On the Record with Arjen Lucassen & Robert Soeterboek of Plan Nine & Ayreon

And Star One, and… and… and…

I learned about Ayreon back in the 2000s when I saw the “01011001” album staring at me in the local music store for so long that I had to buy it because it was there for so long (not many Canadians knew about Ayreon back in the day). However, even though I bought several more of his albums afterward, I didn’t get into Ayreon or Arjen Lucassen’s other projects until maybe 2010 when I heard “The Human Equation” properly for the first time (with the lyrics, of course). It has ever since been what I consider to be the best album ever, when it comes to talent, musical quality, and storytelling. So, since I enjoy Arjen’s work so much, whenever it’s interview season, I always try to sneak in an interview with him if possible. However, since Arjen was promoting both “01011001: Live Beneath the Waves” and “The Long-Lost Songs” by Lucassen & Soeterboek’s Plan Nine, I had to ask if I could possibly get Robert Soeterboek in on this interview as well! 

If you're wondering about the joke I made at the very end, here's the explanation:
When I had booked the interview, I was given the options of Monday and Wednesday. I meant to say that I was traveling Monday, so Wednesday would be better, but for some reason, my brain glitched and I accidentally said Monday was fine. I got a call while at the airport wondering where I was. Naturally, I was extremely embarrassed about this, but since Arjen set me up so beautifully, I simply had to take the shot.

Also, apologies for the truly long release delay for this interview—t took me a very long time to find some help balancing the three audio tracks. 

Thanks for checking it out, and please do the usual subs and shares if you want to see more of these in the future!

READ MORE: (2017) Interview with Arjen (The Source), (2020) Interview with Arjen (Transitus); live reports from the shows are moving from their current home at www.tuonelamagazine.com