Steve & Virgil Howe Premiere New Song, "Nexus"
Last month, the Yes camp was deeply shaken by the loss of guitarist Steve Howe's son, Virgil.
Virgil Howe—a talented musician in his own right who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 41—had collaborated with his father on Nexus, an instrumental album that was set for release on November 17. Now, we have been given our first preview of the album, with the release of its title track.
"On most of the tracks on the album I stick to one featured guitar per track but on 'Nexus' I use a dual guitar approach, I start by playing my favourite Gibson ES175D but then move over to a single neck Fender Professional Steel, which has 2 pick-ups, then I move back & forwards between them," said the elder Howe of the song.
"The structure of this track demonstrates Virgil's melodic and rhythmic approach, which came about by him learning to play and make music 'by ear' utilising his keyboards and drums to invent his own writing style."
Of the decision to go forward with the album's release, Steve Howe said "We hope that the music just completed will stand as a fitting tribute to his life and legacy.”
You can give "Nexus" a listen for yourself below. Preorder the album here.
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Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
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