Found this by chance via Google search today:
http://stevenwilsonhq.com/sw/an-update-on-steven-wilsons-remix-work/
So there you have it. There's some things we already knew, like the constant delays on releasing "Roxy Music", "Beat", and "Three of a Perfect Pair", the struggles to find more XTC and Gentle Giant multitrack tapes, and confirmation from Steven directly about remixing "Stand Up" and the reissue of "Aqualung" with no mastering and in the smaller (and less expensive) hard-book format.
The big nugget of this interview however was the brief discussion on remixing "The Seeds of Love" by Tears for Fears. At least now we know why it wasn't released this year, as it took such a long time to just find and assemble all the multitrack tapes so they could begin remixing it, but I'm now more excited about this one than ever before since Steven has just said it's one of his top-10 favorite albums of all time!
Finally, "Tales". I'm still puzzled as to why Steven is so apprehensive about whether the remix of "Tales from Topographic Oceans" will or will not be released, but I'm still hopeful that any barriers towards that happening can be toppled over in 2016 so we can all enjoy it.
Happy New Year, QQ!
http://stevenwilsonhq.com/sw/an-update-on-steven-wilsons-remix-work/
In recent years, Steven has garnered a reputation as one of the world’s top go-to guys to remix classic albums. In an interview last year, Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) described Steven’s approach to remixes this way: “[Steven] has got a lot of sympathetic, natural ways of listening to things to give you a clarity, a little edge, a little definition, but not to fundamentally change either the stereo layout, the positioning of instruments, or to hugely change the sound and the balance of things. He just gives it clarity and polish.”
We caught up with Steven to ask him about his recent remixes and plans for future remixes.
Who knows how you find the time, but you somehow seemed to have stepped up your work on remixing classic albums over the past year. During the past few months alone we’ve had remixed editions of two albums by Steve Hackett, Gentle Giant “Octopus”, XTC “Oranges and Lemons”, Yes “Fragile”, Opeth “Damnation”, and Jethro Tull “Too Old To Rock ’n’ Roll: Too Young to Die”.
Ha, yes, but that’s probably a false impression, because these were done over a very long period of time. It was just coincidence that they were all released almost on top of each other. The Opeth mix was done as long ago as 2009, and the rest were all done at various times over the last 2 years or so. To be honest, I’m probably slowing down a bit if anything, because of my own commitments. My touring plans for 2016 already stretch through to September, on and off. Plus, I’m already thinking about my next album, so I don’t think I’ll have time to do a lot of remixing, particularly as when I do, I always want to give each album the care and attention it deserves. But there are still a few mixes I’ve completed in recent years that haven’t come out yet.
Can you tell us what they are?
Some of them. There’s the first Roxy Music album, which sounds wonderful in 5.1. That was overseen by Phil Manzanera, but initially it got held up when Virgin were sold to Universal, and now I think it’s just taking time to get all the other material together they want to include in the set. I’d love to move on and do more Roxy albums, and Phil is keen. Then there are two more King Crimson mixes, “Beat” and “Three of a Perfect Pair”—again, these were finished a while ago, so I don’t know when they will finally come out, but hopefully in 2016.
Steve Howe of Yes recently mentioned that you were also working on “Tales from Topographic Oceans”?
Steve heard some work-in-progress mixes I was working on in 2013 of that album, including my first attempt at a 5.1 mix, but as things stand, there aren’t any more Yes releases planned. There was talk about me doing “Drama”, an album I really love and that would sound great in 5.1, but not all the members of that line up are keen for the album to be remixed—which is totally understandable—and I wouldn’t want to do something without the band being behind it.
Another one that was pretty much confirmed you were doing is Tears for Fears “Seeds of Love”…
Yes! That has to be the most complicated mix I’ve ever done. It took us about a year just to identify all the right multi-track tapes, but now we are edging towards completion. Roland Orzabal and producer David Bascombe have been involved. What an incredible album it is; probably one of my top 10 ever.
Jethro Tull?
I’m really happy with how that series has developed, respect to Tim Chacksfield at Warners. The next one is actually going to be a reissue of something older, the 40th anniversary “Aqualung” in the now-standard hardback book form, and using my own mastering this time. After that, the plan is to go back and remix the second album “Stand Up”, and I hope at least that one can be done in time to come out late next year. Even if I’m not always involved, I’m pretty sure the series will move forward, the limited deluxe editions have been very well received, and I’m far from being the only guy that can do this work these days. When the series started no one was thinking about deluxe multi-disc editions of some of the less acclaimed albums like “War Child” and “Too Old”, but now here we are.
XTC?
Definitely. It’s just a question of what multitrack tapes can be located next.
Gentle Giant?
Not sure. The one I really felt could have benefitted from a remix was “In a Glass House”, but the multitrack tapes are missing unfortunately.
So there you have it. There's some things we already knew, like the constant delays on releasing "Roxy Music", "Beat", and "Three of a Perfect Pair", the struggles to find more XTC and Gentle Giant multitrack tapes, and confirmation from Steven directly about remixing "Stand Up" and the reissue of "Aqualung" with no mastering and in the smaller (and less expensive) hard-book format.
The big nugget of this interview however was the brief discussion on remixing "The Seeds of Love" by Tears for Fears. At least now we know why it wasn't released this year, as it took such a long time to just find and assemble all the multitrack tapes so they could begin remixing it, but I'm now more excited about this one than ever before since Steven has just said it's one of his top-10 favorite albums of all time!
Finally, "Tales". I'm still puzzled as to why Steven is so apprehensive about whether the remix of "Tales from Topographic Oceans" will or will not be released, but I'm still hopeful that any barriers towards that happening can be toppled over in 2016 so we can all enjoy it.
Happy New Year, QQ!