![]() When we found that line, it seemed to be such a classic, circular riff, with so much propulsion to it. I was jamming with him in the lower register, and he’d start riffing on my riff then I would move up the neck and he would go somewhere else. That’s how the song got going, out of this furious jam I had with Alex. “Headlong” is interesting the opening main riff is a repeating figure throughout, but in different forms and time signatures. I do that pretty much by ear as opposed to specifically following the harmony. ![]() I’m trying to come up with melodies that work around what’s going on, to add a level of orchestration. On songs like “Headlong Flight” and “Halo Effect,” your bass creates counter-lines to the riffs, vocal and solos. However, being a trio, I do think it’s important that the personality of each of us as individuals is visible, regardless of the kind of part it is. And there are other songs where it’s not about the bass, it’s about the bottom end, so I try to just provide a low end that feels satisfying with the drum part and doesn’t compete with anything else going on around it. There are some songs where the bass wants to be upfront and almost wants to pull away from the track. In general, my bass parts depend on what the song needs and how it comes together. I recorded two bass tracks: the first down low and the second doubled an octave above, to give it that 8-string-bass vibe – but recording them separately allows you to control the tone much better than actually using an 8-string bass. When I put the chorus together, it was very much writing the bass melody and then writing the vocal melody to work around that bass melody. It was one of the more satisfying bass tracks, and it will probably be the most difficult for me to sing and play! The bassline drives the chorus and is an integral part of the song. “The Anarchist” is typical of Rush songs where your bass provides a key melody. Neil had that swingy, shuffly groove in mind when he first heard the demo, and when the song was finished we both couldn’t wait to tackle that feel. The trick, both in recording and mixing, was to retain the spacey, mysterious sounds while keeping the song urgent and somewhat organic. When the lyrics came along, I saw a way to break down what Alex had into several sections and write some melodies over the top, and before long we had created this interesting rock/electronica song. That song began with an experimental instrumental soundscape Alex wrote using technology, resulting in some amazing textures. The title track has an interesting new sound and feel for the band. I write whatever part is going to serve the song best, and when we start rehearsing for the upcoming tour I figure it out and learn to do both at the same time, as well as how to create and trigger sounds I need on the keyboards. Not at all I never worry about it at that point. When you were creating and recording your bass lines, how much did you take into account that you’ll have to sing and play them live? It’s a bit of flying blind, but it’s exciting and encouraged us to explore our own playing. That allowed us to almost get lost in the songs. Even though we record our parts separately, and my parts are mostly worked out, our mindset was to keep that feeling of spontaneity-to feel like our playing was being pushed to the edge, beyond what is safe. With regard to improvisation, we tried to remember the spirit and vibe of the inspirational jamming moments and apply and retain it throughout the recording process. Other songs, like “Caravan,” “BU2B,” “The Wreckers,” and “The Garden” were written to lyrics with the intent of structuring them around the story of the song itself. Some of the longer songs, like “Headlong Flight,” “Seven Cities of Gold,” and even “Carnage” were born out of jams. How much of the music was derived in this improvisational way? You and Alex did a lot of jamming for this record. ![]() So musically and lyrically, they had to be quite clear and independent, yet related to carrying on the single-story theme of the album. Here, we wanted these to be distinct songs that would stand up on their own, whether part of or detached from the story. We were up for attacking a different kind of storyline, but we wanted to be sure not to do it in the same way as in the past, with 2112 and Hemispheres, where the same musical themes ran through most of the songs. We fell in love with the whole steampunk aesthetic it really suited the kind of vibe we’re into. As for the vision, I think we were ready to stretch out a bit and try something fresh. We hadn’t had anything new in three years when we launched the Time Machine tour, but we had at least started writing Clockwork and were able to include two of the songs on that tour. We felt like we needed to have something contemporary when we tour. What set Clockwork Angels in motion, and what was your concept? ![]()
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