Dear readers, we are pleased to offer you in this article an interview with a UK duo with a Progressive Rock sound and a new album out on August 02, 2024. We welcome Jon Bastable and Robert Illesh of the JBRI project.
Hi, how are you?
Jon: “I am fine thanks, hope you are too.“
Robert: “”very good, musn’t grumble.“
You are two multi-instrumentalists, how did your passion for music start?
Jon: “oddly enough I wasn’t interested in music until Punk Rock came along in the late 1970s. Music suddenly became accessible and I wanted to get on stage and do it too. I bought my first bass guitar in 1980 and it kind of went from there to prog within a couple of years playing along to Rush tracks.“
Robert: “listening to Please Please Me by The Beatles on the radio around about the time John Lennon passed. I thought this is exciting, I want a piece! My older sister had a classical guitar; I persuaded her to teach me a few chords and I was off, working out my favourite songs and composing from a very early age.“
You offer a Progressive Rock sound that combines classic and modern, how did your passion for these sounds come about and what are your sources of inspiration?
Jon: “I have been using Cubase to record songs on my computer for over 20 years. The album I always wanted to be my work is ‘Fat of the Land’ by Prodigy because it incorporates dance and rock – I started experimenting with modern sounds in the early 2000s and thought why not do this from a Prog perspective. I really enjoy bands like Ozric Tentacles and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard who both use modern sounds mixed in with more traditional Prog arrangements.“
Robert: “yes, Jon really led on the modern front and has a knack of finding odd but very pleasing sounds and arrangements. I’m a little more old-school in that I like classic guitar sounds, organs, synths and the like; more often drawing on 60s and 70s pop, rock and prog. But my tastes extend to classical (of all eras) and jazz and you can hear these
elements throughout our music.“
Your new album simply entitled ‘JBRI’ was released on August 02, 2024, how would you describe this work?
Jon: “Wierd.“
Robert: “Space Rock to make you smile!“
Several special guests participate in the album, what did they bring to the sounds of the album?
Jon: “I have played with William D Drake (keyboards for Cardiacs and extensive solo stuff) for over 40 years and I really wanted him to play on it as I have played on his albums. He owns a Mellotron which has a unique sound and his playing is like no other I have ever heard. James Larcombe is the only Hurdy-Gurdy player I know so thought why not? Mitch Harwood on drums was a good choice as he played with both me and Robert in the Yes Tribute band ‘Fragile’ and on our 2008 Aquaplanage album – he lives quite close to me so I was able to go over with my mobile recording equipment.“
Robert: “last we have Steve Carney who sings on two tracks – this was icing on the cake
as Steve also was in Fragile and on Aquaplanage.“
Largely instrumental and with few vocal parts, what themes does the album deal with?
Jon: “I will let Robert answer this in more detail, but musically I was inspired by Stephen King’s ‘Dark Tower’ book series and also by a lifelong love of bands like Cardiacs.“
Robert: “In 2023 Jon asked if I wanted to do some ‘space jams’. This was the overarching theme. As we clocked up a couple of tracks I had an idea to re-vitalise some demos intended for Aquaplanage II; make them a bit more spacey. So you’ve got ‘Into the Depth’, ‘Living a Nightmare’ and ‘Lucifer Reveals’ which form a mini-suite ‘The Depth of Self’. This
portrays the classic dark night of the soul. Loss of faith in life, fixation with false idols of success and binge shopping, and eventual coming back to balance. Indeed, this reflects the personal history of some of us! I shall say no more… Musically the suite is unresolved, we haven’t done the coming back to balance bit yet! Maybe next time?“
Progressive music that combines classic and modern, how do you compose the tracks?
Jon: “For my tracks I mainly pick up on a theme and expand it. Other tracks I am inspired by a set of pre-recorded samples and kind of stick them all together and see what happens. ‘Countdown’ is a good example of me producing a basic backing track and Robert transforming it into an epic tune – we tend to stretch each other by saying ‘solo on that bit’ or ‘play a bass line that copies a guitar solo’ or ‘copy the vocal line with a fretless bass’ etc. etc.“
Robert: “so basically, no set rules. We tend to use many different methods to compose and bounce ideas back and forth. For me, having a fully equipped studio is a necessary instrument. Being half-Austrian I sometimes think I’ve got a bit of a Mozart gene for instantly hearing complete arrangements in my head – as such I want to ‘get it all down’ as quick as possible. So I knock up a demo, circulate and the team then make it manifestly better!“
You are a duo and I was wondering if there will be a chance to hear your music live or is this a studio-only project?
Jon: “I have always said that I hope I would never have to play this live but I could if the opportunity arose. Having a full band might prove difficult so there would have to be backing tracks to some extent.“
Robert: “never say never… For now we might sneak some tracks into the gigs we both do with our respective bands – did we say we live 300km apart? Yeah, so geography is a bit of an issue.“
What advice would you give to young artists approaching music with sounds like yours?
Jon: “This kind of thing really can be produced on a shoestring budget if you have the right equipment at home. Don’t be spending thousands of pounds on studio time. Also don’t be afraid to push yourself and if something makes you laugh, keep it in.“
Robert: “but also make sure there is an inherent musicality. Look for opportunities to write killer melodies that people will hum. I might sound like an old git saying that, but if you heavily use samples and grooves, it really does help having some understanding of the rules of music and playing some real instruments. Know the rules, use the rules and then break them.“
England was the cradle of Progressive Rock sounds, how do you see today’s music scene in your country?
Jon: “I try not to dismiss modern music but I really think the last great decade for rock music was the 1990s. There is a vibrant pub band scene around the UK where people want to hear the ‘old’ songs and we both take advantage of that. I am hoping rock does make a comeback or after the greats retire there will be nothing left to replace it.“
Robert: “it is there, but probably a pale shadow of what it was. Up until the 1990s every back street pub had a little band singing their hearts out with original music in every genre. This upped the game and you ultimately got real quality breaking through to the theatre circuits and in records. Venues have been disappearing like wild fire and the places to air new original music are dwindling, in favour of covers bands or tributes. Thankfully young people are still taking up music and platforms like BBC Introducing help unsigned artists get a foot hold.“
Do you have any other activities or artistic passions outside of music?
Jon: “I used to be a very good artist but lost the knack a while back. I specialised in pencil and ink sketches, something I might get back to one day.“
Robert: “I moved to Wales a few years ago and bought a little farm. There is obviously a science to making it productive, but also an art to make it beautiful and encourage wildlife to flourish.“
I thank Jon and Robert for the interview and wish them all the best for the continuation of their artistic careers.”
