Interview with Rob Reed by Steve "Tommo" Tomlin. This is the full version of the interview that appears in the current issue of Classic Rock Society. Reproduced with thanks to the CRS.

2008 is already proving to be a momentous year in the history of Welsh prog rockers and CRS favourites Magenta, with awards, changing personnel and the imminent release of ‘Metamorphosis’, their much-anticipated 4th studio album (not including the singles album). In order to get an idea of what can we can expect to look forward to, Steve ‘Tommo’ Tomlin spoke to keyboard player, composer and overall head honcho Rob Reed.

ST : Let’s start at the beginning shall we ? You had a great night at the BOTY awards in January. Not only did Tina pick up the best female singer award but Magenta were also named as band of the year. How did that make you feel ?
RR : Since we only released The Singles Album in 2007 we were extremely surprised to be honest and obviously, very honoured. As you said it was a great night and we always look forward to playing for the CRS as everyone is so welcoming and the audience are always very appreciative. I have to admit though, that occasionally their attentiveness can be a bit unnerving…we’ve sometimes thought we were dying a death until the end of a song when the crowd has erupted!

ST : April sees the release of ‘Metamorphosis’ your first album of new material since 2006. Is there any significance to the title ?
RR : I think the album is very aptly named since the band truly has undergone a metamorphosis and not only in terms of the band members. I believe that the new CD is a huge step forward for us musically and in the future may come to be viewed as the 1st real Magenta album. In the past some people have accused us of being no more than copyists of the prog greats but as I stated in the sleeve notes for Revolutions, I wasn't afraid to display my influences, which stemmed from a love of those bands, and I wanted to play music in that style. The songs were original, but the combinations of sounds used were not. If you use bass pedals and 12 string guitars, throw in some Mellotron choirs and a Moog solo, then obviously you are going to sound like Yes and Genesis.

Consequently, this time around we wanted to try something different. It would have been easy to just keep churning out the classic prog sound and there are a lot of people who do want that but for me personally as a composer and as a band in general it really is the time to do something more original.

ST : Don’t you think that’s a bit risky ?
RR : Yes we are taking a gamble as you never know how people are going to react and we obviously don’t want to alienate our existing fan base but I really think this is the best music I’ve ever created. I think I’ve achieved my objective…an album of modern prog rock music.

ST : So are you saying that there’s none of the trademark Magenta sound ?
RR : Absolutely not ! There are still a lot of the classic prog rock ingredients but you should hear elements of folk, indie and hard rock as well. It will keep you guessing, which is surely at the heart of progressive music, isn’t it ? Let’s be honest, you can never please everybody - so you might as well please yourself.

ST : Ha Ha ! You’re right there. Can you give us some detail about the writing process and actual ‘nuts and bolts’ of the album ?
RR : Well, there are only 4 tracks, 2 ‘epics’ and 2 shorter songs. The central theme which runs through the album is ‘the moment before death’ knowing that you are about to die but each song in turn has it’s own individual subject matter. My brother Steve has, as usual, written all the lyrics but we arrived at the central concept together.

ST : It all sounds a bit scary. RR : It’s certainly a pretty dark concept which in my opinion suits the music perfectly. The 1st song is a long one titled "The Ballad of Samuel Layne" and is about the recollections of a WW1 soldier as he prepares to go over the top to a certain death. This is followed by "Prekestolen" which is the true story of a couple who made a suicide pact to jump to their deaths from one of Norway’s highest mountains. This was inspired by actually visiting the site, when we played a gig in Stavanger 18 months ago. The 2nd epic is the title track "Metamorphosis". This is the story of a schizophrenic serial killer. The killer tattoos himself with images of his crimes in order to show his ‘good’ side what he has done. As a result of this he commits suicide to avoid further bloodshed. The last track "Blind Faith" is about people who, in their final moments, experience doubts about what lies ahead after a lifetime of certainty. All in all it’s a very happy album!

ST : What can you tell us about the recording process ?
RR : Most of the recording was done in my studio apart from the drums which were recorded at Danny Chang’s studio in Cardiff. Tim Robinson plays the drums on the cd as he has on all the previous Magenta albums. He is a brilliant player who enjoys the studio much more than the live environment. Strings feature heavily on this record and replace the more obvious prog keyboard parts. Therefore we needed the real thing. These were also recorded in my studio and they really take the sound to another level. We also welcomed the contribution of Troy Donockley as a guest. This was done over the internet. I sent him the backing tracks, he did his bits in his home studio and sent them back to me. The wonders of modern science! It was a great moment hearing his contributions for the first time - he is such a big talent. We mixed the album at the famous Rockfield studio in Monmouth. I have to say it was a bit daunting working in the same studio that produced great records by Van Der Graaf, Rush and Queen, the place has so much history. Finally the recording was sent to Bob Katz in the USA to be mastered. Again it was all done over the internet and all in a matter of hours - amazing!

ST : The artwork for the album is very striking and has created quite a bit of discussion on some internet forums. Why do you think this is ?
RR : It certainly has caused a bit of a stir and I’m glad. I wanted something that was not the standard prog cover that would also reflect the change in musical style. I had been impressed by the work of a German design company called Killustrations. I‘d seen a couple of the covers they had produced for White Willow and really liked the style. So I approached them with a rough idea of what we were doing and they then sent me an email with the finished cover. I must admit I nearly fell off my chair! It was so amazing and different to anything we had used before. I admit to harbouring some initial doubts but as the record came together I knew it was right.

ST : Which pretty much brings us up to date. Except for the final metamorphosis, the change of band members. What’s the story there ?
RR : Yes we have undergone some upheaval with Alan leaving and Martin’s decision to move on. To be honest we’re getting used to it, but it’s always a little frustrating when it happens. I could probably write a book about being in this band, but most people wouldn't believe it! Thankfully things have worked out for the best, as I believe we now have our strongest line up yet. We have been rehearsing hard for a few months now and the introduction of Kieran Bailey on drums and his teamwork with Dan on bass has finally put some serious backbone into the band, there is a real power coming from them - and they are soooo young! Also Colin Edwards, who will be known to fans of Ezra, will be joining us on stage to provide the all-important 2nd guitar.

ST : So what’s next ?
RR : Well first of all we are looking forward (nervously) to a series of gigs at which we will be playing the whole of the new album. By the time your readers see this we will have played an intimate ‘launch party’ in Wales but the first official gig is for the CRS at the Herringthorpe Leisure Centre, which coincides nicely with the album release. Later in the year we will be releasing our 2nd live DVD which will was recorded at the Point in Cardiff at our last gig of 2007 and will be a fitting document of the last chapter of Magenta. Also I’m working with Christina on her solo album, which hopefully will be released in the autumn. Then it’ll be time to start all over again and who knows where that will lead us ?

So then, the usually shy and unassuming Rob Reed was in a very talkative mood and has provided us with an intriguing insight to what lies ahead. For those of you who, like me, are too excited to wait you can hear samples of ‘Metamorphosis’ on Magenta’s MySpace site and pre-order the album from their on-line shop at www.magenta-web.com.