Steve Howe: making a big serve to his son Dylan.
PRESS/STEVE HOWE
Yes guitarist Steve Howe, who is set to release his new album Guitarscape with his son, Dylan, on September 27 via his own Sound record label, has likened the recording process to a game of tennis. Engaging in file sharing, the pair bounced ideas to each until the tracks took shape.
“It was a bit like that,” he says with a laugh. “I’d get the bulk of the track together and put a decent bass on it or something of a guide and send it to him. And then he heard it and would suggest a rough guideline on the drums, which he plays in his own unique way. It certainly helps to make the final thing great, and it by adding and taking away, it’s a process that’s so fluid now.”
The pair have worked on nine albums together (“He’s my biggest collaborator!” says Howe) and, while being effusive in praising his son’s abilities, the guitarist is keen to stress the drummer’s own idiosyncratic skills in relation to how the musical chemistry has developed between them.
“It’s a very special thing because when he was young, he picked up the drumsticks and I was the guy playing the guitar. He got ambitious and I was there to encourage him, but not to give him any sense of direction.”