Kip Winger, the multi-platinum recording artist, producer, writer and composer may be known best for his success with Winger and his early days as a bass player with Alice Cooper. However the range and scope of his musical journey can be more fully experienced in his solo albums: This Conversation seems like a Dream, Songs from the Ocean Floor and his newest release From the Moon to the Sun.
When the musical climate changed in the early nineties Kip Winger saw himself faced with an opportunity. "Bands were dropping like flies and it was a tough time but I couldn’t help get excited by the endless possibilities of creating something new." At the risk of alienating some of his fans Kip built a studio in the hills of Santa Fe, New Mexico and started writing and producing music without limits. "It was incredibly freeing to connect to music without any preconceived ideas about what it needed to be or what niche it needed to fill." It is in Kip’s solo work that he has been able to exercise the breadth of his talents as a writer, producer, singer, multi-instrumentalist and mix engineer.
From The Moon To The Sun, Kips latest solo album, comes from the most sophisticated place in his career to date, "… there is a difference between sophisticated and contrived," he says. " I guess you could say my skills are well oiled at this point and I wrote this album with a larger vocabulary at my fingertips."
The eclectic palette of songs on From the Moon to the Sun merge together many of Kip’s influences and experience, not the least of which include Kip’s journey into classical music; studying composition with such expertise as Edgar Grana, Dr Richard Herman and Dr Michael Kurek; the rock sophistication earned in the clubs, stadiums and studios of his early years; and the producing skills learned when most other bands were falling asleep on the studio couch - Kip was always involved in every step of the engineering and recording process, and of course it would be impossible not to comment on his voice. Kip has earned a reputation amongst both fans and peers as one of the most solid rock voices in the business.
The album manages to convey this multi-faceted artists many sides, from his collaboration with the accomplished Turkish producer Cenk Eroglu on the song "Why," to the almost Beatles inspired song "What We Are" while still holding together a conceptual flow. The album was given an unconditional welcome from Kips record label. "I have been fortunate enough to have the support of people around me telling me to exercise my freedom and write what I like and have fans who have followed me on that journey – it doesn’t get any better."
Well maybe it does, aside from his powerful solo acoustic shows and touring with Winger, Kip has recently shared the stage with such greats as Alan Parsons, Mark Farner, Roger Daltrey, and Neal Schon. A long awaited reunion album with his childhood band Blackwood Creek is in the final stages of production and of course another Winger record is always a possibility.
After soaking in the full spectrum of From the Moon to the Sun what seems most striking to the listener is sheer width and enthusiasm behind Kip Wingers musical career. "Ghosts", the first movement in a piece Kip composed for ballet appears side by side with the song "Nothing", reminiscent of his rock roots, leaving the impression that the album From the Moon To the Sun, couldn’t be more appropriately titled.
