Eloy is a legendary progressive rock band from Germany. The band was formed by guitarist/vocalist, Frank
Bornemann, back in 1969. Over the decades,
Eloy released many influential records, and became very respected group worldwide. Despite all the success, Eloy continues to
move forward.
Echoes from the Past is a latest release from Eloy, and it’s
a third instalment of the long running trilogy.
It is a very exciting record, and truly showcases what Eloy is all
about. Even at such advances age, Eloy is
still tackling projects that are ambitious and challenging.
Eloy’s founder, Frank Bornemann, talks about the new album, his
plans for the live presentation, and gives an overview of band’s long career.
How did you conduct the songwriting process for Echoes from
the Past?
I composed song after song on the guitar at home and
sketched it on a simple cassette recorder. Then I created a layout with several
instruments and a drum machine in my studio, which then I presented it to the
musicians who followed later as a template for the final album recordings.
Echoes from the Past is a third installment in ongoing
trilogy of albums. Where does this record take the story line? Is this the
conclusive album, or will experiment with this concept in years to come?
The new album no longer tells the story of Joan of Arc and
describes the events in chronological order, as on the two previous albums did.
On Echoes from the Past, Jeanne de Metz reflects very movingly and emotionally
on his impressions in retrospect of the dramatic events of the past at Jeanne's
side. The memories of these haunt him, returning again and again in his
thoughts as constantly recurring echoes from the past. It is definitely the
last album on this subject.
In your opinion, what are the highlights of the new album?
It is hardly possible for me to name a highlight, because
such things are always a matter of taste. In terms of the story and the
memories of Jean de Metz, "The Pyre" and "Farewell" are
probably the most moving moments.
Will there be a live presentation for this record? Where
does this album fit in with your artistic vision for Eloy?
A live performance with only a band line-up is de facto
impossible. There are large string ensembles, a children's choir, a large
church choir, plus various spoken dialogues that would inevitably have to come
from actors, etc. etc. This monster work can only be put on stage as part of a
spectacle musical (a mixture of theatre and music). I am currently working on
it in France. It's probably similar to what Pete Townshend from the Who did
decades ago when he created the two rock opera projects "Tommy" and
"Quadrophenia". For both works bore the musical signature of The Who.
I think that the Joan of Arc Trilogy also bears the unmistakable signature of
Eloy.
After a rather long break, you became musically active again
in 2017. What sparked this renewed interest? What was going on during your
musical down time?
I had already started making music myself again in 2008,
after working as a producer for other bands and artists for a few years. In
2009 I released the album "Visionary", and in 2011 I brought the band
back on stage. I recruited not only musicians who were part of the current
line-up, but also musicians who had been members of the band in previous
formations. I wanted to play the music as authentically as on the albums. Even
the background singers who had been in the studio for years became part of the
line-up on stage. I wanted the absolute maximum on stage, and it succeeded! You
can hear it on the live double album "Reincarnation on Stage". Almost
all the tracks are better there than on the original studio albums. Every Eloy
fan who doesn't own this double album is missing the best album the band has
ever made. After the tour, which I felt was the high point of the band's
career, which also dissipated afterwards, I wanted to get a long deferred
Eloy has a very limited presence in United States, how come?
Were you ever able to play America in the past?
The limited presence of Eloy in the USA has a history, and
also a background. In 1972, the band signed a long-term contract with EMI for
the "Harvest" label, which also released albums by Pink Floyd, Deep
Purple, etc. In 1973, "Inside" was released by EMI as the first Eloy
album on the "Harvest" label, and quickly attracted a lot of
attention from fans of this music genre. In the USA, EMI's Capitol Records
rejected the album. The Chess-owned young label Janus, however, was interested
in the band and released the album Inside. The track on it, "Future
City", went into the top ten on both the FM and Am radio charts. Shortly
after the release of the follow-up album "Floating", the Janus label
no longer existed and Eloy no longer had a record company in the US. Capitol
Records didn't want to release the band and rejected them as a German band,
just like the Scorpions, who were able to cooperate with another company in the
USA due to a different contractual situation in Germany and build a career
there. Eloy, on the other hand, were the most successful band in the country
for 12 years(!!!) and were contractually bound to EMI in Germany. Their records
were only available in England, France, Greece and Switzerland. Only a limited
number of our albums were allowed to be exported to the USA. The attention in
the USA only increased when the internet came along, and was brought about by
importers as far as vinyl and CDs were concerned. Because of all these
obstacles, it was not possible to build a career in the USA due to the long
exclusive contract period with EMI. Concerts in the US were impossible and
pointless because of these obstacles. What the future holds is hard for me to
answer now.
