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The following interview extracts are courtesy of Zenith Magazine. The interview took place just before the release of Virtual World.
"Making Waves", the first CD by Waveform, surprised many with the high standard of the compositions and the commercial sound. The musician behind Waveform is Steve Blenkinsopp who operates from Scarborough. Steve is working on the follow-up and has allowed us to preview the excellent track "Vista".
How long have you been working with Synthesisers?
I have been intensely interested in synthesisers for the last 14 years and started by recording tapes for family, friends etc. since then. I was sound engineer at the Futurist Theatre in Scarborough for a few years and keyboard player for the short-lived group "Eclipse". In my attempt to gain a commercial record contract, "pop" songs such as "My Girl" were written which received airplay on local radio stations. A more serious synth piece called "Astral Flight" also earned air time and led to an Interview with BBC radio.
The result of this musical activity was a publishing contract. This unfortunately turned out to be restrictive as the publishers (who will remain nameless) were not used to promoting instrumental music and would not release submitted material! At the same time they wanted to retain the copyright and would not allow me to submit the work to other publishers or release it myself. This unfortunate state of affairs lasted about 5 years until my solicitor eventually sorted things out. The effect of all this was that I was actually put off writing and recording music for some time.
Eventually, I decided to concentrate fully on recording instrumental music (the first piece I wrote about 12 years ago was entirely instrumental and was 20 mins long!) and subsequently my debut CD, "Making Waves", was released.
What sort of response have you had to "Making Waves"?
A lot of positive feedback from people who have bought the album. It's ironic that it's sold more copies in Germany and Holland than the UK. It would be great if it sold more here.
What music do you enjoy listening to?
Basically any instrumental music - it doesn't have to feature synthesisers. Anything that is challenging to listen to and rewards you over several listens rather than instant gratification. If the question is geared towards influences, then I would have to say the sound of synthesisers as I discovered them in the late 70's were what got me recording my own music. Genesis, parficularily their earlier work, for example, but whether they were an influence on my music is questionable. Basically I am fascinated by the synthesiser and it's capabilities.