{"id":68561,"date":"2020-10-10T12:04:06","date_gmt":"2020-10-10T17:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=68561"},"modified":"2020-12-17T20:08:34","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T01:08:34","slug":"interview-with-arjen-lucassen-of-ayreon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2020\/interview-with-arjen-lucassen-of-ayreon\/","title":{"rendered":"Arjen Lucassen of Ayreon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Alexandra Mrozowska
\u2014 Senior Columnist \u2014<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

How many of you have been drawn to music because of escapism…? Actually, one of the best things about experiencing music is that you can immerse in it completely and escape reality, however harsh it might be. You can explore different worlds with Progressive Rock fairy tales and the epic sagas of Power Metal, or you can let the Glam Metal party anthems fuel your most debaucherous fantasies \u2013 the choice is yours! And it\u2019s not rare that the artists who open the doors to those different worlds for their followers are escapists themselves. As Hardrock Haven caught up with Arjen Lucassen to discuss the newest Ayreon album Transitus<\/em>, we didn\u2019t only cover the details of the immersive story behind it. The escapist nature of our guest and his own little adolescent journeys into the world of music, comic books, sci-fi and musicals were perhaps even more important…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hardrock Haven: The new Ayreon album Transitus<\/em> being out now, what was the songwriting and recording process of it like, especially considering the number of people involved in it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: Basically, as you know, all my Ayreon albums have a lot of singers, so that was nothing new. The only thing that was new this time was that the whole project was set up to be a movie, not an album. That was very different for me, because usually I start with the music, I let the music inspire me to come up with the story and then I look for singers. But this time I knew it was going to be a movie. I also wanted the singers to be the actors in the movie, so it was a lot harder \u2018cause I had to pick singers not just because of their voice, but also because of their charisma and the way the look \u2013 and also wonder if they could act or not. It was different, but I love challenges and I\u2019m always looking for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Speaking of the differences, Transitus<\/em> seems to be less Metal and less Progressive than your other works. Do you agree and was it due to what this particular concept required, or were your inspirations different this time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: You\u2019re totally right. Because it was set up to be a movie, I didn\u2019t want to do a Metal album or a typical Prog album. It\u2019s still going to be a movie \u2013 I hope! \u2013 and of course my hope is that one day it will be in the cinema. So, if I made a very complicated Progressive album or a very heavy Metal album, I wouldn\u2019t draw that many people to the cinema (laughs). So that was my thought behind that. It\u2019s also very cinematic \u2013 with every part that I was writing, I knew what would happen in the movie. Because of that, I wasn\u2019t gonna write a long complicated instrumental part because I wouldn\u2019t know what to do with the movie. So basically that\u2019s why there are a lot of vocals and a narrator… it\u2019s really much more cinematic and more like a Rock musical than a Rock opera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: In general, are you inspired by musicals?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: Yeah, it definitely started for me when I heard Jesus Christ Superstar<\/em>. I think I was ten or eleven… And I loved it! I took the booklet, I read the lyrics, I saw these images and I totally escaped into that world. Later on, there was The War Of The Worlds<\/em> \u2013 the same thing. With the voice of Richard Burton talking, and those Martians coming to Earth, I escaped reality for like an hour (laughs). I\u2019ve always totally loved that, and later on of course you got the movies; you got the movie for Jesus Christ Superstar<\/em> which was great or Tommy<\/em> which was great as well… Being a part of Rock bands earlier on, I wasn\u2019t able to do this, but once I started on my own \u2013 I think it was in 1995 with the Ayreon project \u2013 I could finally realize that dream of making a Rock opera myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Different medieval instruments, including glockenspiel, hurdy-gurdy and dulcimer, were used during the recordings. Where did the idea for that come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: Basically, I was listening to a lot of soundtracks, for instance by Ennio Morricone. And what I love about this music is that there were a lot of strange sounds, like whistling or da-da-dah (laughs) and all those little guitars and stuff like that… So I really wanted that effect. I was also inspired by \u201cTubular Bells\u201d \u2013 the music that was used in the horror movie The Exorcist \u2013 you know, you had this piano going but also a glockenspiel going with it, and it gave it such a creepy, weird sound… So I wanted this album to be very warm and real, and that\u2019s why I used a lot of instruments that I never used before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: As you\u2019ve already mentioned, typically for