Eloy will soon be celebrating a 55-years as a band. What
does this band mean to you?
The band has always been my life, but I'm just coming to
terms with the fact that it can't be everything.
When you look back in time, what were some biggest
challenges to overcome?
The biggest challenges for ELOY as a band were the changes
in the line-up. In 1975 the band, consisting of Manfred Wieczorek (keyboards),
Harvey Jansen(bass) Fritz Randow (drums) and Pit Schwaar (2nd guitar) broke up
completely and I had to start again with new musicians. With Klaus-Peter
Matziol (bass) Detlev Schmidtchen (keyboards) and Jürgen Rosenthal (drums) I
continued the career. The first album "Dawn", on which I also worked
as a producer for the first time, was a huge success, and the follow-up
"Ocean" even went gold in Germany. Unfortunately, this formation also
broke up after the following album "Silent Cries & Mighty Echoes"
, but bassist Klaus -Peter Matziol stayed by my side. Hannes Folberth took over
the keyboards, and Hannes Arkona additionally played guitar and keyboards. Jim
Mc Gillivray took over the drums and we started anew with the album
"Coulors". Now we gave very successful concerts in other European
countries. In the middle of the production of our following two-part concept
work "Planets" "Time to Turn "Jim left the band and Fritz
Randow came back. We stayed in this formation until the last album for EMI
entitled "Metromania", after which all the other musicians in the
band wanted to go new ways without me, dedicated themselves to a rock ballet,
and made a film music. During this time, I made the acquaintance of keyboardist
Michael Gerlach, with whom I then continued, initially only as the duo Eloy
with the album RA with a new, very rapidly growing and successful independent
record company called SPV. The duo then increasingly became a complete band
again, with bassist Klaus-Peter Matziol joining again and a new drummer, Bodo
Schopf. This band remained stable until 2012, and was joined on the concert
tour "Reincarnation on Stage" by Hannes Folberth and Steve Mann, both
of whom had previously contributed guest contributions to recordings and shows.
After that there was a long break, during which my heart's desire came up again
to create a really big dramaturgical work on the theme of Joan of Arc, which
not only comes across and touches in an extraordinary way on record, but also
convinces on a big stage as a Spectacle Musical or Rock Opera.
What is your greatest achievement musically?
The biggest commercial success was certainly the album
Ocean, because it achieved the highest sales figures, and also gold status, but
that doesn't mean for me at all that it was the band's best album.
How long did it take you to create your own musical style?
It started right early, when I discovered this mixture of
atmospheres and rocking riffs and rhythms with the album Inside, 3 years after
the band was founded.
Who influenced you musically when you first started?
Especially the musical revolution from England, which
brought forth such different stylistic elements. Pink Floyd and Genesis were so
different from Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple on the road to success, just to
show these two contrasts.
How faithful are you to those influences today?
These influences entered our musical world early on, and we
have developed our own mixture from them. In addition, there is the individual
approach of each musician with the respective instrument, and of course the
vocal style and the arrangements, so that you probably can't compare us
directly with these bands. Back then, each band looked at what was coming out.
I think today there is not so much for me to discover, because I move in a very
own musical universe, but that doesn't mean that nothing inspires me anymore,
if it blows my mind.
What are your future plans, and how long do you envision
Eloy to continue as a band?
As far as my personal plans for the future are concerned, I
would like to bring my Joan of Arc trilogy, which I have been working on for 8
years, also under the Eloy trademark, and which I have produced and released
with the support of loyal band colleagues, to bring to the big stages as a
Spectacle Musical.
by Mark Kadzielawa
