Steve Cochrane was born in 1961 in the Canadian
province of Nova Scotia. At an early
age, the family moved to Southern Ontario, where Steve grew up listening to AM pop
radio and later, the freer formats of FM in its explosive infancy. By the age of 15, after
a move from urban to rural Ontario, music had become a passion to be pursued, guitar
in particular being the main interest. Over the next few years, all spare time after school
was spent in his room, learning chords and paying close attention to favourite records,
learning by ear. A major influence at this time was Rush with guitarist Alex Lifeson,
whose records Steve could eventually play along with from beginning to end.
The next step was involvement with local bands. There were a handful, the most notable
being Endpieces (1980-1983), which gained a local celebrity status performing an intense
brand of all-original progressive rock material. Before Endpieces, Steve had already been
developing an ability to compose. The band did a combination of material that was written
both by individual members and by the band as a whole. In this environment, Steve's
creativity blossomed and when the band broke up, he contemplated the idea of taking the
long route to a career as a solo composer/recording artist. Also, during the time with
Endpieces, his tastes and influences had widened. Listening to Rush and reading their
interviews led to an interest in the British progressive rock of the seventies and early
eighties. He quickly became a fan of Genesis, Yes, Camel, Mike Oldfield and especially
Renaissance, featuring the golden voice of Annie Haslam. Steve Hackett, in his work with
Genesis and as a solo artist, became the new guitar mentor.
Another important development had occurred during this time. Steve had discovered the
works of novelist/philosopher Ayn Rand, with her heroic portrayal of Man's life on Earth.
In Rand's works, Steve saw a world in sync with his own views and sought to create music
that belonged in such a world. In 1983, the decision to go solo was final.
The next five years were spent working on a collection of music intended to be a debut album.
Under the title Preamble, it included Steve's first musical response to Ayn Rand's writings, a
piece called To the Glory of Man, as well as a lengthy suite entitled Songs for Spring and three
other songs - Architect (later changed to When Music Speaks), Dreams of Reason and To See It Made Real.
All of this music consisted of multi-layered arrangements and production requirements that would have cost a fortune during that time. Record labels rejected the project for various reasons and the logistical and financial challenges constituted a major barrier for an independent artist who at the time, couldn't do it all himself. Still he persisted.
But by 1987, MIDI technology was in widespread use and Steve had seen its possibilities for music production. It's fair to say he was hooked by MIDI, now spending more time at a keyboard than with a guitar and composing new music. Preamble seemed to have reached a dead end while this new exciting music coming from the keyboard appeared to be easy and economical to record to its full potential. Therefore in 1988, Steve's baby of the past five years was placed gently on a shelf and Heroes Awaken was born.
After two years of writing, arranging and recording, Heroes Awaken signified a personal artistic triumph for Steve - his first album completed. Released in 1991, it includes ten tracks in which keyboards dominate. The guitar however, is not completely absent. Electric guitar appears on two cuts and MIDI guitar, which Steve delved into along the way, can be heard on six of them.
For the first year after the release of Heroes Awaken, Steve involved himself with outside projects, the most significant being a children's album by Mary and Magic called Dare to Dream, which he arranged and produced, contributing as a guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist. He also made occasional concert appearances with the group.
Contemplating the task of putting out a second album, Steve was coming back to the guitar and deciding that it should play a bigger role. Right on cue to accomodate this desire, technology had brought digital multitrack recording to home studios and Steve made an investment in a computer-based system integrated with MIDI. When all the writing was completed for the album, Steve realized that its theme was vague and it needed one piece to unify and solidify it. He looked back at the dormant Preamble project and saw that one track, the epic To See It Made Real fit the role beautifully. Unsure of whether to present it with vocals as originally written, or as an instrumental, he chose to record it both ways and to choose between them at the mixdown stage. He chose the latter, signifying the recorded debut of an aspiring vocalist with growing confidence. The song also gave the album its title.
In late 1995, the stage was set for album number three and a chance to take care of unfinished business. The next year and a half was spent refining arrangements, relearning and re-recording parts from the long-dormant Preamble project, now under a new name, The Purest of Designs. But the biggest challenge lay in composing a new piece to compliment the oldies. Using the theme from To the Glory of Man as a starting point, the idea was to create a guided journey through the artist's perspective on his own work, using musical quotes of important themes. The result is The Promise of the Music, probably the darkest, most solemn, melancholy and angry piece in the artists repertoire, as well as the brightest, most joyful, optimistic and serene. It speaks to the youth within and says "You were right. Life really can be like that."
