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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
Peter Daltrey
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…
Peter Vink
Arjen explains: During the 60s Peter was a big star in the Netherlands with his band Q65, but I was more interested in his progressive period with the band Finch in the 70s. The first time I met Peter was when he produced my very first demo in 1978. From that time on we’ve always kept in touch and worked together in the cover band ‘The Renegades’, the 1993 Anthony CD, and the first Ayreon CD. Peter was…
Phideaux
Arjen explains: no comments yet.
Ralf Scheeper
Arjen explains: Over ten years ago I saw a performance of Gamma Ray and the high powerful voice of Ralf stuck with me. When a German reporter told me that Ralf had been trying to get in touch with me, I called him immediately and invited him to sing on Ayreon. I went to Germany and the song was recorded within an hour. He is a great and reliable guy.
Rene Merkelbach
Arjen explains: René works in the RS29 studio where I recorded/mixed most of my CDs, and has played keyboard for a lot of different types of bands; from the symphonic Rubicon to the death metal band Gorefest. Rene has fast fingers and is a very versatile keyboardist. The only thing that gets on my nerves is that his guitar imitations on the keyboard are just too damn close to the real thing!
Rob Snijders
Arjen explains: For ‘The Dream Sequencer’ I was looking for a drummer that, apart from being tight and powerful, could also add sensitivity and a groove. I remembered having heard a demo recording of Rob that really impressed me so I went to a concert of his (stoner rock) band Celestial Season, and my suspicions were confirmed; he was the right man for the job…
Robby Valentine
Arjen explains: I’ve always been impressed with Robby’s abilities but never knew how good he was until I actually worked with him. I went to him for one section of a piano piece. I played it on guitar for him, and he immediately turned it into an entire symphony! When this was recorded in one take, I had him play another three piano pieces. On top of that he conjured up…
Robert Baba
Arjen explains: no comments yet.
Robert Soeterboek
Arjen explains: Robert and I go back a long way, further than I can remember. When I had disbanded Vengeance, I finally had the opportunity to work with Robert. We started Planet Nine, a Whitesnake type of band, but at that time that kind of music was no longer popular, so the band never took off. Robert has a low, raw and full voice, and is often compared to David Coverdale, which doesn’t…
Robert Westerholt
Arjen explains: I was looking for a voice who could represent ‘Death’ and what better choice than a grunter? I was about to record Sharon den Adel, and her boyfriend Robert Westerhold is the grunter of ‘Within Temptation’. And because he loves my music, he was more than willing to grunt along. Robert told me that George Oosterhoek of Orphanage could release the most chilling…
Rodney Blaze
Arjen explains: I know Rodney from the glam rock outfit The Blockbusters (www.blockbusters.com) because I sang a Bowie song on their 1999 album ‘Powder to the People’. Rodney has been repairing and providing computers for me for years. One day he left his solo CD on my desk. I was very impressed by his powerful voice, so I asked him to sing a song on this album. He chose…
Russell Allen
Arjen explains: The Symphony X webmaster informed me that guitarist Michael Romeo liked my music. I started listening to Symphony X and was blown away by Russell’s voice.
I tried to get in touch with Russell, which wasn’t easy but as soon as he had heard my music he called me a few hours every week! Russell has a very powerful and versatile voice, and on top of that he…
Ruud Houweling
Arjen explains: I heard a demo recording of Ruud’s voice, and his warm, calm voice immediately won me over. Although the first CD ‘The Final Experiment’ was already finished, I wrote and recorded ‘Charm of the Seer’ especially for Ruud. I also played and sang on some of his solo tracks under the name ‘Biscuit’. He now plays in a great band called Cloudmachine.
Sharon den Adel
Arjen explains: Back in about 1997 I read in a music magazine that the new band ‘Within Temptation’ named Ayreon as one of their sources of inspiration. Of course I was honoured so I went to their concert and met with Sharon afterwards. She told me that she would love to sing on an Ayreon CD. Sharon has a beautiful, fragile voice and great charisma. At the time we recorded her part of the Indian she wasn’t very
Simone Simons
Arjen Explains: no comment yet.
Stephen van Haestregt
Arjen explains: “Stephen helped me install my new computer program Protools and taught me how to use it. He and I started the Ambeon project together by putting Ayreon song fragments into the computer, editing them, dressing them up so new songs were created. I then decided to record a real drummer to add more of a human feel to the songs, and Stephen turned out to be an excellent drummer…
Steve Lee
Arjen explains: I met Steve for the first time back in the eighties when we played in Italy with Vengeance, my band at the time. He still was a drummer and a goldsmith back then and I immediately recognized his amazing vocal talent after I heard him sing on a demo they gave me. A bit later he stayed at my house for a few days because
Thijs van Leer
Arjen explains: I’ve always been a fan of the band Focus, especially Thijs’ flute playing. When I was looking for a flutist for ‘Into the Electric Castle’ I had my sights set on him. It wasn’t easy to get a hold of him, but once he had heard my music he could be persuaded. Thijs, in comparison to other classically trained musicians, is not only able to play from sheet music but is also quite able to improvise. A day after the recording I received a fax from him in which he told me how wonderful he felt…
Timo Kotipelto
Arjen explains: I heard Stratovarius on a metal compilation and thought the singer Timo had a very pleasant voice. I got in touch with him through email and he was immediately interested in participating. We immediately hit it off, and because we have the same sense of humor, we laughed so hard and had funny pictures made of the both of us. I used Timo’s voice very differently from…
Tobias Sammet
Arjen enlisted the vocal talents of his “arch rival” Tobias Sammet (Avantasia, Edguy) to record an explosive, over-the-top version of the 1973 Alice Cooper hit, Elected. The song is featured on a 4-track EP including 3 other tracks…