ON 29TH SEPTEMBER, NOVA CASCADE FORMALLY RELEASE THE NAVIGATOR, A DEEPLY INTIMATE TRIBUTE TO THEIR BANDMATE, ERIC BOUILLETTE. ALL PROCEEDS GO TO PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH.
I AM SO FORTUNATE THAT DAVE HILBORNE, CHARLIE BRAMALD, DAVE FICK, AND COLIN POWELL OF THE BAND PROVIDE ME AND YOU, DEAR READERS, WITH EXCEPTIONAL DETAIL ABOUT THE GESTATION AND REALISATION OF THIS BEAUTIFUL WORK.
So, the last time we spoke about all things Nova Cascade was last year when The Navigator was undergoing its evolution.
Skip forward to 2023, and the full album will be released on 29th September 2023. The album has received a few reviews now ahead of its official release, and they have been extremely enthusiastic, deservedly so. You must all be over the moon.
Dave H
I'm ecstatic! I believed in the material as I was composing, but there’s always that element of doubt & a degree of imposter syndrome that tends to creep in when creating something like this. I also felt an additional emotional pressure because of the pledge that I had made to Eric, that I would transform the early work that he had so selflessly & passionately contributed to, into something beautiful & textured.
Charlie
It’s always wonderful when listeners and reviewers respond in this way. One can never take these things for granted; in this arena you’re competing against so much other content and some frankly excellent releases, so it is a privilege to have an audience that likes what we do. I must admit it does hit differently this time. For one thing, this album had a lengthy gestation period (by design), so we’ve been sitting with a lot of the music for a long time ourselves - particularly our maestro Mr Hilborne. For another, it was a more difficult journey for a lot of reasons which I’m sure we’ll touch upon. So, it’s good to finally have it out there for people to hear.
Dave F
Indeed.
Colin
When I heard the final mixes of the album, I was blown away. So, some very nice reviews were not entirely unexpected…great music is great music, right? I feel so honoured to have been asked to be a part of this!
Before we discuss the music, all proceeds from the sale of this album go to research into pancreatic cancer – my readers can donate at https://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/ Your colleague, Eric Bouillette was taken from us far too early with this extremely nasty and virulent form of cancer. It is about a year now since he passed, and the tributes worldwide must have been a comfort to all of you who knew him so well and worked with him. I think his musical legacy is immense, including on this latest work, and it is that positive we must focus on, do you agree?
Dave H
It's a titanic testament to the popularity and love for this immensely courageous man that tributes continue to emerge to this day. I hope when people receive our CD it will be immediately evident the level of respect we have for Eric.
Charlie
We touched on this the last time we spoke, but I do believe Eric’s work on The Navigator is such a gift. It gives the album its emotional heart; everything he played for it, and everything that followed… Quite honestly, I was something of a blubbering wreck when I received the first of his guitar parts for this album. I knew the significance of it there and then. I’ll always be grateful for the music he made. His creativity gave him so much power and strength. It still does.
Dave F
Of course. Eric was a master musician. His contributions on this album are some of his final recordings. Although his passing was a tragedy, we can only celebrate his life and his love and passion for music.
Colin
I only “met” Eric once - more as part of a group in conversation with him after one of his gigs with The Room. He was indeed instantly likeable though and his love of music shone through him and his playing. He has indeed left his musical mark, and this will indeed live on - immortality through music.
As you said last year, Eric continued to contribute parts on his guitar & violin until the end. I would, though, like here to introduce readers to Colin Powell on guitars and Nino Chikviladze on violin. Could we have some background to both fine musicians and the contributions made to The Navigator?
Dave H
Eric was still sending me parts until 72 hours before he passed away. It was then that I had to make the decision to either proceed with the remainder of the album without him or draft in reinforcements as it were! Colin Powell was my first & only choice for a guitarist. After following his various collaborations, I was confident he not only possessed the technical ability, but also the correct mindset to serve whatever a song may require.
As for Nina that was a far more extensive search. As I completed the writing of the track 'A walk along the canal' I knew immediately I wanted violin. After listening through somewhere in the region of 30 samples I knew Nina was the only candidate who could do justice in Erics place.
Colin
I must admit to being taken aback when Dave approached me, out of the blue, via Facebook Messenger, to become part of Nova Cascade to help complete this album.