Ayreon, Transitus<\/em> includes a lot of guest singers and musicians. Do you match the singers with the existing characters in the particular story, or do you write with particular singers in mind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: The singers come first, always. It\u2019s easier to write a character for a singer, than to look for a singer with the character in mind. Also, you\u2019re limited if you already created a character and then you get to pick the singer. A good example of that is on the third Ayreon album Into The Electric Castle<\/em> [1998], where I had [ex-Marillion singer] Fish singing \u201cThe Highlander\u201d. So it wasn\u2019t like I put \u201cThe Highlander\u201d in the story and I needed a Scottish person, but the other way around \u2013 I had a Scottish person, so I wrote \u201cThe Highlander\u201d in the story. That makes it a lot easier for me and also, it fits the singer much better. So it\u2019s first the singer, than the character. And also, on Transitus \u2013 for example, the role of Angel of Death was totally written for Simone [Simons, of Epica]. It was like, I needed a good part for Simone and I came up with this kind of naughty, sexy Angel of Death and there wouldn\u2019t have been that role at all in my story if it hadn\u2019t been for Simone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So you can say that it\u2019s the singer who actually inspires the character…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: Totally. For example, on this album [Transitus<\/em>] there\u2019s a song called \u201cDumb Piece Of Rock\u201d, which is about a statue that comes to life. And again, I\u2019m a big fan of Mike Mills who sang that part but firstly, I didn\u2019t have the part for him at all. And I was like, \u201cShit, I gotta have him on the album so I have to think of a good part for him\u201d (laughs). Finally I came up with the part of him becoming a statue and that was totally something I could see him do, \u2018cause he\u2019s a crazy guy with a great sense of humor and I remember when I told him \u201cHey man, I\u2019ve got a part for you on my new album but I don\u2019t know if you\u2019re gonna like it because you\u2019re gonna be a dumb piece of rock.\u201d And he said, \u201cHey, I\u2019ll play a banana if you want. (laughs). If I can be on Ayreon, I\u2019ll be a banana\u201d (laughs). And also, the same thing was with Cammie [Gilbert] on this album. Firstly, the main parts were going to be Tommy [Karevik, of Kamelot] as the rich man\u2019s son and Simone as a servant girl. But then I heard Cammie and I loved her voice and I was looking for a part for her on the album. And then I thought that it would make the story so much more interesting if there was a real taboo in the nineteenth century, if there was a relationship between the rich man\u2019s girl and the black servant. So I asked her [Cammie] and I told her I\u2019ve got a part for her, and when I explained the story to her she was like, \u201cOh, that\u2019s so cool and that would make the story so much more interesting.\u201d  So because of that, I had to find a different character for Simone… It\u2019s a weird way that I work (laughs). It\u2019s not like writing a story and looking for actors but more about which actors you\u2019re gonna get and what cool parts you can write for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So, in a way, the story has a life of its own…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: Absolutely. That\u2019s the way I work. And I had to learn that. When I started with Ayreon, the story was finished and the singers had to do exactly what I wanted and I had to stick with the story. And then, at some point, you work with big names, you work with Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden or you work with James LaBrie [Dream Theater] or Mikael Akerfeldt [Opeth] or Devin Townsend… You know, these are all my heroes and you don\u2019t tell them what to do (laughs). They do their own thing. And then the next thing you know is that it\u2019s getting so much better, the end result is so much better. So at some point I\u2019ve learned that you have to keep changing, you have to keep adapting and definitely not stick to the original plan but constantly evolve so the end result is so much better because of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Transitus <\/em>being a finished story, is there any song on the album that you think could stand on its own, without the narrative and the context?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: That\u2019s a very good question. And the answer may surprise you, but I think no (laughs). The record company asked me which song I want to release as a single and I said I don\u2019t want to do a single at all! It\u2019s one big story and you can\u2019t just pick out a single song because none of the song will be representative of this album, whichever you may pick. So they said, \u201cYeah, but we gotta do some videos\u201d. And then I said \u201cOkay, but at least let\u2019s choose two songs at once. Let\u2019s pick like a really heavy song and let\u2019s pick a really soft song so that people will realize that there are so many different styles on the album.