To be updated soon - SC, Nov 21 07
age, the family moved to Southern Ontario, where Steve grew up listening to AM pop
radio and later, the freer formats of FM in its explosive infancy. By the age of 15, after
a move from urban to rural Ontario, music had become a passion to be pursued, guitar
in particular being the main interest. Over the next few years, all spare time after school
was spent in his room, learning chords and paying close attention to favourite records,
learning by ear. A major influence at this time was Rush with guitarist Alex Lifeson,
whose records Steve could eventually play along with from beginning to end.
The next step was involvement with local bands. There were a handful, the most notable
being Endpieces (1980-1983), which gained a local celebrity status performing an intense
brand of all-original progressive rock material. Before Endpieces, Steve had already been
developing an ability to compose. The band did a combination of material that was written
both by individual members and by the band as a whole. In this environment, Steve's
creativity blossomed and when the band broke up, he contemplated the idea of taking the
long route to a career as a solo composer/recording artist. Also, during the time with
Endpieces, his tastes and influences had widened. Listening to Rush and reading their
interviews led to an interest in the British progressive rock of the seventies and early
eighties. He quickly became a fan of Genesis, Yes, Camel, Mike Oldfield and especially
Renaissance, featuring the golden voice of Annie Haslam. Steve Hackett, in his work with
Genesis and as a solo artist, became the new guitar mentor.
Another important development had occurred during this time. Steve had discovered the
works of novelist/philosopher Ayn Rand, with her heroic portrayal of Man's life on Earth.
In Rand's works, Steve saw a world in sync with his own views and sought to create music
that belonged in such a world. In 1983, the decision to go solo was final.
The next five years were spent working on a collection of music intended to be a debut album.
Under the title Preamble, it included Steve's first musical response to Ayn Rand's writings, a
piece called To the Glory of Man, as well as a lengthy suite entitled Songs for Spring and three
other songs - Architect (later changed to When Music Speaks), Dreams of Reason and To See It Made Real.
All of this music consisted of multi-layered arrangements and production requirements that would have cost a fortune during that time. Record labels rejected the project for various reasons and the logistical and financial challenges constituted a major barrier for an independent artist who at the time, couldn't do it all himself. Still he persisted.
But by 1987, MIDI technology was in widespread use and Steve had seen its possibilities for music production. It's fair to say he was hooked by MIDI, now spending more time at a keyboard than with a guitar and composing new music. Preamble seemed to have reached a dead end while this new exciting music coming from the keyboard appeared to be easy and economical to record to its full potential. Therefore in 1988, Steve's baby of the past five years was placed gently on a shelf and Heroes Awaken was born.
After two years of writing, arranging and recording, Heroes Awaken signified a personal artistic triumph for Steve - his first album completed. Released in 1991, it includes ten tracks in which keyboards dominate. The guitar however, is not completely absent. Electric guitar appears on two cuts and MIDI guitar, which Steve delved into along the way, can be heard on six of them.
For the first year after the release of Heroes Awaken, Steve involved himself with outside projects, the most significant being a children's album by Mary and Magic called Dare to Dream, which he arranged and produced, contributing as a guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist. He also made occasional concert appearances with the group.
Contemplating the task of putting out a second album, Steve was coming back to the guitar and deciding that it should play a bigger role. Right on cue to accomodate this desire, technology had brought digital multitrack recording to home studios and Steve made an investment in a computer-based system integrated with MIDI. When all the writing was completed for the album, Steve realized that its theme was vague and it needed one piece to unify and solidify it. He looked back at the dormant Preamble project and saw that one track, the epic To See It Made Real fit the role beautifully. Unsure of whether to present it with vocals as originally written, or as an instrumental, he chose to record it both ways and to choose between them at the mixdown stage. He chose the latter, signifying the recorded debut of an aspiring vocalist with growing confidence. The song also gave the album its title.
In late 1995, the stage was set for album number three and a chance to take care of unfinished business. The next year and a half was spent refining arrangements, relearning and re-recording parts from the long-dormant Preamble project, now under a new name, The Purest of Designs. But the biggest challenge lay in composing a new piece to compliment the oldies. Using the theme from To the Glory of Man as a starting point, the idea was to create a guided journey through the artist's perspective on his own work, using musical quotes of important themes. The result is The Promise of the Music, probably the darkest, most solemn, melancholy and angry piece in the artists repertoire, as well as the brightest, most joyful, optimistic and serene. It speaks to the youth within and says "You were right. Life really can be like that."
To be updated soon - SC, Nov 21 07