I knew of Eric’s hugely talented guitar playing and wondered how I could attempt to fill these rather large shoes, so sadly vacated. However, when Dave sent me the first track, he wanted some guitar adding to, I thoroughly enjoyed doing so and the rest of the band seemed pleased with what I had done, which gave me a lot more confidence. I knew I could not BE Eric - or play exactly like him (who could?) - so, I was just myself, as I am when working with anyone else.
I have been fortunate to work with other musicians on other projects, such as with Doug Woods (we now have 25 albums released since 2015!) and German pianist and composer, Oliver Papke, with whom I am currently working on our fifth album. This background has stood me in good stead for working remotely and adding parts to often quite challenging but also quite epic music, not very dissimilar to that of Nova Cascade in many ways. I think that may be why Dave asked me!
Are both planning to be a permanent part of the project alongside Dave H, Charlie, Dave F, and Lorenzo moving forward?
Dave H
It’s far too early to be thinking ahead for the present time. Making The Navigator has been both immensely rewarding & physically & emotionally taxing. I think we all deserve some time for reflection.
Charlie
We’ve yet to discuss future plans. This work was quite intense for the band, so I suspect we’ll take a well-deserved period of rest and reflection before anything else. That said, I will say that Dave has a habit of attracting wonderful talents to Nova Cascade and Colin and Nino have more than lived up to the tradition with their gorgeous contributions to The Navigator.
I’m looking forward to hearing more from them in future. (Colin is certainly prolific with A Multitude Of One and his collaborations with Doug Woods, and Nino’s YouTube Channel is well worth subscribing to.)
Dave F
I am not sure, but we'd be happy to have them continue on our musical journey.
Colin
I certainly hope so!
I think the key to the music you play, that I write about, and we all listen to is the fact that its intelligence shines. It is not corporate run of the mill rubbish, and in that regard, I can picture some form of Instagram or Twitter campaign for a famous celeb’s passing gathering huge publicity, and a bevy of “talent” gathering for a TV special or tribute album, all selling by the truckload simply by dint of said celebrity. In our world, though, the music itself must pass muster. A band such as Nova Cascade can never release something for the sake of it, merely as a good cause – it really does have to make a musical statement. Please discuss.
Dave H
The idea of 'phoning something in' fills me with dread. After we released BFTB in 2021 I made it clear to my bandmates that whatever we produced next had to exceed that in every possible way. I have my own feelings as to whether we have succeeded but that is for the individual to judge. What I will say is rarely have I felt such a feeling of accomplishment & pride knowing that I honoured my promise.
Charlie
Nova Cascade has marched to the beat of its own drum from the very beginning, whether that drum be programmed or acoustic! I think it’s fair to say our albums have become more ambitious in their creative vision and coherent with their themes with each release, as we have no wish to stagnate, and I know I always want to try and test myself when I take on a project.
The music in this band has always come from an honest place - the arrangements and song selection are so distinctively Hilbornean, and we’ve found a sound that works for us. We’ve learned to do more with our limited resources too, even though we had a little more to work with this time by way of a successful Kickstarter. We have some wonderful, dedicated, and generous supporters who helped us to make the album we wanted to make.
Whatever one’s motivations are for making art, you can’t ever entirely exclude financial considerations. I’m sure many of us who create something hope the work will resonate with an audience of some kind. Usually there are costs to cover, and we often put a lot of time into the creative process. You might want to make enough money to live off the sales, or you might want to invest the proceeds in your next project.
With The Navigator, we had something to say, and we were spurred on to give our friend the best tribute we could, which is certainly motivational enough. We weren’t bound by a commercial pressure other than ensuring the Kickstarter pledges and pre-orders were fulfilled. All the personal profits Nova Cascade makes from the album are being donated to Pancreatic Cancer UK on this occasion too. Even then, you must market your work to ensure there are actually some profits to donate.
