“If you try to find something that hasn’t been done before, it is going to be pretty much impossible”- interview with Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull

“RökFlöte”, the upcoming 23rd studio album by legendary prog rock band Jethro Tull, will be released on 21 April 2023 via InsideOutMusic. The LP, the followup to “The Zealot Gene”(2022), is the shortest gap between Jethro Tull studio albums since 1980.

This new opus mostly revolves around the characters, roles, and principal gods in Norse Paganism, as well as “Rock Flute”. As the Jethro Tull’s bandleader said, the name of the album comes from “Rock Flute” as the original idea was to make an album of mostly instrumental flute music. But eventually, Anderson was drawn to the phrase Ragnarök with “rök” meaning destiny, course, or direction. He would then change “Flute” to “Flöte” to keep with the spelling, he said.

Before the release of the long-awaited material, Chaoszine sat down with Ian Anderson himself, a symbol of prog rock’s enduring legacy, to discuss all about the forthcoming LP. During the talk, one can perceive a completely fresh and youthful Anderson at 75. Cultured, and wise, he chooses his words very carefully and covers different subjects such as Nordic mythology, the history of rock music, jazz, and his natural relationship with the sea (Anderson was the owner of salmon farms in Chile and the UK, for example), and how much difficult it is to find originality in music in 2023. “It is what it is“, he says, using a typical saying.

At the very end of the talk, Anderson discussed current affairs in the UK and the world, colonialism, Vladimir Putin and his dreams of a Greater Russia, the ongoing and unnecessary war in Ukraine, and more. “Putin’s is archaic, highly offensive, brutal, and ultimately humiliating to the Russians themselves,” he said.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Ian Anderson:

If you like the content we do on Chaoszine subscribe also on our YouTube channel. You can do it here. For behind the scenes video footage and pictures from interviews check out our Instagram page here. You can start following our Twitter page here.

You can check out Jethro Tull‘s brand new “RökFlöte” album in full below: