Following the news earlier this week that Steve Howe would continue with plans to release his recently completed collaborative album with late son Virgil, he can now reveal the first piece of new music to be taken from the album. Listen to the title track from ‘Nexus’ here:
Steve commented:
“On most of the tracks on the album I stick to one featured guitar per track but on Nexus I use a dual guitar approach, I start by playing my favourite Gibson ES175D but then move over to a single neck Fender Professional Steel, which has 2 pick-ups, then I move back & forwards between them. The structure of this track demonstrates Virgil’s melodic and rhythmic approach, which came about by him learning to play and make music ‘by ear’ utilising his keyboards and drums to invent his own writing style. ”
On 11th September 2017, Virgil Howe – the youngest son of Yes guitarist Steve Howe – passed away unexpectedly at the age of 41. Yes announced the immediate cancellation of the remaining dates of the Yestival tour. Their duo album ‘Nexus’ had been completed before the tour started and was due out this year. Steve Howe has decided to continue with these plans.
“Virgil and I had only recently completed recording ‘Nexus’, which contains eleven of his tunes to which I added a guitar to suit each one. We delivered it to InsideOutMusic in August for release on 17th November. We started to work together in 2016 by selecting about nine tunes from his ‘stockpile’ of piano based music that he’d periodically sent Jan & I each time he’d written and recorded a new idea. I began adding guitars to them, then I’d play them to Virgil. He’d then surprise me by bringing up other channels of instrumentation which I’d never heard. The tunes went from straightforward ‘duets’ to something bigger & better, more of a complete picture than a mere shape. “Free Fall” & “Nick’s Star” were added from earlier sessions, the latter being his tribute to the passing of his best friend Nick Hirsch.‘Nexus’ explores a completely different side of Virgil’s ability, as a writer & keyboard player – ‘in his own right’. His talents were multi-diverse, so sitting at a keyboard & computer or in the middle of his drum kit, at all his regular DJ-ing gigs or on the radio, he always gave his best. We hope that the music just completed will stand as a fitting tribute to his life and legacy.”
– Steve Howe –
“The sudden passing of Virgil Howe deeply shocked the entire InsideOutMusic team as it happened just a few hours after he had approved the first press release about ‘Nexus’. It was supposed to be a new beginning for an exciting musical collaboration, but now it has become one of the saddest albums we have ever worked on. We left the decision over the release of ‘Nexus’ up to Steve and respect his wish to continue as originally discussed. Being fathers, too, we can only guess how hard it must be to deal with such a loss and we sincerely hope you will all enjoy ‘Nexus’ despite the circumstances under which it is coming out. Our thoughts are with the Howe family during this difficult time.”
– Thomas Waber (Label manager/A&R International) & Stefan Franke (Product Manager) –
From first hitting the keys of his father’s Moog synthesizer at the age of four to playing in front of 200,000 people behind the drum kit for FSOL’s Amorphous Androgynous, Virgil leaves behind a prolific output that covered a wide range of genres from electronica to psychedelic sounds, from rock to synth and beyond. With his band Little Barrie he also was part of the score for the AMC TV series ‘Better Call Saul’.
On ‘Nexus’, Steve handled acoustic, electric & steel guitars whereas Virgil took care of bass, drums and all keys. The results are beautiful, diverse compositions varying between neoclassical elements, dreamy jazz, straight forward grooves, and cinematic, spacey themes. ‘Nexus’ is an instrumental album that impresses with its feeling and moods and unites two musician’s individual biographies and styles as a fascinating whole.
‘Nexus’ is set to be released 17th November 2017 via InsideOutMusic as a special edition CD digipak (international version), Jewelcase CD (USA, Canada, Mexico), Black 180g LP + CD & Digital Download. The artwork was created by Virgil’s 5-year old daughter Zuni. You can find the artwork and track listing below. Pre-order the album now here: http://smarturl.it/VirgilandSteveHoweNX
1. Nexus (04:57)
2. Hidden Planet (03:27)
3. Leaving Aurura (03:40)
4. Nick’s Star (03:41)
5. Night Hawk (03:35)
6. Moon Rising (03:31)
7. Passing Titan (04:06)
8. Dawn Mission (05:07)
9. Astral Plane (03:37)
10. Infinite Space (02:08)
11. Freefall (02:09)