It’s an extremely complicated question you pose. I personally like plenty of music that enjoys commercial success to varying degrees, and I do believe music has an amazing power to unite people for experiences and good causes… perhaps our view is sometimes coloured by the excesses of millionaire artists and colossal executive profits, and of course we won’t always find the same joy as others do in some music released with a wider audience in mind. The hypothetical example of a charity single with celebrity attached to it is interesting. There are examples of successful songs that were released for charity, and while we obviously can’t speak to how the money raised was distributed across the board, I do like to think the proceeds were used correctly and in any case that wider awareness was raised for worthy causes. Let’s think of those grand fundraising concerts that presumably turn massive profits. Do already-successful artists who contribute to such an event deserve to be paid for their time and for putting bums on seats? What about the stage and sound crews, or the people behind the scenes who put their efforts into promoting the event? There are massive issues with the music industry, very obviously… but I would also be happy if we could raise even more money and awareness for our chosen charity. Realistically, The Navigator isn’t that kind of product so it’s easier to pose that it is art for art’s sake.
Take away the charity angle and ask me whether I’d like to make a living from music (instead of my day job) and my answer would always be yes (and sorry to my boss if he reads this, but it’s true!).
That question itself isn’t going to change the kind of projects I choose to take on… It’s a position of privilege that I get to make music and don’t have to rely on it to put food on the table. I’m proud of what I create and grateful for all the opportunities I am given to work with wonderful musicians whose material I enjoy so much. I find it satisfying when a CD sells or when I read a good review. I don’t think it’s an inherently bad thing to want to be paid for one’s art or to aim to reach larger audiences. I hope those who do find success with their music still find what they’re producing to be personally fulfilling.
Interviewer note – Charlie’s detailed response here has to be the standard for everything this website and its readers stand for. It ought to be framed and used as a standard teaching tool for all young creative people.
Dave F
We tried to create something as meaningful as we could. This hits home for us, and we tried to put that into the music. The depth, loss, emptiness, reality, heartbreak and moving onward into the future we all must endure in a time like this. Our attempt to put our feelings/emotions into song. This album is surely the most meaningful original project I've ever been involved with.
Colin
From my viewpoint, not being as close to Eric as Dave and Charlie, the sheer love that these guys (and other people who worked directly with Eric) had for him and the devastation of his loss is palpable so nothing but the best we could possibly do would suffice to be a fitting tribute to the Lion.
Far from seeking celebrity status or jumping on the bandwagon, the music Dave has written and that the band has performed is truly from the heart. To be able to make donations to Pancreatic Cancer Research through such an enjoyable endeavour is icing on the cake!
The cover is stunning, a work of beauty. Another Charlie Bramald production?
Charlie
Thank you!
I can credit Dave for asking for a balloon bearing the colours of the “tricolour” to be the cover. Could it have been anything else, really?
I wanted our Navigator to explore an unearthly realm of colour and light. There’s something joyful in that colour palette and I wanted it to pop, but I also find it quite a peaceful image with the sea and of course the Navigator’s chosen mode of transport.
I am pleased Eric got to see the cover.
Dave F
Indeed. Charlie has a wonderful taste for art. He always out does himself.
We travel through life. I truly believe that we travel through death. We learn. We develop. We hopefully mature. These are the overarching themes I take from the album, but over to you, please, to discuss in a bit more detail.
Dave H
If you put aside the opening track Sleeping Dogs, the entire running order is dedicated to that of a life in a single day or more precisely that of a life reaching its end and whatever lay beyond.
I should stress though that it’s not intended by any stretch of the imagination to be downbeat. Many of the tracks are very uplifting and full of vigour that all of us have no matter what stage of life we find ourselves at. Undoubtedly the last few months of Eric’s were immensely difficult, but there were moments of levity & laughter.
I wanted to capture that as well as the stark realities that we all face at the end of life. We are after all, each of us 'Any Minute Now’. As difficult as it was to approach some of these themes it was also immensely cathartic.
Charlie
I’m aware that I will project my own meanings onto art based on my experiences, and I can find some sort of catharsis in that - God knows I’ve latched onto lyrics or a particular instrumental passage that I felt resonated with whatever I was going through at a given time. It may or may not be close to what the artist was thinking when they wrote it… but one’s own interpretation and response to something is still valid! I think the context of The Navigator, how and when it was written and performed inevitably shaped its meaning to us as well as shaping the content, and I suspect many listeners will be able to pick up on that based on how the work is presented. And so, your response to it is quite similar to what I would expect and hope for.
