you could spin the starter motor, the engine wouldn’t fire. So our routine was this… park at the top of a hill at night. In the morning we’d take the engine cover off and remove the air filter. One guy would light a rag soaked in diesel and hold it over the air intake, another guy would sit in the driver’s seat ready, the rest of the band would push the bus down the hill. Then we’d all pray we could ‘bump start’ the bus by dropping into gear before we got to the bottom of the hill… no running engine means no air brakes. We were young and stupid 😀
The new album “Light Up,” out January 13, 2023. How would you describe this new work?
For me it’s the natural progression from Sia. Sia was Jess’s first album and her first time fronting a band. Over the last 2 years we’ve played a lot of gigs and she’s grown so much as a singer and a performer. I can hear all that on this album.
The songs, as always, have refined lyrics, what are the themes of the album?
Lyrics are the hardest thing for me and I try not to be too overt about their meanings. I like that people interpret the meanings in their own way. Their understanding is often very different to mine but that’s good, so the music and words will often mean different things to different people.
That said, the songs have pretty much always been about the way we mistreat our beautiful planet or about the behavior of some (most) of our leaders.
Your sound is always very sophisticated, how does the creative process of your tracks take place?
Well thank you. I write and demo the basic songs, lyrics and arrangements. These ideas come either from hearing a piece of music that inspires me or from sitting with my guitar and discovering something that sparks my imagination. The songs always grow from a tiny seed of an idea. Many of these ideas go nowhere and those that do will often take a long time to grow into something more.
Then Jess will come over and we’ll start working together to develop the vocal parts. She’s amazing to work with and full of ideas so has become a real creative partner in forming new music.
The rest of the band work out and create their own parts from these demos. I’ll usually work with Peter in the studio to get his drums down as the foundation for the rest of the band to play over. Sometimes the band will just interpret the ideas in the demos and other times come up with something completely new. So everyone gets to add their own character to make up the music you hear.
Your style mixes different genres of Prog, where would you place this new album?
Tough to say. I guess that’s for others to decide. I’m never writing music with any agenda other than to create something that excites me. Clearly there’s a folk element that comes mainly from Jenny and 70s prog is in my DNA as the music I grew up with.
I love, and have played, many different styles of music over the years so these will all feed into the music I write now. I’m not sure how it should be defined really but, of course, there’s bound to be some prog in there 😁
Your lineup has changed over the years, what have the new band members brought to the sound?
Well, as I mentioned earlier, the most significant change has been Jess. jenny brings the folk. Peter, Robin and Steven bring the groove. Apart from Jess, the rest of us have played together for a long time. This forms a special and precious bond.
Apart from her distinctive voice, Jess has introduced all these beautiful harmonies that characterize the last two albums and led to us expanding the band so we can perform these live. It’s great to have the amazing Ebony Buckle and Jen Sanin with us now.
There’s no doubt that this is the best band I’ve ever played in.
One of your hallmarks are is the ability to create very engaging concerts, do you have plans to bring the new album live?
We’ll be playing most of Light Up at shows this year. It’s such a joy to play with this band. So much fun, they’re all lovely human beings 😁
Over the years Prog music has changed from the sounds of the early 1980s, how do you see the future of the genre?
Well I’d like to see it keep progressing and there are some wonderful young bands coming through like Exploring Birdsong, Azure and Meer. I think the future’s in safe hands.
You have a lot of experience, what advice would you give to young artists who decide to come up with more elaborate music like yours?
Always stay true to whatever music YOU want to make.. Always do it for the love of it, be patient, never give up and never expect to make any money 😁
A curiosity, do you have any other artistic passions outside of music?
Not really, it’s always been music for me.
I got to know and appreciate your band thanks to my father, a lover of Prog sounds, does it mean that your music remains over time, what is the secret of your longevity?
I hope it means that the music has a timeless quality like so much other great music. That you and your father both enjoy Solstice is such a compliment.
I keep doing it because I’m driven to and because I love it. The renewal of the band and peoples interest in the music since Sia is like a gift from the gods. I can hardly believe it after all these years and I intend to enjoy every moment 😁
As usual, I will end with a free question to allow you to talk about any topic of your choice not covered in the previous questions.
I would like to encourage music fans to support young bands however they can. I work with a lot of young musicians and, while our audience will still buy a CD, their fans expect the music for free. There’s no income from streaming and the story about musicians making money from gigs in nonsense. So how will new music thrive? It’s up to us to help. If you can, buy a digital download, become a subscriber, buy a gig ticket. If you can’t then talk about the band, share their social media posts, subscribe to their YouTube channel, tell your friends and family. Shout it from the rooftops! 🙏
Thank you to Solstice for the interview, an honor for our webzine to be able to propose this article. I wish you all the best in the continuation of your musical career and the promotion of the new chapter of your excellent discography.
Thank YOU!
Andy
Read our review of the album “Light Up” here: https://progrockjournal.com/review-solstice-light-up/
Purchase a CD copy here https://gep.co.uk/products/solstice-light-up-cd
