Extract of Interview in Barbarian Magazine, Tierra de Lobos, 2002 Spain.

Interviewer: Emilio J. Moreno Atienza

With respect to Ariel?

Whereas Harry Williamson produced my previous 2 CDs, most of Ariel was engineered by / arranged with Brett Taylor, who performed many instruments and scored / directed the strings.

Ariel is a work with a big sound diversity: neoclassical music, minimalist parts and, include, some ‘popies’ melodies. Had you a pre-define structure … or you’ve improvised any parts?

To a degree, structure was pre-defined, but there was improvisation … We recorded ‘The Garden of Live Flowers’ twice, in separate studios with different musicians, then cut up both recordings and reassembled them so Alice moves in and out of each, through doors in a dream.

I think that you’ve musical studies on guitar, voice and piano. Am I right?

Of a rudimentary nature. Technically I am quite primitive.

You’ve contained with some session musicians during recording sessions at Ariel. Could you tell about them?

The quartet Soundwood Strings features violinist George Vi from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. We hired a solo cellist Caerwen Martin, to bow (or as we say, row) in ‘The Seagiant’ and ‘Numb the Wren Tear’. On piano for ‘Salamander’ is Richard Allison. On darabuka for ‘Red Balloon’ is Lindsay Buckland, who released such excellent albums as Beautiful Fig & Getting Karma.

Your label talk that you take your inspiration on literature, poetry, mythology. Is this true? What are your favourite authors? 

Neruda, Cavafy, Vallejo, Montale, de la Mare, Baudelaire, Lorca, Dickenson, Rilke, Calvino, Dunsany, Cervantes, Kafka, Queneau, Shakespeare, de Ayala …

Are you a religious person? Do you believe in God?

As Ficino wrote in the Renaissance: “If you have to choose a god, choose them all”.