\u201d One of the songs is \u201cGet Out! Now\u201d with Dee Snider [Twisted Sister] which is a totally \u201880s Hard Rock track, you know… totally not representative of the album and so much different than all the other songs. But in the story, it works as there\u2019s a function for that song. But if people heard just that song, they would think \u201cOh, this is an \u201880s Hard Rock album\u201d while it\u2019s not. So at the same time, we released \u201cHopelessly Slipping Away\u201d which is a very atmospheric song \u2013 mysterious, almost acoustic, with lots of violin… So, I think it\u2019s a good way to show two sides of the story. But this album wasn\u2019t written with singles in mind, like with tracks that could stand on their own. It\u2019s really a big story with also a lot of leitmotifs that keep coming back, a lot of patterns that keep coming back five times on the album. To me, it\u2019s not background music, it\u2019s really something you should put on, put your headphones on and follow the whole story along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So with Transitus <\/em>being this big story and us suffering from the short attention span these days, do you still think such an elaborate project as Ayreon is still going to reach its target audience?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: Again, a good question! (laughs). Apparently yes (laughs), because it\u2019s selling like crazy \u2013 I think it\u2019s my best-selling album already now. A lot of formats are sold out \u2013 we made four different vinyls but the gold and read are sold out and the earbooks we also made are sold out as well… The sales are going crazy. I refuse to give in to the quick YouTube generation \u2013 like you just look at something for ten or twenty seconds and go to the next one. It\u2019s just not what I do and I just know there\u2019s an audience who still wants to escape, who takes their time with it… who takes the booklet out, who sits down, put their headphones on, a glass of wine, some candles, whatever… Like a movie, you know…  It\u2019s weird but people still watch movies, so why wouldn\u2019t they listen to music for that long…? So luckily there\u2019s still an audience for that, but yeah, it might get more difficult with the younger generation growing up. But having said that, I still get so many e-mails from kids who say, \u201cHey, I hate my parents\u2019 albums (laughs), but I heard Ayreon in the car and I loved it and I wanna hear more and what\u2019s the story about\u201d. There is still hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: You\u2019ve just mentioned the special limited edition of Transitus <\/em>being also released. How do you think all this, especially the earbook including DVDs, a CD with guide vocals, a graphic novel etc., contributes to the overall experience of listening to the album?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: It\u2019s very important. It was so important for me when I grew up… I grew up in the vinyl era, and back then you had all the double albums and the double sleeves… I loved album artwork and there\u2019s a lot of albums I bought because of the artwork. Also, reading the lyrics along…  It\u2019s a special experience and I think my fans understand that because they still buy the physical product even though they could just listen to it on Spotify. It\u2019s just something special, you know, it\u2019s like you\u2019re get this present at home and you can open it up and there\u2019s a lot of goodies in it… I love to spoil the fans somehow, like I loved to be spoiled when I was a kid. I want to give them the same feeling that I had when I got Pink Floyd\u2019s The Wall<\/em> with its beautiful artwork and all those pictures… Then, [editions] with DVD with the making-of, and instrumental CDs, and CDs with guide vocals and videoclips and stuff like that… I think it\u2019s extremely important and it\u2019s the way my music should be experienced. You know, if you\u2019re doing the washing-up and you\u2019re having Ayreon in the background, it\u2019s just annoying music (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And it doesn\u2019t work at all (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: No, not at all (laughs). I could totally understand people hating it, like, \u201cHey, turn it off and put on ABBA or something.\u201d (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Indeed! So with Transitus <\/em>actually being a movie project, and you citing movies as a source of inspiration in the past, what else does inspire your artistic endeavors?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: Well, believe it or not, but I\u2019ve never read the book in my life, so it\u2019s definitely not books (laughs). My mother tried to make me read books, but I hated it even more because of that (laughs). I don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t have the patience and focus and I just can\u2019t sit [in one place], so it\u2019s just that. So yes, movies were very important for me. And of course the music itself… Also, comic books. That\u2019s why I did a comic book with this album; I loved comic books when I grew up. First it was like the typical Dutch funny comic books, but then I found short horror and sci-fi stories like in Creepy <\/em>and Eerie <\/em>[American magazines of horror comics introduced by Warren Publishing in the \u201860s] and stuff like that… I loved that. And also the Marvel stuff like Spiderman <\/em>for example. It was really funny and I remember I collected all the Spiderman comics. So yeah, comic books \u2013 and pretty much all the nerdy things (laughs). I\u2019m a total nerd (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So back to Transitus, <\/em>how does a story behind it fit into the Ayreon universe? Does it correspond in any way with the previous albums?