"Who knows, Spielberg might be listening to your radio show now..."

Dutch maestro Arjen Anthony Lucassen revealed all sorts of intriguing details about the new studio double album by his super-project Ayreon, entitled "01011001", scheduled for release in Europe on January 28 via the label InsideOut and featuring exactly 25 imminent guest musicians, a.o. Ty Tabor (King's X), Ed Warby (Gorefest), Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater), Hansi Kuersch (Blind Guardian), Daniel Gildenow (Pain of Salvation), Tom S. Englund (Evergrey), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia), Jorn Lande (ex-Masterplan, Ark), Anneke van Giersbergen (Agua de Annique, ex-The Gathering), Steve Lee (Gotthard), Bob Catley (Magnum), Simone Simons (Epica), Thomas Bodin (The Flower Kings), Michael Romeo (Symphony X)...

Vassil Varbanov: How long does it take to create such an ambitious and monumental record like "01011001"?

Arjen Lucassen: It took me all in all about one and a half years - maybe half a year to gather ideas, and then a year to record them, get singers, mix it and everything.

V. V.: Is this the average time, or this time you managed to make it faster?

A. L.: Well, I think I'm getting a little bit better. I've got my own studio now and... Yeah, I think I'm getting faster. The other six albums took a little bit longer.

V. V.: Normally the singers in a rock band have the most expressed ego, and you had 17, including yourself! You should be a great manager!

A. L.: Ha-ha, I only had to put up with these guys for one or two days, so that's ok! It gets a lot of work to get all these singers to my studio, but once they're here - even if their egos are huge - we always have a great time.

V. V.: Were all of them in your studio at the same time?

A. L.: Oh, no, that would have been impossible. With so many singers they would have to wait days until their turn, so no - they all come separately. It's like every week a singer comes and they are usually here for like two or three days.

V. V.: Was there any singer that you invited to take part in the album who said no?

A. L.: Yes, always. I was very close to get Ian Gillan from Deep Purple, but unfortunately in the end he couldn't make it. There've also been other singers who said no - I asked Steve Wilson of Porcupine Tree, but it turned out that my music is a little bit too progressive for him. He really liked it, but said, "No, sorry man, it's not my style of music."

V. V.: Yes, it's not exactly the kind of music you could listen to in your car while driving...

A. L.: Yeah, you'd get into a lot of accidents!

V. V.: has anyone offered you to do a movie based on your music?

A. L.: The problem is the stories are huge - they're about the big bang, how the universe came into being, how mankind was created, and the end of mankind... A production like that would cost millions, but of course for me it would be a dream come true. Who knows, Spielberg might be listening to your radio show now... ha-ha-ha!

V. V.: Yeah, you never know... but back to "01011001" now. Watching the list of contributors to the album, is Anneke van Giersbergen (Agua de Annique, ex-The Gathering) the only Dutch artist next to you?

A. L.: Oh, no - there are three female singers who are Dutch. There's Floor Jansen from After Forever, Simone Simons from Epica and Anneke from The Gathering - these are the three Dutch divas.

V. V.: And what do you do with your music live?

A. L.: You can't play this live. Ayreon was never constructed to be a live project. On this new album there are 25 guest musicians and it would be impossible to get them all together on stage. There are no live plans.

V. V.: Which part of this new Ayreon album are you particularly proud of?

A. L.: Ah, that's like asking a father which kid he prefers... You know, these songs are all my newborn babies, so please don't ask me to choose between them.

V. V.: Where do you get the inspiration for them? Do you read books or watch movies or...?

A. L.: I've never read a book in my whole life, but I do watch a lot of science fiction stuff - movies, TV series like "X-Files" and "Star Trek".

V. V.: But you do read e-mail, I guess?

A. L.: Yes, I even answer them, ha-ha! It takes me a couple of hours every day, but I enjoy it, because since I don't play live it's the only contact I have with the fans.

V. V.: What kind of music are you listening to while trying to fall asleep?

A. L.: I can listen to anything to fall asleep as long as it'd good. I can't fall asleep listening to bad music. For example, I can listen to Rammstein and fall asleep.

V. V.: Finally, is there any technological trick you used while recording this album that you're very proud of? Being obsessed by science fiction, you probably dig into technology, right?

A. L.: Well, not that much. Actually that's the concept of the album - is technology good or bad? On one hand it's good, because things get faster and easier, but on the other hand technology is really fast... I mean, I don't understand what I'm doing anymore with computers - it's all so complicated! You know, back in the 70's they used to make great albums as well, so I don't really think that you need all the computers to create great music.

V. V.: The last question is about Tangra Mega Rock's current Band of the Week - Queen...

A. L.: Excellent!

V. V.: Great band, yeah?

A. L.: Well, the first six albums. After that I'm not interested anymore.

V. V.: Because they started using synthesizers and stuff?

A. L.: Yes, ha-ha, you've got it! No, it's just because the first six albums are absolutely brilliant. "Queen II" was one of the best albums ever made - it's very dark and... So is "01011001".

Copyright: Tangra Mega Rock