This will be your first album since the two consecutive releases in 2022 and 2023. How much of you time has been spent working on “Curious Ruminant“?
“Some material was demoed way back in 2007. The long song Drink from the Same Well began its life in 2007 as a demo I made for a live performance with Hariprasad Chaurasia, the Indian classical flautist. That demo harks back to that time. It was never recorded, released, or actually played during the tour we did with Hariprasad in India and Dubai.Ā
It was set aside and forgotten until my son discovered it on an old computer. He was about to erase some old files and asked, “What’s this?” I said, “Oh, that sounds familiar,” because it had a working title. I kept the keyboards from that demo and recorded new flutes, bass guitar, drums, cajĆ³n, electric guitars, and acoustic guitars, turning it into a big, epic Jethro Tull song. I believe itās the third-longest piece Iāve done.Ā
Thick as a Brick is supposedly one long track, and thereās also a long track called Baker Street Muse, which is longer than this slightly edited version of Drink from the Same Well. However, Drink from the Same Well might have been the second-longest track if I hadnāt edited it down and removed some of the repeated sections.Ā
So yes, it dates back to 2007, but most of the workāall the lyrics and the bulk of the musicāwas recorded between May and July. I completed it by the end of July and spent the next month working on the artwork, booklets, photographs, and everything else, once the recording and master mixing were finished.“
The title “Curious Ruminant” ā does that suggest that maybe youāve spent a significant amount of time contemplating this album, ruminating about this album?Ā
“Yes, it does. One of my ecclesiastical friendsānow retired, a canon of Wakefield Cathedralāsent me an email when the title track was released as a video. On the day it came out, he immediately listened to it and emailed me, asking, ‘Curious ruminant, what does that mean? Does it mean nosy cow?’Ā
I replied, ‘Not really.’ It’s ‘curious’ in the sense of having curiosityānot in the sense of being weird or odd, but of wanting to learn something. Once you’ve learned it and registered it, the ‘ruminant’ part comes in. As a noun, a ruminant often refers to a three-toed mammal that chews the cud, regurgitates it, and enjoys a second helping. But it also refers to a contemplative person.Ā
That’s what I try to do every day: to learn something new. I like to go to bed at night thinking, ‘I’m in possession of a little more knowledge than I had yesterday. I learned something today.’ Then, I run through it in my head and think about it. That’s when you start to put things into context with who you are and your life.Ā
So I think these two processes-having curiosity and then reflecting on itāare separate but complementary. Together, they add to what feels like an almost full hard disk.“
The band of David Goodier, John OāHara and Scott Hammond has been augmented with the debut of guitarist Jack Clark and also features former keyboardist Andrew Giddings and drummer James Duncan. Why this particular band line up, Ian?Ā
“Andrew Gooding contributed because we kept his keyboard part from the demo we made way back when. And James stepped in because he was available to work on days when Scott was tied up. All of this took place during a relatively low-pressure period of time.Ā
I had set aside some time last summer to record a new album. Once I started, though, I was working toward a deadline to release it in the early part of this year. The band members werenāt always available; they had their summer holidays planned, other projects they were involved in, or teaching commitments when they werenāt working with me. Three of them teach, so coordinating everyoneās schedule was a bit challenging.Ā
James, however, was available and could drop what he was doing to come over and set up his drums in the studio. We recorded with him, and then Scott eventually found a couple of free days, allowing us to add his parts into the mix as well.Ā
When working with a band, it becomes apparent how much the musical skills and stylistic choices of each member bring to a project. Once they go beyond the basic root notes of an arrangement, they add nuance, flavor, and subtlety to the recording. As a producer and mixing engineer, I enjoy working with those idiosyncratic contributions from individuals. Itās exciting to build upon them, and it results in something unique.Ā
This dynamic always creates a sound thatās different from what youād get if it were just me, one other person, or a group of session musicians strictly playing parts written out for them. Iāve always valued the input from band members over the last, what is it now-56 years or so.“
Youāve talked already about Drink From The Same Well going back to 2007, given that some of the songs are from unfinished demos, is there quite a range of styles on this album?Ā
“Yes, with the additional music that was added, everything developed during the recording process. Since there were no lyrics initially, they were all written fairly quickly towards the end of May or the beginning of June. It was a fast process to get everything into shape.Ā
For me, as a songwriter, the most important thing is the impetus and momentum you build from writing something to completing a master recording. Sometimes, Iāve made very simple demos for the band to learn before we rehearse and record. But often, when I open my mouth to sing, I aim to have a master vocal done within an hour or an hour and a half. I really donāt like to lingerāitās about capturing the moment.
Itās similar to the decisive moment” in photography, as Cartier-Bresson put it. The same principle applies to songwriting and singing. Some of the best songs Iāve written were completed and recorded on the same day, which is always deeply satisfying.Ā
That feeling of immediacy doesnāt mean itās slapdashāitās about harnessing the creative momentum. For the next few days, that energy becomes an unstoppable force, and riding that musical equivalent of a bullet train is incredibly exciting.“
The songs on this album seem to be a bit more personal to you Ian. Was that a deliberate decision, or just the way the songs turned out?Ā Ā
“From the start of working on the lyrics, I deliberately aimed for something more personal. Youāll notice in the lyrics there are far more instances of “I” and “me” pronouns. Normally, Iām a more objective writerāsomething between landscape and portrait in terms of perspectiveāwriting about things that are sometimes real, sometimes imaginary. These could be stereotypes inspired by real-life acquaintances or even people Iāve seen on CNN or BBC News, though not necessarily anyone I know personally.Ā
This album, however, is different. Itās really about meānot in a soul-baring, Alanis Morissette, heart-on-sleeve, “poor me” way, nor in the “woke up this morning” blues tradition. Itās still objective to a degree, but told from a much more personal point of view.Ā
I set out with that intention, to make it lyrically more intimate. At the same time, musically, itās still very much a band album.“
Weāve talked about Drink From The Same Well already, 17 minutes, Interim Sleep, 2 and a half minutes. So, massive range in the duration of the songs. How do you decide that? Is it about the story you have to tell, how much you have to communicate, how do songs end up the duration they are?Ā
“Itās not about running out of steam; itās about creating something that feels more developmental. Itās not a matter of being complicated just for the sake of it. Sometimes, musically, you want to expand on an idea, even if the lyrics themselves donāt necessarily grow to match that scope. When you lay the lyrics out on paperāeven with all the chorus repeats and other sectionsāthey usually take up about the same amount of space in the album booklet. However, the musical material behind them can vary widely in complexity.
