on sale at all Marc gigs or by post - £8 plus £1 pp (Cheques payable to GABRIEL) from Gabriel CD offer, 1 Barden Court, Rawcliffe York UK

AS MARC LAUNCHES HIS LONG AWAITED FIRST SOLO CD "SEASONS OF MY LIFE" CATHY POWERS CAUGHT UP WITH HIM TO FIND OUT HIS THOUGHTS ON THE ALBUM, AND WHAT THE FUTURE HAS IN STORE FOR HIM AND HIS BAND - GABRIEL.

KATHY POWERS: Having just heard the new album, Marc, can I just say I’m very impressed. 

What I really liked, apart from the songs of course, was how every track was linked together and how talking voices come in and out all the way through. Was it always your intention to do an album that was almost one long song?

I was about to mention what a personal album it must be for you….

MARC ATKINSON: (Laughs) Oh ok, yes… cheers… that’s nice to know…. I’m glad you like it…

Oh yeah, very much so. I’ve always loved albums that take you on a journey. Pink Floyd and Marillion spring to mind as bands that use that sort of concept and I love that approach. I’ve always wanted to do a ‘linked’ album and this was my chance. We sort of did it a bit on GABRIEL’s ASCENSION album where a few of the songs are joined together and we also used a few ‘sound bites’ (talking voices) in places. But on ‘Seasons…’ I wanted to do it all the way through and make it a lot more personal…. Half my family and friends are on there!

Yeah, it’s very personal. When I was playing a few of the tracks to Q (Paul Cusick : Gabriel guitarist) he said, “this album’s like therapy to you, isn’t it??!”. It made me laugh but it was very true. All the songs, without exception, have deep meaning for me. They wouldn’t be on there if they didn’t.

As far as all the links are concerned, they all have meaning to the songs they follow or proceed. It wasn’t just a case of creating a load of ‘noise’ that meant nothing to what had been or was about to come.

 The track for your daughter, ‘Enya’, in particular really works with the links.

It must really be emotional for you to listen to the tracks if they have all those amazing real life moments in them?

Oh, without a doubt. ‘Enya’ has put me away many times! It usually when I listen to them with ‘fresh’ ears, in other words when I have stepped away from them for a few days. In fact I remember driving back from the hospital after Enya had been born and put ‘Enya’ the track on my CD player. I blubbed like a baby!! I had to pull over!! But it’s only a good thing that my own songs can affect me like that.

How are you finding fatherhood?

Would you say ‘Enya’ is your favourite track on the album then?

It sounds like the album has taken a lot of time to record. How long have you been working on it?

Marc, You have engineered, produced and mixed the album yourself. How do you remain objective about the performances and the songs in general?

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I’m chuffed to bits. Enya is even more beautiful than we could ever have hoped for. I have my beautiful girlfriend, Tamsin, to thank for that. It’s all in the genes, you know :o)

Yes and no. I don’t have a favourite track really. I like them all in different ways. It depends what mood I’m in. ‘Enya’ obviously means a lot to me but I also really like ‘Wonderland’, ‘One perfect love song’, ‘One good day’….. no, I don’t have a favourite.

It’s hard to answer that question because I’ve been working on it on and off for the last nine months really (mainly ‘off’ to be honest). I have spent a lot of time on it but not as much as ‘big bands’ spend on recording albums.

It is quite hard because, and this has happened quite often, because you    have no second opinion, you can think    a "take" Was a good one and then      you listen to it the next day with fresh ears and realise it’s not right so you   have to re-do it etc. But it’s also been good to not have anyone to answer to.    I’ve done exactly what I’ve wanted  to do on this album and no  one to   disagree with me artistically

Would that have happened if this had been a GABRIEL album?

Are you pleased with the ‘SEASONS OF MY LIFE’ album?

What can we expect for the launch night?

Oh yeah, but I don’t mean that in a negative way. Every one in Gabriel has an opinion and they’re not scared to express it :o) - and that’s only right. Gabriel is very much a band now, more than ever to be honest. And songs and ideas with Gabriel have to represent the whole band. That’s only fair, and how it should be.

Yeah, as much as I can be. About 95% pleased with it. Which is a lot!!! There’s a saying that art is never finished only abandoned. I could have gone on forever re-doing stuff or adding tracks etc… but I had to have a cut off point and the end of July was it! But I’m very pleased with it. I think it works really well as an album and I’m looking forward to seeing what other people think of it.

