Latest album Clann is a proud family affair with its roots in the 80s, when leader Andy Glass set an ambitious agenda with no regard for commercial gain
Putting the final touches to the last part in a trilogy of albums, Solstice were astonished to discover they’d stormed the 2024 Prog Readers’ Poll, including winning the coveted Best Band title. With that album, Clann, now released, and a busy live schedule ahead, Andy Glass tells Prog how he’s still processing such monumental success 45 years after forming the band.
When Prog spoke to Solstice founder Andy Glass in 2020 prior to the release of their sixth studio album Sia, he was bubbling with excitement about the band's more youthful new line-up. Fast-forward five years and Glass fizzes with abundant delight: a few months ago, Solstice swept the board in the 2024 Prog Readers' Poll in the manner of Marillion, Steven Wilson and Big Big Train in previous years.
Being voted Best Band is the crowning glory – but Glass is equally stunned to clinch the hotly-contested Best Guitarist accolade ahead of Steve Rothery, Steve Hackett and David Gilmour. Ebony Buckle, backing vocalist who often opens their shows, completes their winning hat-trick with Best New Artist.
“It’s so incredibly motivating and brilliant – and it means the world to us,” says Glass. “Our poll success isn’t about us being ‘the best,’ but far more a reflection of an incredibly motivated audience who’ve been enjoying the music. It’s actually a win for everyone who's helped and supported us along the way.
“When we started, we were very ambitious about the music, but not about industry success. We weren’t chasing that at all. We were just doing what we did back then without a plan. For it to happen now is just amazing.”
Of his own award he says: “It’s absolutely astonishing. After coming second to Steve Rothery the previous year, we had a laugh about it and I thought back then, ‘Rothers, you’d better look out!’”
The Solstice roll of honour extends to Best Vocalist second place for Jess Holland and third Best Keyboard Player for Steve McDaniel, while Peter Hemsley is eighth Best Drummer. Singer/guitarist Leoni Jane Kennedy, the newest addition who’ll open at several upcoming shows, took fourth place in the Best New Artist category. To top it all, Prog readers recently chose Firefly, the single from latest album Clann, as a Tracks of the Week winner.
“I can frame all this, put it on the wall and die a happy man, even though it’s taken us 45 years to do it – but that makes it all the sweeter,” Glass muses. “It feels much more important now because of my age, whereas when you’re 20, you take it all for granted.”
The band line-up is completed by Glass’s wife Jenny Newman on violin, bassist Robin Phillips and another newcomer, backing vocalist Dyane Crutcher. With no studio album release last year, Solstice instead issued a live album, Return To Cropredy, to mark 25 years since they first played the iconic festival. That album brings their 2023 return into people’s living rooms, pulsating with the transcendent feelgood factor that makes them one of the live circuit’s current hottest tickets.
Their shows are life-affirming celebrations, combining euphoric, explosive energy and exuberant dancing with exquisite multi-layered folky, funky, often otherworldly songs, on which all eight make massive contributions.
“It’s 100% genuine, simply because of all the pleasure we get from playing live,” Glass says. “And these wonderful young women seem to feel the same way as we do. Jess, Ebony and Dyane have this dynamic energy. They really are in the moment when they’re onstage, so it’s not just a performance: it’s a genuine response to the way they’re feeling. It’s such an incredible, serendipitous thing to have happened.”
Their shows are captivating new fans above and beyond their 80s halcyon days, when their music was more folkish. The devotion of their core supporters, affectionately called ‘guardians,’ ensures the band’s continuation by providing valuable financial support. “I feel really blessed that at the moment we can make it work because of the guardians. Then there’s the wider audience and their willingness to buy a vinyl or pre-order something, so we’re in a very special position.”
It’s not in the same league or space as Robert Fripp’s playing; so it’s a bit of an homage to him
Calling the new album Clann, the Gaelic word for extended family, eloquently sums up their current all-embracing spirit. “We’re now a band with three generations in it and a real family feel,” Glass says. “That’s where the title comes from. Clearly Leoni Jane is also going to be part of this collective family vibe, which always feels like a get-together in the best possible way.”
Some supporters contributed to Clann not just financially, but also pictorially. The inner gatefold shows the guardians, fans and their clans with the band in a happy family portrait taken at a school near Solstice’s Northamptonshire HQ.
Glass laughingly describes the album as “a prog sandwich” – it starts triumphantly with the luscious Firefly and ends with a deeply affecting epic, Twin Peaks. Three characteristically upbeat songs, all with infectious danceable jazz-funk grooves, provide the filling.