Take Interim Sleep, for example. It was originally written as something between prose and poetry, serving as an imaginary comfort to the recently bereaved. Itās written as if Iām advising someone not to mourn too much expressing the idea that, “Iām just somewhere in the next room,” or, “out the window in the stars.” Itās meant to offer comfort, not in a morbid way, but as something uplifting and spiritually warming.Ā
It was never meant to be a long piece. I did try a melodic, sung version, but compared to the spoken-word version, it didnāt work. Iām never afraid to hit the delete button, and once itās gone, itās gone forever. I use whatās called “destructive recording” in the digital domain, which means that when I re-record something on a track, the previous version is completely erased. Thereās no going back, no keeping multiple takes to sift through later.Ā
I really dislike the modern approach of keeping every take and then piecing them together afterward. Some of the band membersāor to be honest, all of themāprefer that method. Theyāll say, “Can we keep that one and do another?” But to me, if you want to do another, it means the first one isnāt good enough. Why keep it? They like to compile bits from various takes, but I find that process painfully boring.Ā
For me, if something isnāt rightāwhether itās timing, tuning, diction, or a technical issueāIād rather just redo it until itās correct. I donāt want to clutter up the hard driveāor my braināwith material that isnāt needed. Thatās how Iāve always worked, dating back to the analog days of recording. On tape, once you recorded over a track, the old take was gone for good. Iāve been working this way for 56 years, and I donāt regret anything Iāve deletedāmainly because I canāt remember what it was anyway.“
Thereās a nice flavour of acoustic folk to this album, which Iām sure will please the fans whoāve been with you for decades. Was that intentional, or again just the way it turned out?Ā
“That was quite intentional. I dug out a mandolin, put some new strings on it, and even bought a little tenor guitarāa four-string guitar tuned like a mandolin. I kept those instruments nearby, and they became the starting point for writing three or four songs. It was a deliberate choice to approach those songs from a different direction.Ā
Even though some of the tracks ended up with full band arrangementsācomplete with drums, bass, and electric guitarsāthey all began with a master mandolin track and master vocals. That initial framework was the part I focused on, much like some of the songs on the Aqualung album back in 1971, which I recorded in the studio when the other guys were either on a tea break or not scheduled to come in that day.Ā
I wouldnāt want to make an entire album that way, but itās nice to approach a few songs with a clear, definitive master recording. From there, other musicians can thoughtfully add to it with some direction from meāfor example, advising what kind of sound to use in certain sections or when to hold back and come in later.“
What are you plans to tour with the album?Ā
“Sadly, the days of touring an album by playing it in full on stage are largely gone. Even back in 1969, after our second album, we already faced the challenge of choosing what to leave out because there was more material than we could fit into a live concert. Over the years, that challenge has only grown. Now, itās impossible to represent the full scope of musical styles and eras weāve worked in, so we have to select examples that hint at the bigger picture.Ā
These days, whether the audience consists of longtime fans, newer converts, or even the grandchildren of the original fans, most people want that broader overview of the repertoire. Theyāre not looking for half the concert to be a complete rendition of a new album. I did that once, back in 2012, but I donāt think itās what people expect now. Some might enjoy it, but we have to assume the majority prefer hearing a mix: a few selections from a new album without overloading the set.Ā
For this year, weāve planned two songs from the new album, starting in April, with the possibility of adding a third depending on how itās received. We also want to include songs from the last two albums (2022 and 2023), along with all the older material going back to 1968. Itās about creating a satisfying bigger picture for the audienceāand for me, too.Ā
For example, weāve included a couple of songs from the first album that havenāt been played in years. Itās interesting to revisit those. Sometimes I find myself thinking about them late at night, hearing them in my head. Even after all this time, they have a kind of earworm quality, and I look forward to performing them againāfor a while, at least. Of course, after months of playing the same songs, the excitement cools, but there are always a few that feel timeless.Ā
Some songs, like Aqualung, Locomotive Breath, and BourrĆ©e, are landmarks. Theyāve stayed in the setlist, not out of obligation but because Iām genuinely proud of them. Over the years, weāve performed them in different arrangementsāsometimes sticking closely to the originals, other times reimagining them entirely. These songs hold a special place for me, and they remain staples of the live show.Ā
Beyond those, thereās a rotating group of tracks that appear in the set every few years, along with others that might surface once every five or ten years. Occasionally, we even dig up songs that have rarely, if ever, been played live. Last year, we performed a couple of tracks that had either never been played live or had only been done briefly when they were first recorded. Thatās always an interesting challengeānot because theyāre impossible to play, but because theyāre tricky and unfamiliar.Ā
With such a vast catalogue, itās hard to make choices. Taking audience requests isnāt feasible either. Modern concerts rely on synced video content, lighting cues, and technology that ties everything together, so last-minute changes disrupt the entire system. Even if the band can play a song, itās not practical for the crew and production team.”
Purchase the new album here: https://jethrotullband.lnk.to/CuriousRuminant-Album
