In 2011 Celtic proggers Iona launched 7th album Any other Realm, which became out to be their final LP thus far. That 12 months co-founder, guitarist and keyboardist Dave Bainbridge – who’d later paintings with Strawbs, Lifesigns and Circuline, and lately started revisiting Iona’s tune – presented a lightning-fast roundup of his prog international.
Iona have stored a low profile during the last couple of years. What’s been happening?
In 2008 we had a 12 months off from doing any gigs, and for more than a few causes we have been taking into account whether or not the band must lift on. Our singer, Joanne Hogg, had had two youngsters and so she was once very concerned with being a mom; and earlier than that she’d had rather a major operation on her backbone and neck. It was once contact and cross as as to whether that will impact her voice.
Fortunately that each one labored out positive. However these kinds of issues make you query what it’s you’re intended to be doing. In 2009 she was once again in complete float once more writing these kinds of superb songs. So we each felt that as there was once indubitably a brand new album there, we must proceed. It’s been nice since then.
That is the primary album you’ve carried out with out uillean pipes participant, Troy Donockley, who’d been with the band nearly from the very starting. What brought about the break up?
Troy was once getting in point of fact busy with all of his different tasks, together with generating for Barbara Dickson, and his involvement with Nightwish was once taking over large quantities of his time. So we have been discovering it rather tricky to seek out areas the place shall we in reality do gigs and all be to be had. It wasn’t a surprise, in point of fact. I assume it were growing since The Circling Hour (2006), the place we’d felt possibly we didn’t proportion the similar imaginative and prescient in a religious sense.
Do you suppose the Christian ideals underpinning the band’s tune have hindered your occupation or erected obstacles to people who don’t proportion your standpoint?
We’re on occasion described as a Christian band – even though we attempt to not describe ourselves that means, as a result of so far as we’re involved we’re only a band who occur to be Christians.
There’s a distinction between faith and what Jesus got here for. Faith has a tendency to require issues of other folks and impose regulations and rules, and Jesus was once towards all that. The folk he was once maximum indignant with have been all of the non secular government doing that roughly factor. If anything else, our lyrics are about being hindered by way of religiosity and the wish to get away from it.
Through the years we’ve had plenty of other folks from all ideals and no ideals come to look us. It’s a in point of fact numerous target audience. It’s now not like we cross to a gig to evangelise – we cross to a gig to have a good time. If other folks connect to that, nice; but it surely’s now not an issue in the event that they don’t.
A large number of the lyrics are about waging battles, and there’s the sword-wielding determine on horseback charging forth at the album duvet. Who’s Iona at battle with?
I were given to perform a little Hammond organ and Minimoog solos – a bit of of a accountable excitement, in point of fact
We’re now not at battle with any individual – fair! The duvet clearly connects with the theme of the album and a observe referred to as White Horse. The combat being referred to is within the non secular realm; that there could be forces past simply what you’ll be able to see within the daily international that experience a power on what occurs. So the combat is extra metaphorical than in reality bodily.
One of the crucial footage we took for Any other Realm are simply superb. Clearly you’ll be able to’t do one thing at the scale of the previous gatefold vinyl sleeves any longer, however throughout the constraints of CD packaging we needed one thing that was once rather spectacular.
How has technological trade impacted on Iona?
The royalties from CD gross sales used to make up an enormous quantity of source of revenue for a band like us. That’s simply nearly totally disappeared. In the event you let it, I’m certain it would get you down so much – however I don’t. For me, tune is greater than a business undertaking; it’s one thing that I’m forced to do, and to get the tune available in the market. A method or any other it’ll occur.
From that standpoint, gigging is a lot more vital than it was once as a result of that’s the place we promote maximum CDs. We’re additionally getting new audiences, the following technology down. As a result of there’s such a lot simple get admission to to these kinds of other types of tune, more youthful generations are finding these kinds of numerous sorts of tune.
You launched your solo album, Veil Of Gossamer, in 2004. Is there anything else new within the pipeline?
Sure – and it’s indubitably were given extra innovative rock influences. I guested on Soulful Terrain’s final album, Astoria, and likewise at the new one, which gave me a possibility to perform a little Hammond organ and Minimoog solos – the type of issues I used to like doing earlier than Iona. A bit of of a accountable excitement, in point of fact.
Jon Lord is one in all my heroes, as is David Sancious, who had that trademark Minimoog sound. I’m going to include a few of the ones issues into my solo subject matter – however expectantly now not in some way that sounds too unfashionable.
Robert Fripp performed on two early Iona albums. How did that come about?
Nick Beggs was once within the band and he knew Fripp’s spouse, Toyah Willcox. We discovered that Robert regularly listened to Iona’s tune whilst he was once soaking within the bathtub! So we requested him to play, and he mentioned sure. We gave him the keys of one of the tracks and he then simply improvised for approximately two hours. It labored brilliantly.
