Jethro Tull are set to release their 23rd studio album, RökFlöte, on April 21 via Inside Out Music. In a new interview with Greg Prato for AllMusic, leader Ian Anderson discusses a variety of topics, including the new album, band members past and present, and this year marking the 50-year anniversary of a Tull release that is the "black sheep of the discography family." An excerpt from the chat follows:
AllMusic: Let's start with the new album, RökFlöte. It was released rather soon after The Zealot Gene – were both albums written around the same time?
Anderson: "No. The Zealot Gene we began working on in 2017, but then I didn't get many tracks finished because we were on tour, and then Covid came along. So, it didn't get released until January of 2022 – by which time I had already started work on RökFlöte. It was basically the same kind of process really – of writing most of the music over a period of two weeks, then making some demos for the band, then letting them have a period of time to work on those demos and all the arrangements notes that I sent them, and then we start rehearsing during May or June of 2022."
"We did six days of rehearsal and seven days of recording, and then I had to – during the little periods between tours – work on finishing up my own flute and vocal overdubs, mixing, mastering, and working on all the artwork design and content. So, it was a busy period. It was delivered to the record company in September of 2022. But, I've already committed myself to another new album in 2024 – which is what I started on January 1st of this year, and I should deliver that by April of next year."
Read more at AllMusic.com.
Following 2022’s The Zealot Gene, the band's first album in two decades, Ian Anderson and the band are returning with a 12-track record based on the characters and roles of some of the principle gods of the old Norse paganism, and at the same time exploring the 'RökFlöte’ - rock flute - which Jethro Tull has made iconic.
RökFlöte will be available in several different formats, including two limited deluxe formats that include bonus demo material, extensive liner notes & a blu-ray featuring Dolby Atmos, 5.1 surround sound, alternative stereo mixes by Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief), as well as a bonus track and in-depth interview with Ian Anderson. The album will also be available digitally in the spatial audio formats Dolby Atmos & Sony 360 RA.
Formats:
- Ltd Deluxe Dark Red 2LP+2CD+Blu-ray Artbook incl. 2 x art-prints
- Ltd Deluxe 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook
- Special Edition CD Digipak
- Gatefold 180g LP+LP-booklet
- Digital Album
Pre-order here.
Tracklisting:
"Voluspo"
"Ginnungagap"
"Allfather"
"The Feathered Consort"
"Hammer On Hammer"
"Wolf Unchained"
"The Perfect One"
"Trickster (And The Mistletoe)"
"Cornucopia"
"The Navigators"
"Guardian’s Watch"
"Ithavoll"
"Hammer On Hammer" video;
"The Navigators" video:
"Ginnungagap" video:
Lineup:
Ian Anderson - Flute, acoustic guitar, harmonica, vocals
David Goodier - Bass guitar
John O’Hara - Piano, keyboards and accordion
Scott Hammond - Drums.
Joe Parrish-James - Guitar
(Photo - Assunta Opahle)
