The band Flame Dream from Switzerland was active from 1977 to 1986 and released six albums during this time. The first four albums have cult status among progressive rock fans who have come to know and appreciate Flame Dream's unique music for various reasons. The news that Flame Dream have been active again since 2022 and will release their new, seventh studio album 'SILENT TRANSITION' in May 2024 was a big surprise for Tim Stecher. He contacted a friend of the band and offered them the prospect of extensive interviews with Empire Music magazine and his own project, the Carpe Diem (prog) rock newsletter. Peter Wolf, the singer, flautist, saxophonist and lyricist of Flame Dream took the time to give a detailed insight into the history of Flame Dream and to answer the questions about Flame Dream and 'SILENT TRANSITION', their first new album since 1986.
Hello Peter, the return of Flame Dream is a small sensation in our beloved prog rock community. It is therefore a matter close to our hearts to finally be able to report in detail about the music of Flame Dream and the new album 'SILENT TRANSITION. Can you please give us a little insight into the history of Flame Dream before we talk about the new album?
We can very well understand that you want to know the history of the earlier albums. Accordingly, we took the time to inform you about the methods, motivations and set-up of these earlier progressive rock albums. Nevertheless, we would like to point out that our focus is on the new album 'SILENT TRANSITION', which is being released now. This album is about NOW in terms of music and lyrics - this is very important to us. As composers, lyricists and independent producers, we aspire to work - or rather be - authentic and up-to-date, i.e. we want to be perceived as 'contemporary artists', not just as a band with a past. At the same time, the earlier albums are part of our DNA - and logically there are points of connection. Thank you for your understanding.
Great, thank you very much! The music of the first four albums was a very good, multi-faceted and absolutely independent style of progressive rock. How do you remember the period from 1979 to 1982 and the albums released during this phase of the band?
Flame Dream were a very present live band back then. We played the tracks on these albums extensively live on tour beforehand. Consequently, our band always went into the studio 'fully rehearsed' and the recordings had to be recorded and mixed in a very short time for budget reasons. We were lucky that after listening to our 16-track demos (Sunrise Studio Kilchberg, Etienne Conod and Ron Kurz), Peter Frei (Phonogram branch in Zurich) gave us the chance of a distribution contract in August 1978. We financed everything ourselves. There was always this time pressure with our productions. On the recommendation of Peter Frei/Phonogram: we recorded the first two albums with the musician (bass, cello) and sound engineer Jean Ristori at Aquarius Studios in Geneva in a very short time. We knew him from his work with Shakti with John McLaughlin (album 'Natural Elements) and Patrick Moraz (album'The Story of I). Jean Ristori was also the live sound engineer for YES during their 'Relayer' tour (P.A. company Clair Brothers Audio in the US) in 1975/1976 because of Patrick Moraz. For the first album 'CALATEA' in the fall of 1978, we faced huge challenges as independent producers and band. We had very little studio experience. 'CALATEA' was a live program of almost two hours. As you can only play a maximum of 45 minutes of music in good sound quality on an LP, we had to make a selection of tracks. That was a compromise that we only partially succeeded in making. Getting to know the studio technology took a lot of time. As a result, we spent every spare minute we had at the time learning about audio engineering and sound. In addition to music, this developed into another passion that still drives us today.
What happened after the promising debut 'CALATEA'?
On the second album 'ELEMENTS', our band consisted of only four members - i.e. this music and the recordings of the four long tracks were made without a guitar. We used woodwind instruments, polyphonic vocals, percussion and special keyboard instruments for the alternative arrangements. This instrumentation gives the album a very unique character. Once again, Jean Ristori was a great help to us as sound engineer. We recorded this album in just eight days and mixed it in four days. With the loss of the guitar after the first album, the singer was also missing, so I took singing lessons for years from the summer of 1979 onwards. On this album you can tell that the voice carries very differently, depending on the track. Notating and setting the vocals takes a lot of experience, depending on the voice and pitch. As we had hardly any lyrics of our own at the time, we came up with the idea of using three suitable poems by Edmund Spenser ('Sea Monsters'), Ralph Waldo Emerson ('Earth Song') and John Davies ('A Poem of Dancing') for 'ELEMENTS' in addition to our own lyrics for the track 'Sun Fire'. The four long songs based on these complex lyrics were musically very demanding by the rock standards of the time. We also wanted the sound to come across with as much power as possible. You can still hear this today in the relatively archaic sound. Looking back, this production was a highlight for us because the alchemy of Flame Dream crystallized between us four musicians. Because of the unconventional instrumentation, this second album is still associated with Canterbury influences, among others. One reason for this was the use of the oboe and polyphonic flutes and on the other hand my Irish roots and my stays in/around London.