Personally, I can hear moments of simmering anger, defiance, sadness, acceptance, and peace on this record. There are so many emotions and experiences we must process as we go through life, and by dealing with them we can hopefully learn and grow and equip ourselves better to deal with whatever comes next… even though there will always be hardships and sometimes we will have to dig deep to find a way through. However, the thing I hear most is beauty and joy. Life can be cruel but there is still so much joy to be found in the world around us, the people we meet, and the experiences we share.
A sense of joy is the thing that struck me most about talking to Eric, even when he was very ill, and so perhaps that is why I project feelings of joy onto the album.
Dave F
Also, the transition from life to death. How we deal with the loss and to overcome such things. Understanding the unknown will confound us all until our own eventual end. Enjoy life while we're still here. It could be over in the blinking of an eye.
Colin
When I listen to this music and look at the titles of the album and the tracks, I think they illustrate the fact that we are all Navigators, as we travel through this life on our various paths. Some of us have an easier path than others but we share many of our experiences in common:
The simple pleasures, such as a “Walk Along the Canal”, or darker experiences such as a “Fever Dream” or events that leave us with a huge void in our heart that we think may never be repaired “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie”, or, sometimes, the feeling that we are becoming “Submerged” or drowning with all that is on our plate.
None of us know the moment when our journey in this life will end and we return to our “Safe Haven” to become “Weightless” - it could be “Any Minute Now”. However, while we wait and reflect in that space, “Somewhere Between Here and Now”, we can be proud of what we have managed to achieve in this life, as a “Noble Lion” is proud, until we are ready to make the “Night Crossing” - perhaps to return, so we say “Au Revoir” rather than Goodbye.
So, on the album, we get a choir. I think these voices add a rich texture to the layers of music. Who are they, please? How did you find working with them? Where was their contribution recorded, please? (in this regard, I am assuming this was from a band perspective another home recorded album?).
Dave H
Fortunately, we live in this wonderful era where just about anything is one click away! The choir are based in Chile. All of whom are accomplished performers in their own right. The performances were captured remotely of course. The addition of real voices adds so much weight to the more emotionally driven songs.
Charlie
I assume Dave’s covered the question sufficiently, but I will add that when he told me he was enlisting a bloomin’ choir, I couldn’t even be that surprised at his machinations anymore. There’s a reason I call him the “Mad Professor” ... It really popped when I heard the track. Thanks go to our Kickstarter contributors who helped to make this possible.
Further to this, I would like you all, please, to go into some detail about the process of writing, playing, recording, and finally producing an album such as The Navigator. Thus, a summary of two ends of a long string, with the fascinating, and no doubt at times harrowing, middle bits!
Dave H
All of our albums begin the same way. I undertake a lengthy period of writing until we have accumulated enough to consider a fully-fledged release. For The Navigator I decided to go much further with the writing process. I found myself in the fortunate position of being able to cherry pick from a vast collection of ideas. When it comes to recording, I enjoy giving my bandmates as much freedom as possible. My only directive is that they serve the song. Often the most thrilling moments emerge that way.
Charlie
My involvement usually comes quite late in the process - for practical reasons mainly, as we prefer to record my flute parts last to make the “mixing on the fly” aspect a little easier. Yes, we’re as homespun as ever, and I don’t know that I’d have it any other way at this point. So yeah, I was recording my parts in June and July once everyone else’s parts were laid down and around my touring commitments.
I’d been hearing fragments of songs evolving right from day one, so I did have a good idea of where I wanted to contribute. As it’s an instrument with such a specific timbre, I’m reluctant to overuse the flute on these records, and with so many strong guitar and violin leads on The Navigator already I don’t want to be fighting against those. I enjoy figuring out where I might be able to add something to the atmosphere or make someone else’s melody line pop a little more, but with such an incidental instrument, less can be more.
There are times where it just doesn’t work. We thought it’d be good to have a go at adding something to the middle section of The Noble Lion. It’s quite sparse by design, and in those quiet moments of a Nova Cascade song the flute often comes to mind… but when I attempted to write a part for it, I found all I was doing was taking away the reflective beauty of that section. You have those synth pads and subtle guitar parts in a delicate balance atop a lovely foundation of interesting bass notes. Everything I tried detracted from the power of Colin’s harmony lines once they arrived. In the end I recused myself from this song, and it’s better for it.
