Louder AAA
After a five-year gap, Edison’s Children returned in 2019 with official third album The Disturbance Fields, which co-founder and Marillion bassist Pete Trewavas told Prog was about space, climate change and the band’s own future.
When Pete Trewavas of Marillion and Eric Blackwood of Blackwood & Foti formed Edison’s Children in 2008, they never imagined that one day they’d be writing, recording and performing with the son of the first man on the Moon.
“It’s pretty humbling stuff, actually,” Trewavas says of working with Rick Armstrong, offspring of lunar astronaut Neil. When Prog catches up with the bassist at his home studio in Aylesbury, he’s making final adjustments to his parts on Marillion’s surprise release With Friends From The Orchestra.
Although Marillion is still his priority, he speaks fondly of his Edison’s Children colleagues, and it’s clear that the project is very important to him. “Eric’s been the creative thinker over the years, and Rick’s a pretty good creative force too,” he explains. “He’s a guitarist and bassist as well, and he’s very good at reminding us of the kinds of things that are good about the band.”
Armstrong has been a big supporter of the sci-fi rock band since their inception – he’s namechecked as one of the first 20 people to order their 2011 debut In The Last Waking Moments… – and became a full-time member in 2013. It was Armstrong who secured their support slot with Alan Parsons at Florida’s ‘space coast’ in July 2019 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s Moon landing.
“It was unbelievable, and I feel very proud and honoured to have been a part of it,” says Trewavas. “We had an exclusive tour of the Kennedy Space Center, which was amazing – we got to see the landing pads and parts that most people don’t get to see.
“The lunar landing was an iconic moment of the 60s for me. I stayed up to watch it on TV and I remember it vividly. I was 10 years old and interested in sci-fi; but when you actually realise that people are travelling in space and landing on the Moon for real, it’s mind-blowing.”
He’s comparatively modest about the Florida show, but in reality it was Edison’s Children’s first full outing since 2014, and included guest appearances from Porcupine Tree’s John Wesley on guitars, drummer Mark Prator (ex-Iced Earth) and UPF’s Lisa Wetton on keyboards and percussion. It also gave the band tab opportunity to premiere new material.
But the future hasn’t always looked so rosy. Despite having written around 100 songs together, Edison’s Children have taken a back seat over the past five years, partly due to Trewavas’ commitments with Marillion, Kino and Transatlantic, but also because of Blackwood’s health. The singer-guitarist suffered what Trewavas refers to as a “devastating injury” and also contracted Lyme disease, which left him on a drip for the best part of a year.
Despite the release of 2015’s interim album Somewhere Between Here And There, and last year’s reissue of their sold-out debut, rumours began to circulate about whether Blackwood would be well enough to return to the project. What fans didn’t realise was that work had already begun on what would be their official third album.
Its title, The Disturbance Fields, comes from the band’s original name, and revisits some of the themes that came up while they were recording their debut. It even includes a new version of A Cold Gray Morning, the very first song that Blackwood and Trewavas wrote together.
“The album started out as a concept,” Trewavas explains. “While we were recording our first album in Ocean Pines [in August 2011], Hurricane Irene hit. The area was being evacuated; we had the police knocking on our door and the letting agency telling us to leave, but we decided to stick it out. The house shook quite violently at one point and a few trees blew down, but it wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. Then we found out that further up the coast there was massive flooding.
“So I had this concept called Washed Away, which was about everything you know being destroyed, so you lost that sense of who you are. We changed the title; but it’s still loosely based on the idea of Mother Nature fighting back through storms and weather. There’s also a connection with the Moon – we’re looking for other worlds to inhabit, and I think ultimately we’re looking for answers too. Who are we? Why are we here? Is there anybody else, and what can they tell us?”
The 68-minute recording includes lead and rhythm guitars from Armstrong, who also plays bass on a couple of songs. Lisa Wetton and Touchstone’s Henry Rogers share the drumming across the 14 tracks, which were mixed by Trewavas’ Kino bandmate John Mitchell and mastered by Andy VanDette (Rush, Porcupine Tree).
Musically darker and more intense than Edison’s Children’s earlier material, The Disturbance Fields reflects the changeable conditions of its subject matter. “It’s quite calm in many places; that’s how weather is,” says Trewavas. “There’s a lull every now and again, which carries with it a false sense of security, both in real life and on our album. It’s funny – although this is a concept that we put together, it’s born out of quite a lot of things that have happened to us since.”
Although climate change has become a big topic, Edison’s Children seem to have already had first-hand experience of rather a lot of it. As well as their experience in Ocean Pines, recording sessions have been affected by earthquakes, tornados and even a heavy blizzard. Could it be a coincidence that, on the day our interview takes place, most of the UK is experiencing heavy storms and flash floods?
“Climate change is very much at the forefront of everybody’s minds right now, as it should be, and that might have swayed our decision to release the album now,” Trewavas admits. “We’ve only got one world, and I think we’re being very flippant with the way we’re treating it at the moment. It really disheartens me. The corporate world still isn’t taking our climate seriously enough. But that’s another story.”
If there’s one thing the band aren’t short of, it’s creativity – over the years they’ve gathered enough material for at least two more albums. The only barrier in their way seems to be time itself. Trewavas’ tour schedule with Marillion is filling up again; but he hopes that Edison’s Children can keep up the momentum of their latest release.
“We’d really like to grow the band in people’s minds. We do want to do live shows, and the next album will hopefully come out a little sooner as well – but I’m stupidly busy at the moment. We almost need to be like The Wombles, and have people dressing up in Edison’s Children suits and be us!”