The album 'OUT IN THE DARK' seems more mature, more compact, more balanced and impresses with a very successful production. Many fans therefore consider it to be Flame Dream's best album to date. How did you approach this work as a band after the first two albums?
We took a different approach to the third album 'OUT IN THE DARK'. These five long songs had already been played live on tour before the recordings, but we wanted to go one step further in terms of arrangements and orchestration. For the album production we were looking for a guitarist who could play the tremolo arm technique, bending and pentatonic chords in a similar way to Allan Holdsworth - something that was very little known in Europe at the time. We had a subscription to the magazine 'MUSICIAN' at the time and that's how we became aware of the fusion guitarist Dale Hauskins from LA. We were able to make contact with John Acock in London through our distribution company at the time, Phonogram, and met him at the 1980 JAZZ Festival in Montreux, where he was mixing a live concert by Steve Hackett as sound engineer. We first made demos together with John Acock in the summer of 1980 on an 8-track machine in our rehearsal room. After the Italian tour, we recorded the album 'OUT IN THE DARK' with John Acock at Aquarius Studios in Geneva in November 1980. The song 'Nocturnal Flight' was music with its own lyrics. For the other tracks we used poems by Robert Graves ('Full Moon'), Edward Thomas ('Out in the Dark'), Thomas Hardy ('Wintertime Nights') and Wilfred Owen ('Strange Meeting' - also used in Benjamin Britten's War Requiem). The arrangements and playing on this album are much denser. Due to the time pressure, we had to make some compromises in the mixing. Nevertheless, this LP, which is still considered a cult album by prog rock aficionados, opened the doors for a distribution contract with Phonogram in Hamburg. As a result, our LPs were also exported to the US, which was only much later to contribute to a new collaboration between the band in 2022. During the live concerts, the long three-part composition 'Strange Meeting' was always a highlight. Wilfred Owen's harrowing text has lost none of its topicality to this day. Right now, we are once again experiencing terrible wars - without hope of peace - in Europe too.
The album 'SUPERVISION' (1981) was altogether more modern and rocky, but again impressed with an exceptionally good production. How did these slight musical changes come about?
On the fourth album 'SUPERVISION', we wrote the lyrics for all the songs ourselves in the summer of 1981, which included the topic of 'surveillance', which is still very relevant today. Musically, this production, which we recorded once again with John Acock - but this time in London in the studio of musician Eddie Hardin - was characterized by further development. In addition to the long composition 'Paradise Lost' and the complex title track 'Supervision', we also developed harmonious ballads such as 'Signs of Solitude' and 'Tragedy' on this album. With the polyphonic sound of the CS-80, we were able to set the arrangements differently. This gave us many new possibilities in terms of orchestration. Our bassist Urs Hochuli also played the guitar parts, and a double-neck guitar (bass & guitar) and bass pedals were used live.
The sound on this album is not only direct and full of power, but also very transparent. Looking back, it was the album of ours that sounds the most 'live' despite the studio recording. That also had a lot to do with the open recording space at Herneplace Studio. The TRIDENT desk had a different quality in terms of sound compared to the mixing desk in the studio in Geneva.
The cover artwork and design has always been central to the band as can be seen in the creative and elaborate design of the covers from album to album, right?
Yes, the cover artwork has always been an important part of the production of these albums, it was designed by Urs Hochuli. He also developed the design for the elaborate stage productions. Back then, we developed and built everything ourselves with our excellent road crew. Our live productions were very innovative by the standards of the time and were well attended.
What role does drummer Pit Furrer play in the band Flame Dream?
Pit is a very versatile drummer and is active in many bands. He has played in countless projects or formations and/or theater productions. In 1988/1989 Pit worked as a drummer in L.A. and after his return he taught for many years in his drum school and published instruction books. His great passion are vintage drums.
The band Flame Dream was quiet from 1986 to 2022. What did the band members mainly do during this time? Were there any joint or individual musical projects?
All four musicians were always active - from theater music, soundtracks, sessions, stage productions, Fumetto Comic Festival, design, development, construction and installation Raumwandler (Space Transformer), performance Brecht/Weill to the engagement in 'Porgy and Bess' with the music of George Gershwin. Despite our close ties and friendship, there were no joint musical projects during this time. We were always very busy with individual cultural projects.
Flame Dream became active again in 2022. How did this come about after such a long time?
