Summer with 'Alchemy': An Interview with Claudio Momberg
1. How did your adventure with 'Alchemy' start?
Claudio: That's a long story, but a nice one! In 2000 one group of Chilean people brought Arena to Chile, it was a memorable performance, with the new members Rob Sowden and Ian Salmon. They had scheduled a 'proper' gig in a local theatre, and also they were to attend to a 'Welcome Arena' concert by a local band (that I just happened to join 5 months before!) and then they would do an acoustic show, that was the first time I met Clive. The guys who organized that also managed to organize an acoustic show that Clive and Nick Barrett did together. They wanted to play a few songs with full band, so I thought they'd only need an additional bass player and drummer, but they requested a whole band, so we played "Enemy Without" (Arena), "Ring of Roses" (Shadowland) and "Black Knight" (Pendragon) with them. Clive came back in 2006 and 2007 with Agnieszka Swita, and he asked us to play with them again, so he kinda got used to us ;-) there was when he invited me to play on the full theatrical performance of 'She' that was going to take part in Bolivia in early 2010, since he would be doing only singing. Then 'Alchemy' came and I told Clive I wanted to be a part of it, and I played on the album, and obviously the premiere in Katowice, which was mindblowing.
2. How did your work routine look like while recording the album and preparing for the Katowice concert?
Claudio: Well, I teach on a local university about recording techniques, audio engineering, and some calculus, as my 'day job' so it was a window of time I had to work on the material Clive sent me. I would only work on piano parts, since he had the whole orchestrations sorted. The live gig was different, because I had to take care of everything. We did 4 full days of very intensive band and singers rehearsals, and it came up very well in my opinion. So in the case of the live gig, it was a much more intense work done in a smaller amount of time.
3. Do you expect the theatre version of 'Alchemy' in Cheltenham to be more difficult than the Katowice show?
Claudio: Well, in fact it should be easier, with the inclusion of a real violinist for example. The thing is, from the musical point of view, it is very similar to the Katowice performance, what will obviously change is that next time there will be LOTS more acting, scenery changes, costume changes, a real choir. The main difference will be the visual part of it, not the actual musical part. So it shouldn't be more complicated from my perspective. Visually it should be a lot more appealing as a proper musical.
4. Do you think 'Alchemy' will affect your future career and did your past musical experience help in the 'Alchemy' project?
Claudio: Well, I'm new to the concept of musicals. Thanks to Clive I was exposed to things like the 'Phantom of the Opera' and 'Les Miserables' that I thought were brilliant. I always thought that if the music has a consistent story that fits, it could become perhaps a 'new art' rather than a combination of music and theatre, where both disciplines have the same importance, not one as accessory to the other. I don't see myself making a musical at least in the foreseeable future, since I still know too little about them. Of course I look forward to work with Clive further on his musicals, and I also hope that my involvement within the world of well known names in the prog world would help me push my own music in Europe. Sadly, playing there with a project like SETI or even Taurus, being based in Chile is extremely difficult, but I least I can reach over there with the albums.
As for the second part of the question, the more you do, the more it helps in getting experienced. You learn about what to do and what to avoid. The last couple of years I've been able to play Europe and the UK with Clive's musicals, after playing extensively in Chile. This is, in my opinion, a huge advantage - a chance to sort and solve different obstacles that you may encounter. Of course being involved in a 'band', as a leader or just as a simple piece of something bigger is very different than when you also need to deal with theatre within the show. However, I've found it's been very easy to adapt, and I've enjoyed it immensely.
5. Was it your first visit to Poland and how will you remember it?
Claudio: My first visit to Poland was last year, I knew very little about the country, except for some notable people like Copernicus or Chopin, and that weather was very very cold in winter! But as I was invited by my dear friend Magda, who is also helping Clive with lots of different tasks, and she told me about how wonderful Poland is, I decided to go and visit, spent a week there and then there was no going back! Nowadays I can't imagine a trip to Europe and not going to Poland! Fortunately this time the 'Alchemy' DVD was going to be recorded there so I was safe, and I had to be there twice then. This trip was indeed very special, sadly I couldn't get to meet with all the wonderful friends I made the year before, but looking forward to more, and next time hopefully in summer! There is still at least one place I want to visit, that's the seaside, Gdansk. That may happen this year actually, since I'm coming back to play with Clive on 'Alchemy' in the UK in September.