On the other hand, I ended up playing way, way, way more on the title track than I’d set out to do. Sometimes it just works out like that!
The other three tracks I appear on this time were recorded surprisingly quickly, with a mix of textural ideas, reinforcements of key motifs, and having a bit of fun with some melodic lines. I particularly enjoyed working on Safe Haven. It was a later addition to the track listing, so I didn’t know where I wanted to go with it when I started. Dave F’s delightful waltzing bassline had me bouncing while I was playing about with it. It went from there as a more spontaneous contribution.
I always hope to add parts that are in service of the song. Dave H gives us a lot of freedom with our own parts, but he’s there to guide us if we need it, and in these processes, especially working alone in a home studio, you do need someone on hand who has that editorial ear.
We gave ourselves a much longer timescale to complete this album than on previous occasions, and on reflection it feels like it was time well spent in every area.
Dave F
Two words, file sharing. Mr. Hilborne starts off and after that we all get a file to work on. Any specifics on who gets what first and in which order he would have to answer.
Colin
I find I am at my most creative (sometimes almost instantaneously!) when I listen to a track, I have been sent to add something to. I can often “hear” what I want to add before I play a note and then I must figure out how to achieve that (not always easy!). Other times I will pick up my guitar during the first listen and attempt to play along. Often what I play becomes the core of what I end up with. I like to feel the music and what the message is that it is trying to convey.
Great music helps make this process easier and I thank Dave for that! On this album, I mainly played guitar but also some keyboards and I added the end section to Let Sleeping Dogs Lie because I felt it could be a bit longer…and I needed more space for my ethereal guitar! I was particularly pleased to be able to “duet” with Eric’s violin by playing a modelled cello sound on “The Fever Dream”.
I would like to discuss the title track, please. In my review, I referred to the overarching collaborative feel to this piece – to clarify, that does not mean that the other pieces on the album are individualistic, but on this especially I get a real sense of a band comfortable in its skin, extremely happy working with each other, with musical ideas and performances bouncing off each other. Over to you all to expand on this, please.
Dave H
The underlying skeleton of the title track was arranged by me. Gradually over time other parts are added, discussions are held with various contributor before further additions are made. It’s an extremely organic process. At the beginning of every track there is never any sense of moulding it one way or another. When it feels completed, it generally is!
Charlie
There’s always one track on a Nova Cascade album that stands out to me as the most ambitious in terms of arrangement, and in my view that’s the title track. When I listen to it, it takes me to so many places - emotional highs and lows - and the main motif that recurs in the track (and at the end of the album) is one of my favourites. Dave H and Eric played so well off each other’s ideas as this piece developed, it was amazing to hear it all coming together from one email to the next. Colin was able to push the orchestration even further and has been such a great addition to the band, and Dave F produced some of his finest bass parts to date on this song (frankly, his sound and style across the whole album is immense).
In terms of my own contribution, this was probably the most challenging song for me in the Nova Cascade pantheon. It’s one of Dave’s most devilish arrangements, and the Mad Professor never plays straight chords as it is! I also had Eric’s immense melody lines roaring in my ears throughout, and it’s easy to get stuck thinking, “how can I add anything to THAT?”. I’m not the most experienced musician or writer, and one can occasionally get stuck in these thoughts. I’m certain that some fellow creatives reading this will recognise it. Perhaps I was putting extra pressure on myself because of the context that surrounds this album and wanting my parts to live up to the expectations I’d placed on them as a result.
There were a few times where I was overthinking or overplaying on this track, and I’d have to leave it and come back to it later or get some feedback from Dave. I do know my role in this band, and I’d find that with a clearer head it would take shape more easily. It was worth digging deep.
Dave F
Most of us have been working together for five or six years now. I think we've found our groove in many ways and our new additions for Nova Cascade have been quite complimentary. Personally, I just try to play what the song calls for.
Colin
I did not need to add much to this track, as it already had Eric’s guitar contributions, and it sounded perfect as it was, so I just added the sound of the “balloon whooping through the air” and some ethereal distant guitar. I think one of the reasons it sounds like a “band comfortable in its skin” is that it is mainly the original members of Nova Cascade rather than the newcomers!
