Interview with Steve
Unruh in the occasion of the release of the
album "Lost and Found" by The Samurai Of Prog
About one year ago, we concluded an
exchange of emails in which you told me about something you were working on,
the “Lost and Found” that is
now reality; could you tell us how you went on creating it? How did you manage to revitalise the old tracks?
We used the old recordings for learning and
reference. We studied them. But when it came time to make our arrangements and
recordings, we started from scratch. Stefan and Tom laid the groundwork, upon
which everything else was built. New click tracks, new everything. I considered
making a medley of the original recordings, to show what the recordings sounded
like and to give the flavor of the original performances. It would have been
revealing and fascinating. But upon hearing how the new recordings flow
together, a medley of existing recordings wouldn't have made sense in the flow
of this album.
Similar operations are usually made by
labels thinking they are dealing with some "cult record". But in your
case, this is not business: it's love for some music that didn't manage to earn
the consideration it deserved when it was first released. Why did you choose to
do it?
It was Marco's idea. To be honest, originally I
had reservations. I wanted to focus on "new" music. But then I heard
these compositions, and I realized how great they could be, and how much we
could make them "our own". Along the way, we've had so much fun with
the original band members, exchanging phone calls and emails, learning about
life in the original bands, seeing the interesting paths the original members
have taken over the past 40 years... this project took on a life of its own,
and I'm so glad I got overruled by Marco and Kimmo, because as events have
unfolded over the past couple of years, this project has become one of my
favorite works - both in the music we made, and the stories we exchanged during
its making.
The guestlist in this record is richer
than it was in your previous work. What can you tell me about them?
Yeah, that guest list is pretty impressive,
isn't it! The roster is comprised of friends we've made over the years, plus
new friends we made because they were associated with the bands Pavlov's Dog,
Lift, Odyssey, Cathedral, and Quill. I think each new TSoP release ups the
ante, in some way, and we're gaining in momentum and reputation. It's a big
honor to get our first choice for guest musicians so much of the time. Some of
these guys are quite busy, you may know, so it's an honor that they joined us -
and turned in such hard-working stellar performances. Nobody "phoned it
in", for sure!
I find “The Demise” particularly striking. Can you explain us what that
suite means?
That should be the subject of an entire
interview with Ken Deloria and Keith Christian! I'll leave it at that. That
rabbit hole is too deep to jump into here.
This is a very rich double CD, but I
imagine you've had to make a selection. Did you exclude tracks that weren't
possible to retrieve?
We selected our favorite pieces - the ones we
thought had a combination of the strongest composition and tended most toward
"Samurai-zation". We aren't interested in being a cover band anymore.
I'd say that personally, I've learned some lessons since our first two albums
in that regard. We chose pieces that allowed us to express our collective
personality the most. So there were a few perfectly good tunes we declined,
simply because we couldn't find "ourselves" in them.
You worked once more with the (very recognisable) Ed Unitsky; can you tell us about your artistic relationship with him?
Ed is a real artist, has a strong artistic
vision, and a hard work ethic. We love having him as our artist, and we all
feel his work on The Imperial Hotel and Lost and Found entertains the eye and
elevates the listener's experience. Actually, it seems like the music even sounds
better when you're looking at Ed's artwork! Ed works like an opinionated member
of the band - just as we're the specialists in the audio department, he's the
specialist in the visual department. If he gets a strong idea in his mind,
he'll fight for it... and we usually realize, later, that Ed was right!
The artwork draws directly from musical and
lyrical themes. We explain to Ed what we're trying to convey musically, and we
send him song lyrics. Ed and his wonderful longtime consultant Olga study that
carefully, and Ed creates the artwork bearing the themes and lyrics in mind.
Are there any news concerning possible
live shows?
As much fun as that would be, there are no plans
at this time. There are too many people living in too many distant parts of the
world. Also, the music is incredibly hard, and it would take loads of practice
with everybody in the same room to get it right. We're all perfectionists, and
we won't do it unless we can do it properly. But we definitely won't say
"never"! It could happen one day.
What's next? An album of new TSOP music or
something like a “Lost and Found” Two?
An album of new TSoP music is next. Guest composers (some returning from The Imperial Hotel) have begun work already, and for a couple of tunes that are the farthest along, Marco and Kimmo have already started recording parts.
One last question... a thought for Stefan Renström.
As you may know, Stefan tragically died shortly after completing work on Lost and Found. That was hard. Stefan loved living, and he was loved by his family, and he was admired by us. We fully expected to keep working with Stefan, because "the stubborn Swede", as he called himself, was a super-talent. His work shines on Lost and Found. Although it's sad and frustrating that we lost our musical brother way too soon, at least he got to wave goodbye with a massive and amazing set of arrangements and performances.
