Originally published in Record Collector magazine 516 · March 2021
Hello It’s Me: Jordan Rudess of Liquid Tension Experiment
InterviewJordan Rudess2 min read
Keyboardist on the progmetal supergroup’s first set in 22 years
How come you're back with a new project after such a long time?
It's amazing to think how long it’s been, yet not a day went by that I didn’t hear from someone requesting more. LTE had a very unique chemistry and, personally, it was an important step in my career, leading me to join Dream Theater. The first album was created after I was invited to be part of a “supergroup” by the manager representing Mike Portnoy. After the second was completed, I was asked to join Dream Theater, which, after having the great experience of working with John Petrucci and Mike, I accepted. For LTE 3, I think that the stars aligned and we all wanted to make it happen and, partly thanks to the pandemic and the lack of touring, we found time to do it. It’s a real group effort, both musically and logistically. We had a really good time making the album and we got creative with some amusing pictures of us with masks on. We made the best of it.
How long did it take?
Just under three weeks with all of us together in the studio. After that, there was additional tracking. I did all my keyboard tracking in my home studio, and it was all fresh material. The only thing that relates to the past was the idea of Rhapsody In Blue. We'd done a live version of that years ago, but this version is a fresh take. A lot materialises when we're all together in the studio — a lot of "magic" happens. I'd prepared a bunch of "seeds" to have on hand in the event that the muse didn't strike, but it ended up that inspiration happened.
What's next?
I think that we're interested in following it up with another offering — the story will be continued, though there aren't any plans to tour at this moment. Perhaps when things open up and it's looking possible, we'll figure something out. But Dream Theater has to get on the road first, and that's something that we're working hard to work out. Also, I'm very involved in live-streaming and I've set up a Patreon.com account to facilitate that. As for LTE, you never know, but currently I’m working on the new Dream Theater album and music for a solo release of ambient piano music recorded during lockdown.