Where does the name Ayreon come from?
Though Arjen does like the similarity of the sound of his name Arjen and the project name Ayreon, this is purely coincidental. Yet no one seems to believe that!
Originally Arjen called the minstrel of the first Ayreon album 'Aries', because he was an orphan and they named him after his star sign. But then, when Ian Parry (an English singer) had to sing 'A-RI-IES', he told Arjen it was pronounced differently (it should be 'A -RIES'). Arjen had to change it because of the syllables for it had to fit the meter of the songs.
He wanted the name to sound old fashioned because of the medieval influences on the first album, so he used the old-English sounding 'AY' (Aylesbury, Ayshire). But he also wanted it to sound modern because of the futuristic parts (2084) so he used 'ON' (electron, neutron, cyclotron etc.)
Does Arjen write his own stories?
Yes. Arjen does like to come up with his own concepts, rather than base his concepts on known stories. He lets the music inspire him to come up with a story, so the concept and the lyrics come last. Sometimes when he thinks that the singer can do a better job himself he lets them write their own lyrics or melody.
Does Arjen's music have a message?
The Final Experiment appears to have a message: we should really take care of ourselves and of the earth, which is going to collapse otherwise. However, Arjen really doesn't like messages in music. "I don't want to hear opinions; I want to enjoy music. I want to give people (and myself!) the possibility to escape reality for a while. I don't want to force my personal opinions upon the people, that is not my job, although there is enough to read 'between the lines' if you want to. But the obvious message in Final Experiment wasn't deliberate; it sort of 'sneaked' into the story. Which doesn't mean that I am not behind it, although I do hope that mankind will last a bit longer than 2084!"
Does Arjen pick his own singers/musicians to guest-star on his projects?
Absolutely. He once made a long list of all his favorite singers he grew up listening to and tried to get in contact with them. Unfortunately most of them are dead! And many are simply unapproachable. Arjen is however also constantly looking for new singers. "A singer doesn't have to be technically brilliant at all. Either a voice does something for me or not, I can't really explain. I also think it's very important that they like my music, there has to be a two-way appreciation in order to get the right feeling. Nowadays I'm in a luxurious position where singers are actually contacting me!"
Will there be an Ayreon live performance?
As each Ayreon CD features a large amount of different artists, it would technically and logistically be impossible to take Ayreon as a project on the road for a tour, though recently some Ayreon songs have been performed live by Arjen's Star One band.
What ever happened to the Ayreon 'Into the Electric Castle' movie? There was a definite plan to make a movie of ITEC. It was to be 3D animated movie entirely made on the computer with the original album as the score. The famous fantasy painter Boris Vallejo was going to design the characters. It was going to be made in the Czech Republic by a Czech/American producer called Miroslav 'Mark' Svoboda. They came to Holland, Arjen approved the screenplay and all the contracts were signed. You can feel a 'but' coming up... but Arjen hasn't heard anything for a long time now. First it was going to be an inexpensive movie of a six-figure amount of dollars. But then Warner got interested and the budget went up to a seven-figure amount. Since then nothing has been heard from them. Arjen's brother Gjalt (yes, him) has contacted the artist Boris Vallejo but hasn't heard anything anymore either. Very strange and disappointing...
What does Arjen think of the current trend of artists releasing rock operas?
Arjen set a trend with his Ayreon albums. Many laughed when he recorded his first rock opera 'Ayreon - The Final Experiment' in 1995, and most record companies were hesitant to sign him. But especially after the highly successful release of his third Ayreon CD, the rock opera 'Into the Electric Castle', many musicians and producers have followed in his footsteps and new rock operas with multiple singers are beginning to surface all over the world. Arjen comments: "Yes, I've noticed! I regard it as a compliment. Though I think that many of these projects are too one-sided for me personally and often the singers sound alike. I like to incorporate many different styles, atmospheres and vocalists. Which carries a risk that some people might find my music inaccessible. Well, it certainly isn't background music, you have to become part of it to be able to fully enjoy it".
Will there be another Ayreon release?
Definitely.
