When it was certain I'd do a series of interviews with Ayreon guest musicians, I didn't have to think hard who would be a great start. I'll never forget the moment that I bought the first Ayreon album and asked myself "Who's this singer? He's Dutch!?" when I played the first tracks. Besides that, Edward Reekers (yes, he's the one I'm talking about) has been present on every album so far. Enough reason to question him, I'd say.
Profile
Name: Edward Reekers
Date of birth: May 24, 1957
Nationality: Dutch
Residence: Soest, Netherlands
Married: With Karin in 1982
Children: Trevor ('88) and Melody ('93)
Hobbies: Cooking, watching TV, reading
Favorite 3 albums: "Shelter me" by Richard Page
"Third Matinee" by Third Matinee
Everything by The Beatles
Favorite 3 books: The Celestine Promise
Lady Chatterly's Lover
Everything by Kees Van Kooten
Favorite 3 movies:All That Jazz
Immortal Beloved
A Fish Called Wanda
Edward, first off, could you describe shortly what you have done so far in your career as a musician? When I was 13 I was in my first band at school. At the age of 16 I recorded my first record with 'Tacit'. When I was 18 I started to write and sing commercials. I joined Kayak as a lead singer two years later. From 1982 I sang, spoke and wrote commercials, did jingles for Radio 2, Sky Radio, 538, Radio 10 Gold etcetera. I did some choir work for other artists, I directed and used my voice for cartoons. I act, I produce, I compose. I do pretty much of everything you could say!
Sooner or later every musician discovers some influences that change his or her view on music. What musicians or other persons have had this influence on you? The Beatles (especially Paul McCartney), Yes, Genesis en Richard Page.
What do you consider to be the highest peak in your career so far? The period with Kayak and a 5th of May-concert during which I sang Bohemian Rhapsody together with a huge Metropole Orchestra. There was a choir of 150 people, the Dutch queen and the whole government were in the audience, live TV, the whole bit.
Now about Ayreon: How did you get in touch with Arjen for the first time? Arjen just phoned me. He got my number from a mutual friend of ours. How do you like the way of working with him? Do you ever disagree? Arjen and I can get along really well. We love almost the same kind of music and there was 'chemistry' from the very beginning. We respect each other's talent and this creates a base of confidence on which we can get along really well.
What Ayreon album is your personal favorite? Actual Fantasy.
You have done vocals on every Ayreon album so far and you will be one of the vocalists on the upcoming project. Besides Arjen, you are the only "guest musician" that has always been present. Would it be too much to say that because of these contributions you have become a constant factor in the Ayreon-sound? I see Arjen as a painter with sound and my voice as a color. If he uses my color in several paintings, my voice is part of the chromatic spectrum. Not that my color is a substantial part of a series of paintings. Apart from that, it's very nice to participate every time.
Speaking of the Ayreon sound: in an interview I read that to you the production qualities and details of "Into the Electric Castle" were outstanding. Are you involved yourself in obtaining that good sound quality? Do you have an influence on the way your voice will sound on an Ayreon disc? The production on all Ayreon albums is of a very high level, to my opinion. I have a 16- track recording studio at home, so I'm very busy with a good sound myself. When I have sung at Arjen's studio, I can blindly rely on the fact that he will deal with it with great integrity and professionalism.
Arjen has stated very clearly and repeatedly that he does not want to perform the Ayreon music on stage. Do you think this is a pity? If so, would you have cooperated if he had planned to do this? I believe that Arjen has said that it looks almost impossible to bring an Ayreon project live when you only look at the great number of people involved and the very high costs of it. If someone succeeds to organize it well, I'm sure we'll both cooperate.
Of course, being a professional singer, you work with a lot of other musicians too. Do you notice they are familiar with the Ayreon albums or do you think Ayreon is confined to a selective audience? The group of musicians I work with is not so big, so it's a small public of its own already. Some colleagues have heard of it, but in the Netherlands it seems to be that Ayreon is for a small group of admirers. This counts for both musicians both the ordinary listener.
Many people probably hear your voice on a daily basis in commercials on the radio, but in the streets they probably pass you without recognizing you. Does this bother you or are you enjoying your anonymity? I enjoy this anonymity. Especially when you have a family it's great to be just an ordinary dad everywhere. Besides that your wife and children aren't exposed to tabloids and things like that. Being famous is nice abroad. You can keep things separated by this.
What is your opinion on the present-day music scene? I mean, despite the growing influence of commercialism, you must feel good about the fact that for example many people buy Ayreon albums or that still a Kayak website is maintained? What I notice with today's music scene is that on one side there is an overwhelming increase of commerce. Acts that are made up 'sing' a bunch of stolen songs. On the other hand there are bands that should have never left their rehearsal-shed who suddenly pretend that they are 'top of the bill'. Does this opinion arise from frustration, am I jealous or did the generation gap strike me? I think that record companies especially don't focus on cherishing talent but only look for short-term profits. Every now and then a real talent emerges but, with all respect, I do hear a lot of crap. Great talent isn't just there on the streets, you've got to search for it really deep. The fact that someone in the US has built a Kayak website is very nice, of course. By the way, I notice that there is an increasing interest for Kayak again lately. It was a very educational period to me on which I look back with great pleasure.
You have a quite impressive musical career behind you already. Do you have the feeling that you are still learning and gaining new experience? Of course I'm still learning. If you're not learning anything new or if you don't want to learn anything anymore you'll become stiff. You've got keep your instrument fresh and never run away from a challenge. You have to know what you can do, but especially what you can't do as well. You don't have to let me sing jazz, for instance. I can't do that because I don't have the feeling for it.
Do you have any dreams or wishes for the future that you would like to see fulfilled? Perhaps making your own album? I'd like to play in a musical someday. And I'm busy with a CD project again. But this still falls under the category 'dreams' and I can't tell a lot about it at the moment.