As independent producers, we were unable to develop the project further for a long time for financial reasons. Progressive rock is music that requires a lot of effort in terms of composition, arrangement, orchestration, lyrics and production. In small countries, be it Ireland or Switzerland, it is impossible to make a living as a band with progressive rock. Despite the distribution contract with Phonogram in Hamburg from summer 1981, for which we are still very grateful to Louis Spillmann and his team (including Klaus Voormann and Jürgen Rau), we lacked the financial resources to be able to perform our own stage productions with extensive tours throughout Europe. There was also almost no support from professional artist management in Switzerland at the time. We were on our own and had to organize everything ourselves. You also have to remember that long songs weren't played on the radio, so we only had live concerts. With MTV from 1981 and the new CD format from 1983, there were very big changes in a short space of time. We had to realize that it was impossible for us to continue producing under these conditions. It is mainly thanks to our music and the English lyrics that, despite all the hurdles, they have now found a considerable audience worldwide. The YouTube releases from 2009 and 2013/2014 as well as the many reviews in 15 languages worldwide have made it possible for our music to spread - including in Japan, the US and South America.
'SILENT TRANSITION', Flame Dream's seventh album, will finally be released in May 2024. Was it difficult to write songs together again for a new album after such a long time?
Thanks to his vast experience as a composer and as a team member of ROLAND (Musical Instruments), Roland Ruckstuhl has gathered a very broad spectrum of musical experience and technical know-how worldwide. As a result, he has been able to record his creative ideas for many years and gradually develop them further. It was the same with the lyrics - i.e. composing and writing the new music was an organic process. This was and is only possible because we have never lost our interest and passion for unique music and work on it a lot. The big difference today is that we can play and arrange the pieces in our own production facility. Such options and possibilities were simply impossible in the past. Since we never stopped composing or playing, developing new music was easy and a lot of fun.
The album contains six new songs that are between six and 15 minutes long - each one more beautiful than the last. How do you see the new songs?
The aim was and is to play authentic music, without compromise, exciting and with lyrics that relate to the 'here and now' - i.e. today. This is a huge challenge, especially in the field of progressive rock. Thanks to our production facility, we can now try out and produce things the way we want to. The development of these new pieces, the sounds and the arrangements were very time-consuming. It requires a lot of discipline, immense effort, know-how and time.
In addition to the new album, Flame Dream have also announced the reissues of their earlier progressive rock albums. When are these expected to be released and why has it taken so long?
Our progressive albums have been sold in the US for many years as pirated copies in poor quality as mini-sleeve CDs. Accordingly, we received more and more requests to re-release them. In order to make it more exciting musically and send a clear signal, we made a conscious decision to release a new album on CD and in digital distribution first. In fall 2024 we will release the new album 'SILENT TRANSITION' as a black 180 g vinyl LP. For budget reasons and as independent producers with our own label, we will release the earlier progressive rock albums 'ELEMENTS', 'OUT IN THE DARK' and 'SUPERVISION' in stages starting in 2025. It is an ongoing project that will keep us busy for a long time to come.
With Alex Hutchings, you found a very good guitarist for the recording of the album. How did you find Alex Hutchings? Will he also be involved in future productions?
Roland Ruckstuhl and Alex Hutchings met at a music demo in Japan in 2010. This happened in the course of their work for ROLAND (Musical Instruments) and BOSS Guitar Amps/Effects respectively. During these regular meetings, Roland Ruckstuhl and subsequently we became convinced that Alex would simply be the ideal guitarist for our music. It was in line with our desire for further development to creatively complement the previously dominant keyboard instruments with the guitar. The solos in particular gave the new pieces a thrilling arc of tension. As we always pay uncompromising attention to the quality of our music and have high musical standards, it took a long time before we were able to rehearse with Alex in Bristol/UK. It should also be clearly stated that it was only the high quality of our music and lyrics that persuaded Alex Hutchings to enter into a collaboration with us. Since the collaboration and the recordings were so fruitful, we are very much looking forward to another production with Alex Hutchings. He is an outstanding musician and excellent guitarist. We also get on very well on a personal level.
Will there be concerts by the band in the future?
For budget reasons, concerts are not possible for us at the moment. We are primarily focusing on composing and developing new music and lyrics as well as the re-releases of our earlier progressive rock albums. The effort involved in a live production is a huge challenge financially, logistically and musically. We are perfectionists, it's all about authenticity and we have very high quality standards. Depending on how things develop, we are open, we will see in the future. We also believe that the whole concert business needs to be fundamentally rethought: how can we responsibly minimize the ecological footprint of live performances? It's also about the price of concert tickets, which have become incredibly expensive for many interested listeners.
What's next for Flame Dream in 2024 and 2025?
As already mentioned: the new album 'SILENT TRANSITION' will keep us on our toes in 2024 - including the release of the vinyl LP this fall. The re-releases of our earlier progressive rock albums will follow in 2025. We are also continuing to work on various projects in our production facility. Our focus is on developing new music and writing lyrics. PASSION FOR MUSIC!
More information about the new album and the re-release of the earlier progressive rock albums in due course: www.flamedreammusic.com