Korg feature on Phil Collins, issue #7, 1995. 
Korg feature on Phil Collins, issue #7, 1995.
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Date: Sun, 27 Aug 1995 14:44:50 -0400
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The following is an article from Korg's Pro View magazine (issue #7, 1995) which is a catalog for the Korg line. They also run features on various artists using Korg equipment - this time, besides Phil, there are stories on Adrian Belew, Bruce Kulick, Michael Brecker, and Des'Ree. All typos are my own, but I hope some of you enjoy this. Oh, if anyone has sent mail to my other account, that server is sick this weekend, so please forgive yet more tardiness in replying. Linda Darling
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(by Mark Smith)
There are so many facets to Phil Collins; singer, songwriter, drummer, keyboard player, producer, actor and businessman, it is difficult to guess what he might do next.
When 'ProView' caught up with him, he was engaged on yet another grueling world tour which began in Europe in April of 1994. Having covered south, middle and north America, and a return to Europe, he is now in the far east. We spoke with Phil in Indonesia, where over a year later he is on the final leg of a tour which is due to end in Manila in mid-May.
Despite the usual rigors of a major tour, Phil revealed to us that he has constantly been writing new material. Surprisingly however, he says that it is the first time that he has used a keyboard to write new material with while on the road. Not so surprising though, is that the keyboard he is using to compose with is the Korg 01/W.
Most pro musicians would be more than content to look back on a career as successful as the band Genesis, with whom Phil Collins embarked on his musical journey as drummer and later singer in the early seventies. The band is still together after twenty-six years of massive worldwide success, which include some eighteen hit albums and countless huge world tours. Though at present Genesis lies dormant, a giant that sleeps in between the now established solo careers of all three members, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks.
Phil began the first of his solo ventures in 1981 with the classic, haunting album "Face Value". It proved to be the perfect solo career launch. It saw him draw deeply on personal experience, though it was only a test of what was to come from his music in later years. Subsequent solo albums include "Hello I Must Be Going" in 1982, "No Jacket Required" in 1985, "But Seriously" in 1989, and 1994's excellent "Both Sides" album.
Collins has now sold in excess of 35 million albums worldwide. The fact of such success combined with that of recent film work ('Buster' and 'Frauds') might have clouded some people's memories of the experimentation and risk taking in Collins' earlier work with Genesis. Obviously, he no longer has to work for the money, so why does he do it? "I've got a lot of money, loyal fans and in theory," he says, "I can do anything I want. Why the hell should I worry? But I do..."
His most recent album "Both Sides", is perhaps his most convincing and personal album to date - it's also one of his most rapidly produced. The whole thing was recorded in about six weeks. It was written, produced, and performed entirely by Collins at his home in Sussex, England.
"The album was all made at home," he says. "Just me sitting down and singing. I was having more and more fun doing it right there in that little room on my own. I didn't want anyone to muck about with the demos. I was pushing myself, too, trying to play bass parts, trying to play guitar parts.
"This album has got one coherent mood nearly all the way through. I never really thought I should put three or four slow songs together, but it just seems to work. By the end I had seventeen songs and I just threw out most of the ones that didn't fit into that mood. In terms of performance this has more heart and soul in it than anything I've ever done."
For the first time perhaps in a long while, Collins really had the force to do as he wanted. "There's this conception that I polish and perfect everything. I seem to get put into this 'BMW/CD' bracket. It's so far away form the way I do things. I actually like it warts and all.
It is obvious that when asked which of performing, recording, and writing he prefers, it is the writing side of his work that he enjoys the most. As Phil explains, "Everything has its place, writing is the most satisfying, then recording the song you've written. Playing live gigs gives you the necessary feedback that you need to those songs."
So how has the current "Both Sides" world tour been going? "The tour has been a great success artistically and also from a ticket sales standpoint," he says, revealing the businessman in him. "Most of the dates sold out and we are now in a culturally interesting part where we are playing many places that we have never been to before." Such culturally interesting places on this, the "Far Side" section of the "Both Sides" tour, include Jakarta in Indonesia, Bangkok in Thailand, and Singapore.
Phil Collins' association with Korg goes back quite a few years now, and as he reveals, the closeness of that relationship is growing ever strong. "I would say that recently the Wavestation and the Korg 0l/W are the most important keyboards after my grand piano.
So what is it about the Korg 01/W that he likes so much? "The Korg 01/W is the first keyboard that I've ever been able to write on while on the road," he replies. "The sequencer I use as a notepad to remember and create ideas I get, sometime after a gig, sometimes during the day. I'll sit and doodle and from that will come ideas that will often go further. It goes everywhere with me, I carry around a lot of the sound cards all the time and I flip between them, saving it all onto different discs."
After the current tour Phil is uncertain about which major project will come first, Genesis or solo work, though he appears certain about one thing. "There will be another album, of course, sometime next year, but I'm going to take stock of where I am and what I want to do most. Everything I am writing at the moment is very optimistic, and very up!"
It has been said many times before, of course, and for good reason, that Phil Collins is one of the nicest guys in the world of rock music. We at "ProView" are pleased to say we agree, especially after his closing comments to us. "I can honestly say that the Korg 01/W has been a godsend to me over the last few years, especially on this last tour where I've used it constantly. Keep it coming!"
