Big Big Train (Photo by Massimo Goina)
By Jason Barnard
Big Big Train are set to release their 15th studio album, ‘The Likes Of Us’ on 1 March. This release marks a poignant milestone for the group, being their first full collection of songs since the untimely passing of long-serving lead vocalist David Longdon. In this new interview with Gregory Spawton, the founder of Big Big Train, we explore the creative process behind their new record, the selection of new lead vocalist Alberto Bravin, and the band’s journey through emotional challenges.
‘The Likes Of Us’ is your the first album with Alberto Bravin as new lead vocalist. How has he influenced the sound and dynamics of Big Big Train?
I first spotted Alberto at a PFM gig in 2015. He had a beautiful voice which, for me, was the highlight of the band’s performance. After David passed away and we decided we would try to continue Big Big Train, Alberto was my very first thought as a new vocalist. It was important to me that we didn’t try to recruit somebody with a very similar voice to David’s vocal style. I didn’t feel comfortable with a sound-a-like. We auditioned Alberto, alongside a number of other singers, and his was the standout audition. Having spoken to him a few times on Zoom, I also began to feel a kinship with him. He seemed to be very much on my wavelength. Vocally, I would say Alberto has more of a ‘rock’ voice, so he accentuates the rock aspect of the band’s music. Alongside his voice and a major contribution to songwriting, he’s also brought with him an exceptional attitude. His commitment to Big Big Train is 100%. When we play live he leaves everything on the stage. The listeners can see and hear that and have taken him to their hearts. It’s not been easy to follow David, and he’s done it in his own way.
What themes does the album convey, especially considering the personal and emotional journey you’ve been through in recent years?
The main thing about this album is that the stories we tell on it are highly personal. We’ve experienced the tragic loss of David who, alongside being Big Big Train’s singer, was also one of my best friends. But, I also lost my dear stepdad during the time the album was made and band members have all faced their own individual challenges. So, the main themes we cover are loss and friendship. Without certain close friendships in the last few years, I don’t know how I’d have coped.
The first single from the album, ‘Oblivion’, has been very well-received. Could you share the inspiration behind this particular track and the decision to release it as the lead single?
‘Oblivion’ is about the people in society who feel left behind; those folks on the fringe. When I was growing up, I sometimes felt a bit of an outsider. I think everybody does, really, but we aren’t always aware that other people are feeling the same. In the end, the thing that helped me was finding my ‘tribe’: rock music fans who shared my interests. ‘Oblivion’ was the first single choice of our record company, InsideOut. Whilst it’s an actually quite a complicated song, it’s also accessible and so it’s a good first thing for people to hear.
The album was recorded in a studio in Italy. How did the change in recording environment impact the creative process, and what kind of atmosphere did it bring to the recording sessions?
It was really cool to record in Italy. The studio was right in the heart of the city of Trieste so we’d work hard recording and then be able to go straight to a bar or coffee shop together for a quick break before going back into action. The main thing about the sessions was that we all recorded together in a big recording room at the same time. This allowed us to capture the live energy of the band. Most bands these days work remotely in their own home studios, but we wanted to try to make an album in the old-school way.
The artwork for the album was created by Sarah Louise Ewing. How does the visual representation align with the musical content of ‘The Likes Of Us’?
Sarah has been painting artwork for BBT for many years now and she is a trusted interpreter of our material. We involved her very early in the process, sending her demos and explaining the meaning of the songs. For her the friendship element stood out and she conveyed that by painting a group of young friends experiencing good times together. It’s a perfect illustration of many of the sentiments on the album.
As a band that has self-released music for almost two decades, how does the new relationship with InsideOutMusic influence the band’s approach to releasing and promoting ‘The Likes Of Us’?
We were stubbornly independent for such a long time and so we thought long and hard as to whether we should take up the offer from InsideOut. On reflection, we felt that there was a glass ceiling for most independent artists, especially in the world of prog rock and so we decided to sign to try to break through to a bigger worldwide audience. I have to say it has been brilliant working with them so far. They have been everything I hoped for and more.
Looking ahead, what are the band’s goals and aspirations for the future, both in terms of musical exploration and live performances?
We have our first US tour coming up in March, just ahead of us performing on Cruise To The Edge. We have a few festival shows in the summer then hopefully a European tour in the autumn, so plenty of live activity this year. We do hope to get out to Japan at some stage too. Generally speaking, we will try to do all we can to carry the torch for rock music and for progressive rock specifically.
Further information
‘The Likes Of Us’ will be released in a range of formats, including a Dolby Atmos mix by The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord, while the stereo mixes were undertaken by the band’s regular engineer Rob Aubrey together with Alberto Bravin. The Dolby Atmos mix will come as part of the Limited CD & Blu-ray Mediabook edition that also contains the album as 5.1 Surround Sound & 24-bit high-resolution stereo. The album will also be available as a Gatefold 180g 2LP (available in black, sky blue, olive green and orange formats), Standard CD Jewelcase and Digital Album. Pre-order now here: bigbigtrain.lnk.to/TheLikesOfUs
