Arjen explains: I’ve known Ernst from his days in Helloise in the 80’s. At the time Helloise and Vengeance were the most well-known hardrock bands in the Netherlands. Together with Robert Soeterboek, Ernst and I once did a show with a 70s (Deep Purple) cover band, and that’s when I realized how good Ernst really is…
Eric Clayton
Arjen: Some years ago a German journalist introduced me to the music of Saviour Machine, and needless to say I was really impressed by their singer Eric Clayton. His voice kinda reminded me of David Bowie, but he definitely has his own distinctive style. Then my manager Yvette played me some of their stuff and…
Edward Balogh
Arjen explains: Edwin had sent me an Omega CD featuring his vocals. I wasn’t convinced, but when he visited me and sang something accompanying himself with guitar I was. Edwin has a raw voice, and sings with great passion…
Edward Reekers
Arjen explains: Edward always watches my face when he’s singing. Whenever he sees that big smile appear, he knows he’s on the right track. Edward has a bright, and yet warm voice. A lot of Dutch people will recognize his voice from the many commercials he sings. I was already a fan of his voice when I heard Kayak’s
Ed Warby
Arjen explains:
I had seen Gorefest live once and was very impressed with Ed, their drummer. Years later I needed a drummer for ‘Into the Electric Castle’ and someone recommended Ed. But I wanted a versatile drummer who loved prog and I was under the impression that Ed only liked metal. But after I talked to him…
Devon Graves
Arjen explains: I once heard Psychotic Waltz about 10 years ago when a journalist played it to me and I remember I really liked the singer. The record company Inside Out regularly sends me CDs they release. Among them was Devon’s new band Dead Soul Tribe. Again I was impressed by his voice and decided to contact him…
Devin Townsend
Arjen explains: I first heard Devin when he sang on Steve Vai’s ‘Sex and Religion’ album, and we all knew something extraordinary was happening here! Then much later I received a stack of albums and when I listened to them Devin Townsend’s album really stuck out, I believe it was ‘Terria’. Clearly something unique was happening here; this wall of sound, lots of weirdness and great melodies…
Davy Mickers
Davy Mickers played drums in Stream of Passion, a project Arjen started to feature the vocals of Marcela Bovio. The project turned into a band…
Dave Brock
Arjen explains: I’ve collected and listened to ‘Hawkwind’ records for my entire life. I loved the mysterious spacey music, sleeves and lyrics. I asked Dave many times if he would participate on one of my CDs, but I was never able to reach him, until Star One. He’s never been a guest on anyone else’s project either, which makes me extra proud to know he was on mine…
Cleem Determeyer
Arjen explains: Cleem is classically trained and an incredible pianist. He taught me a lot about arrangements. He used to be in the band Finch with Peter Vink. I met Cleem at a party Peter had organized and we found out that we were on the same musical and personal wavelength…
Chris Maitland
Arjen explains: Chris was the ideal choice for Guilt Machine, as he has both the power for the heavy sections and the subtle touch needed in the more atmospheric parts…
Bruce Dickinson
Arjen explains: My manager at the time, Harrie, worked for the same management as Iron Maiden’s, so at some point he had given Bruce a copy of ‘Into the Electric Castle’. About 6 months later Harrie asked Bruce if he had ever listened to it, and he replied that he loved it…
Barry Hay
Arjen explains:
Back in the 80s my last band Vengeance performed ‘Back Home’ live with Barry on vocals. I’ve always been a big Earring fan, so having Barry on my album was a great experience for me. It was the first time that a voice that I had listened to for all my youth sang one of my very own songs…
Backing vocalists
The following albums feature backing vocals Anthony – Pools of Sorrow, Waves of Joy Ayreon – The Final Experiment Audio To the Quazar Mirjam van Doorn – vocals Arjen explains: Mirjam is the wife of Peter Vink, my favorite bass player. She has a high and bright powerful voice that blends wonderfully with the dark […]
Anneke van Giersbergen
Arjen explains: Hans van Vuuren of the Transmission label is a big fan of Anneke and one day asked me to have a good listen to her voice. Indeed I was quite impressed. Anneke is a pitch-perfect singer and her voice has a wonderful deep vibrato. It took quite some time to convince Anneke (but more specifically her band) to participate
Astrid van der Veen
Arjen explains: “Someone had sent me an MP3 with Astrid singing on it. I didn’t have time to listen to it, but he kept asking me to listen to it. When I finally did listen, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe that the singer was only 14
Andi Deris
Arjen Explains: My manager at the time, Harrie Smits, was also the manager of the band Helloween. He told me that the guys in Helloween liked my music. So I got in touch with Andi. I personally think he has a very pleasant voice when he sings the more laid-back songs, so on ‘Flight of the Migrator’ I used Andi very differently compared to how he sings for his own band.
Dan Swano
Arjen Explains: I read in an interview that Dan considered me one of his influences. So I began listening to his music (Nightingale) and immediately loved his warm, dark voice. We e-mailed for a while and at some point is asked him if he would be interested in being part of Star One. He didn’t need a long time to think about it!
Damian Wilson
Arjen Explains: His voice reminds me of one of my favorite singers; Robert Plant, although Damian sings completely different and is absolutely not a Plant fan. That’s why his voice can be considered unique. It is clear, and strong, and indestructible. I heard one of his songs (Homegrown) on a Prog collection CD and was immediately impressed.
Clive Nolan
Arjen Explains: Clive may very well be the biggest name in the English neo-prog scene. I’d seen him perform with Pendragon a number of times and every time I noticed that big sound of one of his synthesisers…