He’s no longer a member of Big Big Train’s live band, but Robin Armstrong is relishing having his full focus back on Cosmograf. The one-man-prog-rock-band returns with his project’s eighth album, Rattrapante, and, as he tells Prog, there’s no looking back.

Words: Chris Cope

Robin Armstrong has certainly been playing catch-up.

  Images: Cosmograf

It was in 2019 that things came grinding to a halt. Robin Armstrong had a choice to make: continue being a live member of eminent prog rockers Big Big Train, to the detriment of his day job project, Cosmograf, or leave the touring life and return to his true musical love. Armstrong plumped for the latter, and quit the Big Big Train live gig he’d had since the previous year. For every action there’s an opposite reaction, though, and the end result was that he was graced with more time to focus on Cosmograf – and judging by new album Rattrapante, it looks like the multiinstrumentalist and vocalist’s decision has been vindicated.

“The intention to start with was that I was always hoping I could continue both [Big Big Train and Cosmograf],” he reflects down the phone from his home near Portsmouth, on the English south coast. “I think what became apparent was just how demanding it was to rehearse and learn all the new songs that were required to do the Big Big Train set.

“I really do object to the whole neo-prog term that we tend to get lumped into.”

“I was struggling to do it all. I was writing much more slowly for Cosmograf, because I was spending so much time rehearsing and learning parts for Big Big Train.”

Since hanging up his …Train boots, Armstrong appears to have been heroically prolific; not only is the admirable Rattrapante in the can – it was released on his own label, Gravity Dream – but its follow-up has already been written.