When I listen to this, the album cover fits perfectly, in that when I close my eyes and listen to it, I can visualise myself in a balloon, or crossing an ocean in a sailing boat, or as a passenger or pilot of a spaceship, in other words journeying or plotting a course in the manner in which humanity has done since the dawn of civilisation and will hopefully continue to carry on doing unless we end up destroying ourselves first, of course. This strikes me as being a decent summary of the album’s overarching theme?
Dave H
Indeed. We are all uniquely travelling either mentally or physically. Even stationary, changes continue to occur, evolve and define who we are, and who we become.
Charlie
I hadn’t considered the obliteration of humanity! Hah. I hope there are many more journeys to come.
As I listen to it, the album takes me to so many different places… it’s a bit like being guided by the wind rather than plotting a specific destination… Setting out on an adventure but you don’t know exactly where you’re going. Life is like that, isn’t it? You think of all those small encounters that have completely changed the course of your life for years to come thereafter. The people in my life have shaped me more than my own plans have. That’s why I love the image of the balloon so much - it has a purpose in setting out over the vast expanse, but there’s a willingness to simply see where it’s going to land next.
Dave F
I believe so. Part of the journey is the end. Who is your Navigator and where are you going after this is what I feel from listening to this album. A ride to the other side.
Colin
I agree that cover art fits the overall theme very well. It harks back to one of my previous answers. A balloon is a perfect metaphor for our journey through life - it can be smooth sailing or can be buffeted by unexpected storms or even wrecked and come crashing down either because it needs repair - or because its journey is over.
Sleeping Dogs – should we let them lie? You referred to this track in our last interview as making peace with past events. From a personal perspective, I agree with the sentiments here, in that forever dwelling on past upsets or slights can tilt the balance between us in peace or forever at war with oneself. The band’s thoughts on this would be very welcome, please.
Dave H
Sleeping Dogs is the only track on the album that stands alone thematically. I wanted a strong opener and with the striking choral introduction this seemed perfect.
Topically it’s about feeling broken & at the end of one’s tether. Some of us simply are far beyond repair, so it’s a case of playing the cards which we have and making a fist of it. A little sombre & bleak perhaps but I believe the beauty of the arrangement offsets that somewhat.
Charlie
The album starts in such a dark and brooding place doesn’t it! The arpeggiation on the track and the snarling violin really prickles the skin for me, and it reminds me of how my body feels when I dwell on unresolved wrongs. Dave’s vocals are otherworldly… and the lyrics are a stark reckoning with the past. Grudges can be a poison. We can’t change the past… let us try to make our peace with it, either through conflict resolution or through acceptance and moving on. Obviously, it’s easier said than done. Change is never easy, confrontation is never easy, and we can end up harbouring ill-feelings for a longer time than we should as a result.
Dave F
The past can haunt us and cause us to live in hell. Sometimes it is best to let sleeping dogs lie.
Colin
I also agree. We can’t deny that such things happen, and we shouldn’t try to find someone or something to blame. We should take as much time as we need to acknowledge what has happened and express how we feel about it, but then move on and look towards a future with new, hopefully more positive, experiences.
The time passing and taken before our time themes of this track are repeated in Somewhere Between Here & Now, the penultimate song. I remarked that the music here was not a purgatory (in the religious sense) but a timeless journey to something wonderful – a perfect way to remember Eric not with sadness, but with hope and certainty that he is now there and with the final track, you simply say Au Revoir – goodbye, until we meet again.
Dave H
It was very important to me that there be a moment on the album solely for Eric to say his farewells in the best possible way. This intention was never spoken explicitly between us but silently we both acknowledged that’s what it was. The piece itself reoccurs throughout the album hopefully giving some form of thematic glue holding it together.
Charlie
I was happy reading your remarks here after writing about beauty, peace and joy in one of my earlier answers. Yes, it really does feel like a transcendental moment of the album - one I enjoyed solely as a listener. Au Revoir feels like a perfect coda to the album, and it is fitting that it is Eric who gets that moment to himself.
Dave F
Yes, well Mr. Hilborne sent me these files while in a voice chat and I said that it sounded like he was saying goodbye. Then of course I suggested it should be the final song on the album as if it was Eric's goodbye. The title of the track was Mr. Hilborne’s idea. A perfect fit. A proper ending for this album.