“The second track, Life, is like a summery Steely Dan with a pop sensibility, then we have a funk track and a crazy-nuts track!” Glass says. Plunk is a nod to his funk sensibilities and features a sassy brass section. “I built its main riff on a classical guitar. I thought it was proggy; but in essence, it’s funk so it became Plunk. We played it a few times without giving it a proper title, but as nobody thought up a better name, we kept it!”
The inspiration behind the crazy-nuts track, Frippa, is another prog guitar legend: “It happened during a break from teaching guitar at a school. Every once in a while a kid won’t turn up, so I have a free 20-minute slot. I started noodling and came up with a Robert Fripp-type thing, and put some other ideas around it. Of course, it’s not in the same league or space as Fripp’s playing; so it’s a bit of an homage to him.”
The lyrics are a lament for war-torn places… it became almost unbearable being in the same room when Jess was singing it.
Twin Peaks may prove to be Clann’s Close To The Edge moment – it inhabits a vast atmospheric sonic landscape and even contains a “dream sequence.” Glass explains; “Jenny bought me a twin-necked guitar for my birthday in 2023. I was playing some nice chords on its 12-string neck, which I called Twin Peaks. I also happen to love David Lynch’s series. The song ended up with two peaks, at around five minutes and at the end.
“At the same time, Gaza was happening. I thought about the children there, and the lyrics are a lament for them and other war-torn places, written from a parent’s perspective. I explained it to Jess, and it really affected her emotionally. Her vocals on it are incredible: it became almost unbearable being in the same room when she was singing it. I found it really difficult to work on it because of those emotional aspects.
“I think this song is the ultimate expression of ‘the feels.’ Because it’s so long, it’s recorded in three different sections and has 199 tracks of audio on it! But unlike any other song, I respond emotionally every time I listen to it.”
When the band recorded Sia, Glass asked Holland to reinterpret the haunting Cheyenne from their 1984 debut album, Silent Dance. For Clann’s CD bonus track, he returned to the first record for its ethereal Earthsong, which Buckle now owns with her angelic soprano vocals.
“Jess said Earthsong was too high for her, and Ebony should sing it as it’s in her range – and she was dead right. We started playing it live and people really responded, so we’ve played it at just about every gig since. Ebony loves the song. It’s a beautiful way to bookend the trilogy of albums.”
I always tell young creators and artists never to give up on their passion – and never let anyone tell you not to do it
He took a monastic approach to Clann’s production, with longtime Solstice fan Steven Wilson being the guiding light. “I remember Steven telling me I was getting better and better. When I heard The Harmony Codex I thought its sound was truly inspiring, so I used it as my reference point for mixing and mastering.
“Apart from Christmas Day with my family, I spent two months working in this room, only coming out for coffee. Jenny handled everything, giving me space and support so I could really zone in on it. I’m really pleased with the way it’s come out – but believe me, I’m still learning! I feel really driven right across the board, but creating music is the most important thing to me.”
During Glass’s previous chat with Prog, he mentioned the third album would be their sweet spot. “I still feel like that,” he says. “Jess and the band have continued to grow into their roles, and I think we’re beginning to produce our best work now. The bond is there. It’s that kind of telepathic thing that you get when you’ve been working together a long time. But it’s always felt like a new band, and it still does five years on.”
Now the band are taking Clann out on the road, including to the family- friendly Wokingham Festival and as Thursday night headliners at Summer’s End in October. Glass is also excited to be on the Q&A panel at the launch of A Playground Of Broken Hearts, the second instalment of author Andrew Wild’s history of 80s prog rock (issued by Kingmaker Publishing, run by another avid Solstice fan, Big Big Train’s Gregory Spawton).
What advice does he have for budding musicians based on his own 45 years as both performer and teacher? “It’s so incredibly hard to generate an audience these days, cutting through the noise and connecting with people. My sons, who are building careers in the music industry, can’t do that. Their audience expects their music for free from their dads’ Spotify accounts!
“It’s hard enough for us to make it work; doing it for money is a complete non-starter. I always tell young creators and artists never to give up on their passion – and never let anyone tell you not to do it. It’s not about fame or money. It’s about fulfilling your dreams, and if someone digs what you’re doing and gets joy from it, you’ve won. Just keep going. It’s been a long time coming for us, but I can honestly say it’s been a fantastic journey.”
