How Jon Anderson Created His First Solo Album

After Sure accomplished their 1975 tour in assist of the Relayer album, the person members determined it was time for a break.

Naturally, although the progressive rock legends had been placing their predominant venture on pause, a while away merely meant they’d time to give attention to crafting their very own solo albums. For vocalist Jon Anderson, the end result was the delivery of his 1976 solo debut, Olias of Sunhillow.

“The dream of Olias was to spend time studying the best way to play the quite a few devices I had collected over a time frame… which I saved in my storage…..starting from guitars, Koto and ethnic flute devices, harp and percussion to fashionable digital keyboards,” Anderson shared in a press launch, wanting again on the album, which is being reissued by Cell Constancy on vinyl in honor of its fiftieth anniversary.

“I had sketched out the framework of a narrative regarding the ability of music and related to the Seven Sisters star system, The Pleiades,” he detailed. “All quite simple, actually. The evolution of the thought took me on an eternal mission, driving me a bit loopy however nonetheless a satisfying expertise which has stood the check of time.”

Creating the ‘Olias’ Album Was a Difficult Course of.

As Anderson instructed UCR in an earlier interview, the imaginative and prescient he had for the album was one factor. However truly bringing it to life, was fairly an journey.

“I created this ship [the Moorglade Mover], that will journey by the highly effective energies [of the Pleiades]. And the entire thought of the ship was one thing that was supernatural — and the best way to get there? Nicely, they needed to sing….they weren’t rowing,” he explains with amusing. “They needed to sing concepts of vitality, forcing the Moorglade to fly into the photo voltaic system. That was the entire idea. And they’d sing a chant, like a Gregorian chant kind of factor.”

“I labored on the market can be 4 particular classes of music. There’d be rhythmical sequence of guitars that I put collectively after which there was a sequence of percussion that I might put collectively, after which there was some keyboard components that I put collectively. After which the ultimate factor was the vocal components,” he continues. “So I had myself singing over and over, these chants.”

Anderson Discovered He Had a Drawback

In keeping with the songwriter, he had about 24 tracks of audio that he wanted to get into sync, together with a wide range of instrumentation — he provides percussion and Center Jap guitar strums as two examples.

Progressively, you’d begin the playback on the a number of tapes and the person machines as a way to hopefully get the music to line up in the way in which you had been listening to it. This concerned trial, error and many experimentation, as he recollects. He started to succeed in his wits’ finish. “For 4 days, I could not get them to sync collectively, play collectively, or be in time collectively and it drove me loopy,” he admits. “My fantastic engineer [and Yes associate, Mike Dunne], mentioned, ‘I gotta go. I am unable to take this anymore.'”

Anderson wasn’t able to throw within the towel, as you’ll be able to think about. “I keep in mind, it was midnight, and I used to be saying, ‘Okay, I will do it only one extra time for all of them to sync in time with one another. I pressed the buttons after one minute, after which one other after one other minute, and so forth,” he says. “And I went and fell asleep. I believe I would been consuming one thing.” [the vocalist chuckles]

How Did Issues Finish Up?

“I keep in mind waking up and the solar was shining by the storage window like loopy. It is like the entire place was lit up,” he displays. “And I awakened and thought, ‘What occurred? What was I doing? Wait a minute, what was I doing?'”

“I went over to the principle tape machine and I pressed it, and the very first thing began, the Moroccan sitar sounds and stuff like that,” he says. “After which the percussion got here in and I believed, wait a minute, it is in time with one another. What is going on on? After which these keyboard sounds got here and all the pieces was in sync. After which the very last thing is the choir got here in and consider me, I used to be crying and searching the window.”

What’s Jon Anderson Doing in 2026?

He is acquired so much occurring. The fiftieth anniversary reissue of Olias of Sunhillow is offered for preorder now and it is solely the second time it has been out there domestically on vinyl since its authentic difficulty in 1976.

Anderson has additionally been arduous at work, trying to end off a sequel to the Olias album, one thing he instructed UCR about late final 12 months. On the heels of 2024’s True, he is additionally acquired a brand new album persevering with his collaboration with the Band Geeks. That is near completion and anticipated to be launched later this 12 months. He is been previewing a music from the upcoming set, “Giving is Residing” as a part of the newest spherical of tour dates he is enjoying with the Geeks.

The Sure vocal legend at present has reveals on faucet that can maintain him busy for portion of the remainder of 2026. The present U.S. leg runs by Could 7 in Royal Oak, Michigan. The subsequent spherical of dates right here within the States begins in late June and can run by the tip of July. He is presently set to take the Band Geeks abroad in September for his or her first U.Ok. performances and can finish the 12 months with a present in Paris on Oct. 13.

READ MORE: Jon Anderson Reveals 2026 Tour Dates