Arjen explains: I am a big fan of the psychedelic 60s cult band Kaleidoscope. I got in touch with their singer Peter through a Japanese label and corresponded with him a while. I sent him a few of my CDs that he liked, after which I played some guitar on his new songs. When I was looking for a narrator for ‘Into the Electric Castle’ I decided to ask him because he had done something similar on…
Oscar Holleman
Arjen explains: I played with Oscar for many years in Vengeance. Oscar started the band together with Jan Bijlsma and his simple but immense guitar sound and charisma are two of the main reasons I joined the band. At some point started a studio in his parents’ garage, and gave me the opportunity to record my first Ayreon CD ‘The Final Experiment’ there. Fortunately for both of us…
Oliver Wakeman
Arjen explains: In 2002 I played guitar on Clive Nolan’s and Oliver Wakeman’s ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’ album. Ever since then I’ve been in regular email contact with Oliver. Already a long time ago we agreed to play on each others projects one day. For this album I had the idea to have Oliver and his father Rick do a synth-duel. Rick emailed me that…
Okkie Huysdens
Arjen explains: Okkie is the producer of the first Bodine album and a singer on various projects among which the ‘Stars on 45’ Beatles project. He also sang the high background vocals on the second Vengeance album. Okkie has a bright, soulful AOR voice. He can sing the strangest harmonies without much effort. He is a very talented and versatile musician and producer.
Neal Morse
Arjen explains: From the first time I heard the masterful progband Spock’s Beard I knew that at some point in time I wanted to work with the singer. I went to their show and afterwards I just walked up to Neal and gave him an Ayreon CD with a letter. Fortunately he loved my music and I recorded his voice in LA. Neal has a slightly breathy, melodic voice with a limited range but a tremendous…
Mouse
Arjen explains: I heard a song of the band Tuesday Child and couldn’t believe that it was a Dutch band. I really liked the singer, especially because of the comparison to John Lennon. I called him immediately and though he was a little reluctant at first, he ended up singing the Hippie part on ‘Into the Electric Castle’. After that, everything went wrong. Misinformed by some manager, Mouse began…
Mikael Akerfeldt
Arjen explains: I sent an email to Opeth’s management, explaining them who I was and that I would love to have Mikael sing on my album. To my surprise I got an email back from Mikael himself, saying that he really likes my music and even bought some of my albums…
Mike Baker
Arjen Explains: Mike did an amazing job on Loser, and his performance makes it one of my favourite tracks. When I told him this, he replied: “Flattery will get you everywhere…but ya can’t brown nose old Bakey so easy…at least buy me dinner & a movie first!” We also recorded an Alice Cooper cover together (How you Gonna See me Now) which ended up on a single…
Michael Romeo
Arjen explains: When Russell (Allen) had agreed to sing the song ‘Dawn of a Million Souls’ I asked Michael if he could play a guitar solo in that song. After all Michael is technically one of the best guitarists in the world at the moment. What he ended up playing surpassed my wildest expectations. Both melodically and in virtuosity. There is a chromatic riff in the solo that…
Martin Orford
Arjen explains: My brother (the infamous Gjalt) is a big IQ fan. I went to an IQ show many years ago and liked what I heard. Later on I bought their album ‘Subterranea’ which I really enjoyed. Some melodies and synth-sounds on ‘Subterranea’ are simply amazing! Then I went to another IQ gig and Arie Verstegen, the organiser, arranged a meeting between Martin and me. Martin didn’t know…
Mark McCrite
Arjen explains: Mark is the singer for Rocket Scientist, the band in which Erik Norlander plays keyboards. When I recorded Neal Morse in LA, Mark did the backing vocals for the Beatlesque ‘The First Man on Earth’. Mark is a big Beatles fan, just like I am, and his vocals are kind of similar to that style. We regularly send each other compilations of ‘Beatle-ish’ bands we discover.
Marcela Bovio
Arjen explains: Some time ago I came up with the to idea to give an unknown singer the chance to sing on Ayreon. Obviously also in the hopes that I would discover a talent like Astrid (Ambeon). So on the website we encouraged fans to send in their recordings. I received over a 100 recordings (thanks to you all!), listened to them and replied to everyone. One evening I heard a Mexican girl called Marcela Bovio and her…
Magali Luyten
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Liselotte Hegt
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Jorn Lande
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Jonas Renkse
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Hansi Kursch
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Daniel Gildenlow
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Bob Catley
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Ben Mathot
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Magnus Ekwall
Arjen explains: Arjen: I always buy magazines with a compilation CD attached in order to stay updated about what’s currently happening and of course to discover some new talent. On a Rock Hard compilation CD I heard the Swedish band ‘The Quill’ (Overlord) and I was really impressed by their extremely powerful singer, who reminded me a bit of the late and great Ray Gillen as well as Robert Plant…
Lori Linstruth
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Leon Goewie
Arjen explains: Leon was/is the singer of Vengeance, the band that I joined in 1984. He has a very powerful voice, but can also sing great ballads; and on top of that he has a great stage presence. Unfortunately our personalities clashed and we parted ways in 1989. However, we continued to respect each other’s musical talents and even worked together a number of times…
Lenny Wolf
Arjen explains: When Kingdom Come suddenly became successful with their first album, everyone dismissed them as a Led Zeppelin clone. Of course the comparison of Lenny’s voice with Robert Plant is obvious, but he has developed his own recognizable style. I thought they were a great band in and of itself, and continued buying all their albums. When I had a Led Zeppelin type of song (‘Eyes of Time’) and couldn’t get a hold of Robert Plant, a reporter told me to contact Lenny. Lenny at that time didn’t have…
Ken Hensley
Needless to say I’ve always wanted to work with Ken, but I didn’t know how to get in contact with him. Then a friend of mine, Lars Ratz (bassplayer of Metallium), who works with Ken regularly, gave me his email address. I emailed Ken and luckily he agreed to do it- provided he would like the music…