I think I will be playing a 50 minute set with my sister Janine and Dave Clements on bass. We’ll play mainly songs from the album and maybe throw in a couple of covers for Jan to sing. Hopefully it will be very informal. I’m hoping to lay some food on as well and make it a cosy night that people will be able to come down and socialise and have a good night. It’s at The Junction in York which is a really good venue. I’m really looking forward to it.

You mentioned to me before about CD notes that go with the album….

Yeah, hopefully I want to produce a leaflet type of document that goes along with the CD that goes deeper into the tracks etc… for people that like to know the ins and outs of the tracks. Hopefully I’ll have the ready in time for the launch. It’ll also be sent out to anyone who orders the CD via the website or via post. And for anyone who asks for it. The CD itself does come with a 12 page booklet with all the lyrics in and photos etc…. but the leaflet will just go into the tunes in more detail and give people the chance to get ‘under the skin’ of the songs a bit more.

Do you yourself believe this album will ‘take off’ and introduce your music to more people? And how successful would you like to be? Is fame something that you seek?

Fame is something that I’ve never sought or lusted after at all. I remember talking to a guy who was in a band and he was saying that his aim was to be so famous that, if he walked into a room, every one would turn to him and recognise him and all flock around him. That was his reason for been in a band! I found that really hard to understand. The only reason I love to create music is because…… I love to create!! I’m certainly not in it for the money or the adulation. The sense of achievement when you see people walking away with your CDs and enjoying them or like now with a new album finished and ready to be released, that’s what I do it for. To be honest, I don’t think I’d want to be really famous. Not that that’s ever gonna happen anyway! I mean, I’d love this album to ‘take off’, as you say, and I’d love to step up the musical ladder, so to speak. I’d love to be in the position where I toured just playing my own music to appreciative crowds and I just made enough money to survive and be comfortable. That would be my dream. So, yeah, I’d love this album to open new doors for me. That would be cool. But, even if it doesn’t, it wouldn’t stop me from writing and performing. That’s something I’ll always do. It’s who I am.

So what’s next for you? And how does GABRIEL fit into those plans?

Obviously, at the minute, my plans are to do as many acoustic gigs as possible and get this album out there. As far GABRIEL is concerned the band is still very much an ongoing project. We’ve already had 5 or 6 ‘jam sessions’, which is just getting new ideas out. We have, without exaggeration, about 20 song ideas kicking around with about 3 or 4 of them in the second stage of development. They sound really cool. The next GABRIEL release is very much going to be a collaborative process. There’s going to be a lot more co-writing going on and songs that come out of ‘jams’. I don’t think they’ll be as much of me writing on my own and then bringing the songs to the band for them to play. The next album is definitely going to be a ‘band’ album….. and all the better for it. I think it’s gonna be much more experimental and organic. It’s still too early to say really, but that’s my feelings on it.

When can we expect to hear it? And when will the band be playing live again? 

I’ve no idea. I expect we will record some songs over the next few months but whether they’ll be just demos or potential album tracks I don’t know. We’re certainly in no rush to get an album out or to play live again. And that’s not because we are been lazy but because we want it to be right. At a very rough estimate I would probably say we may have something ready for next spring or early summer….. but that’s not saying we definitely will….. I expected ‘SEASONS….’ to be ready last December!!! So don’t hold your breath for the next GABRIEL CD. It will happen but it may not be for a while. Obviously we’ll start gigging again when we have a new album to promote.

Do you miss playing live with the band?

Is that why you put RIPP’D together?

Will Rob be playing drums on the next GABRIEL album then?

Well your album is a testament to dedication. Congratulations once more and best of luck with it…

Yes definitely. As much as enjoy playing acoustically, you cant beat the live buzz of playing with a kick ass rock n roll band!! We have RIPP’D, of course, but that’s playing covers. It’s easy to get applause for playing other people’s songs. Getting response when you play your own numbers is a much bigger…. Much richer buzz. I miss that. The trouble is a lot of venues won’t book original bands any more. It was really difficult actually getting gigs for GABRIEL as we didn’t play any covers (apart from maybe one for an encore). There’s so many venues that just want cover bands or, even worse, tribute acts.

No, that was mainly for Rob to get a chance to play drums live. It wasn’t a case of doing it to get gigs. We don’t really want that many gigs for RIPP’D. We just want it to be fun when we do play.

Looks that way! He’s certainly improving every time we play. He’s a quick learner but, saying that, he’s put the practise in. Dedication, you see, that’s what it takes!

Thank you. I just hope every one likes it as much as you do.