Colin
Yes!
On The Fever Dream, I referred to a 1980’s style drum machine. Lorenzo, please tell us about your contribution on this track, please. Your thoughts, approach to the music, and how you decided how it should be interpreted behind the kit.
Dave H
I’m flattered that you thought it was Lorenzo performing here. It is actually me utilising drum pads & a good deal of what you don't see can't hurt you!
For the band as a whole, the eastern vibe is so palpable on that track. It has everything. Rich programming, a gorgeous electric guitar solo and some intricate acoustic work, Charlie’s lush and playful flute, the violin singing to us in tongues which are beguiling, simple yet powerful piano towards the close. In effect, what we have here is a pastoral mini-symphony, and it stands up very strongly against much of the modern classical & folk music which one would hear on, say, Radio 3 or Radio 6 Music. I have already asked about the recording process. I would now like to ask you about the promotional aspect of such an album, because there is no way this album can possibly be pigeonholed into simple “progressive rock” (especially my personal pet hate, sub-genres such as the somewhat meaningless “crossover prog” or “neo-prog”) or “ambient music” (we touched on this in our earlier interview). I referred to Oldfield in my review of the album, and, as with his music, I think Nova Cascade should break through those old-fashioned musical boundaries and appeal to a wide range of intelligent music lovers, prog to rock to folk to classical to ambient. How do you promote such an album to as wide an audience as possible?
Dave H
In all honesty promotion is by far the biggest hurdle in attempting to market an album like The Navigator. Labels are so triggering for many & often the difference between a purchase or a pass.
We have ourselves described what we do as ambient prog, but I think even that for this offering is only scratching the surface. I'm always intrigued as to what others will perceive us as.
Charlie
I wish I had the answer to that. Genres can be both a helpful discovery tool and a kind of millstone, and I’m probably not going to add anything new or insightful to that discussion. We have tried to tap into the progressive music audience - many Nova Cascade members tend to gravitate toward that place in our personal tastes anyway - and there is sonically enough overlap in what we’ve produced to appeal to some of that crowd. Some of us are in multiple projects in the prog world too, and this does help to share the audience a little. There are some very warm and welcoming communities online that enjoy what we do - on Facebook, and on the various radio stations that focus on progressive music or smaller independent releases, for example.
Okay, so we know Nova Cascade’s sound could be considered something of a niche within a niche (I’ll avoid picking a sub-genre!), and there is a broader issue in my mind that what we think of as “progressive music” isn’t really reaching a newer audience. We can rail against the so-called “tastemakers” and the way music is marketed and consumed now, but I don’t think that’s proving especially helpful either.
In a world with more music to discover than ever, how do we make ours into a welcoming prospect? Well, I think we just must keep making the positive case for the different types of music we and our fellow artists are making. We won’t be preaching to just the choir if we amplify each other and hopefully new ears will find us.
Dave F
Just trying to spread the music through social media, reviews, word of mouth and interviews such as this. Being an independent band gives us many obstacles to overcome. Promoting our music being the biggest hurdle is rather challenging to say the least.
Colin
Although Nova Cascade are often pigeon-holed into the “Prog” or “Ambient Prog” genres, as you said, the music pushes out beyond those boundaries. But because the band is mainly known in “prog” circles that is where most of the promotion is targeted. Reaching a new audience that isn’t into that old mellotron-laden 20-minute epic solo and music full of odd time signatures and virtuoso playing is not easy!
People like what they like and “different” is not always easily accepted. However, as shown in the recent video premiere listening party on The Sound Test Room YouTube channel, the music seems to strike a chord with many of the regular visitors to that channel (which is incidentally run by Doug Woods, one of my other musical partners!). That channel is mainly known for reviews of iPad music apps and accessories and the occasional music night, usually consisting of music made mainly on iPads, which can be experimental noise-scapes, blues, jazz, ambient or electronic dance music - so a wide range of music and people who watch it.
Doug has 64,000 subscribers so the potential audience for our music there is huge - although, of course not everyone will watch the Nova Cascade video! I also sent the album to one of my radio contacts in Cyprus, who runs One World Music Radio. They have shows covering many different genres, including Prog, and have been very supportive of my music (which also covers many genres!). So, I think getting it out to more non-Prog outlets/audiences is important.
To close, thank you so much for revisiting this website with your time and thoughts. I am interested in hearing all your thoughts and plans for music going forward, either Nova Cascade or other projects.
Dave H
For this I must refer to my earlier answer. Some quality time for reflection & relaxation is in order for now...but as we have said from the very beginning our aim has always been to innovate & surprise..so watch this space!?
Charlie
Well, I already touched upon the fact that there are no immediate plans for Nova Cascade other than focusing on the release of The Navigator and spreading the word as best as we can. That’s generally been the case with Nova Cascade releases over the years anyway - for now, we’ll hope people will enjoy their CDs and downloads, and I’m pleased to see Dave’s already been able to make a donation in respect of the album.
In the meantime, I’ll have plenty keeping me busy! Your readers may already be aware that I’m a singer more often than I’m a flautist. A tour as guest vocalist with ZIO was sandwiched between my recording sessions for The Navigator, which was a brilliant experience - my first-time touring in that way! I shared some really cool stages with a great bunch of people and have some fun tour stories to tell… another time, perhaps! Shortly after that, I was recording a vocal for a song with “frogressive rockers” Nine Skies - another band of Eric’s, of course. As with The Navigator, The Lightmaker releases in September (this one on 18th to be precise), which is rather fortuitous as both bands pay tribute to our friend. I’m sure I’ll spend plenty of time in the coming weeks talking about these releases, both of which I’m very proud and honoured to be involved with. I was extremely grateful for your kind words in the reviews for both albums for Lazland, so thank you very much for that, and thank you for shining a light on our music scene.
Ghost Of The Machine continues to be where I spend most of my time. We’re very much in writing mode for a second album to follow Scissorgames. In fact, we’ve just played a good chunk of new material to an audience at an old rectory in Wiltshire, and it seemed to be well received! Hopefully much of what we played will be finding its way onto a new release in due course, and we’ll keep grafting away at those songs and new ideas. It’s only been, what, 15 months since Scissorgames, so we’re happy to take our time with a new album and make it the best follow-up it can possibly be. I’m extremely excited by the direction of travel, and I’ll look forward to sharing more with you about it (probably sometime in 2024).
I’m also recording songs for Age Of Distraction’s first album. Guitarist and writer John Cook (This Winter Machine) started this off as a solo project and it’s grown to include me, Mark Gatland (Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate, IT), Dom Bennison (Last Motion Picture, ex-TWM), Phil Stuckey (Stuckfish) and Ruby Jones (The Exotic Ices Project). This collaboration is on the heavier end of the rock spectrum - getting toward prog metal in places! - and a lot of fun. John’s a great songwriter and musician and an all-round lovely guy, so it’s been fantastic to work with him. Dom is a brilliant producer too - as well as the Age Of Distraction songs, I recorded my Nine Skies vocal with Dom and he really goes above and beyond to get your best performance captured in the right way. I hope we’ll carry on working together on all kinds of things.
https://novacascade.bandcamp.com
https://ghostofthemachineofficial.com
https://www.ageofdistraction.co.uk
Colin
I hope to continue to be involved in making more wonderful music with Nova Cascade! I am also working on a fifth album with Oliver Papke, which is turning out to be a wonderful opportunity for me to branch out into orchestral arrangements, with some epic movie soundtrack style music!
At some point I am sure there will be another album with Doug Woods as well. I am currently collating a lot of my music that has previously only been available on Soundcloud or YouTube into several albums that a loosely genre specific to be released every month or so. So far, I have released a Proggy one called “Terra Nova” and a synth-based album called “A.I. Think, Therefore A.I. Am!”.
There are more to come, covering ambient/blues/jazz guitar, dark cinematic, ambient, ethnic electronic and even dance!
What can I add to this? What can I say to express my appreciation of these incredibly talented and decent human beings for giving up their time to give us so much warmth and detail? Words are simply insufficient here.
I will, therefore, say this. All profits from The Navigator are going to charity. The interview above gives the reader a real sense of the love and respect these people had for their friend and bandmate. It deserves our support, and please share this as widely as you can.
I cannot thank Dave, Charlie, Dave, and Colin enough for such a wonderful interview. Please do support quality, independent music by buying the product, not merely streaming.