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: Basically, it does not correspond with them at all because it wasn\u2019t planned to be an Ayreon album, so it\u2019s not a part of the Ayreon universe. However, once I\u2019m working on it, I always get these links to the Ayreon universe. It always happens. On this album, there are little links like the song \u201cThis Human Equation\u201d which is of course a reference to the earlier Ayreon album The Human Equation <\/em>[2004]. If you read the coming book, you can see some images of Ayreon\u2019s album covers… As I\u2019m working on it, there are always some links. It was the same with The Human Equation<\/em> album I did with Ayreon. It was not a part of the Ayreon universe, but in the end it all appeared to be a computer simulation inside the computer called The Dream Sequencer which was also an earlier Ayreon album [released in 2000]. So, there are always little references and links, but basically the plan was that it would be a standalone story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: To oversimplify it perhaps, Transitus <\/em>is a story of love and death.             Do you think that in spite of how extensively these themes were used, they are still an endless source of inspiration?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: I think so. It\u2019s hard to be original and it\u2019s hard not to repeat things. But maybe for me it\u2019s a bit easier, \u2018cause as I told you I\u2019ve never read the book in my life (laughs). So, I wrote this story and people are comparing it to books while I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh, well… cool\u201d (laughs). Like I\u2019ve never read a book in my life, but it\u2019s cool that someone compares me to the story that I\u2019ve never heard. But it gets harder and harder to be original, that\u2019s a fact, and I wrote a song about it on my solo album \u2013 it\u2019s called \u201cPink Beatles In A Purple Zeppelin\u201d and the first lines are \u201cEvery song’s been sung before\/Every note’s been played…\u201d But it\u2019s actually true. That\u2019s why I try to put new things into it, I try not to repeat myself, I try not to copy others… and for instance, on this album \u2013 like you\u2019ve already said \u2013 by using all those new instruments, by working with new singers all the time, by working with younger singers and younger musicians… that\u2019s also very important for me to keep it interesting. Not only for the fans, but also for myself. I always look for challenges and for previous Ayreon albums I always wrote sci-fi stories and stuff like that. So, a love story, a romantic story, a ghost story like this set in the nineteenth century is a challenge for me \u2018cause I\u2019ve never done it before. But I\u2019m sure that people will find a lot of comparisons to already existing stories, that always happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Guess you just can\u2019t avoid it. A huge part of the storyline of Transitus<\/em> happens in the afterlife. Is it a manifestation of your personal spiritual beliefs and of how you imagine afterlife?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: A lot of people think that I\u2019m very spiritual and deep and stuff like that (laughs), but I\u2019m afraid I have to disappoint them (laughs). I\u2019m more of a science guy… Although I\u2019m really bad at Maths, so maybe I\u2019m not a science guy (laughs). I love taking science and turning it into fiction, I love to fantasize… but do I believe in aliens, do I believe in afterlife…? To be honest, I really hope there\u2019s no afterlife, because eternity is a damn long time, you know (laughs). It would be really scary for me that once you die, you\u2019re still floating around \u2013 you\u2019ve got no body, you\u2019ve got no eyes, you\u2019ve got no hands, you\u2019ve got nothing… Eternity is like forever, and it\u2019s very scary for me to think that there would be an afterlife. \u2018Cause I don\u2019t think about angels or devils and stuff like that… So in general, my answer would have to be no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: As you\u2019ve already mentioned, the story of Transitus is set in the 1880s, and yet do you think it could happen at any period, including the contemporary era?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: Well, it\u2019s becoming sort of universal story. Of course, in the nineteenth century, a relationship between a rich man\u2019s son and a black servant is totally a taboo but it looks like nowadays with the whole Black Lives Matter movement it\u2019s all becoming a taboo again… It\u2019s such a shame that this is happening. So yeah, maybe somehow it\u2019s current again. As I was writing the story, the whole Black Lives Matter thing didn\u2019t happen yet, but of course people are saying now, \u201cOh, were you inspired by that?\u201d But that\u2019s not the case at all. As you may know, I\u2019m a total recluse. I don\u2019t watch the news, I don\u2019t read newspapers and I have no idea what\u2019s going on in the world in general (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Good for you! (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: Yeah, if I do, it drives me crazy. If now I happen to see something on Facebook or whatever, all these conspiracy theories and stuff… oh man, it drives me crazy. I\u2019d rather not know about it. Also, I\u2019d rather not force my opinion on people. I don\u2019t wanna say there\u2019s no afterlife for instance… It\u2019s not my task as a musician. My task is  offer escapism, and that\u2019s what I try to do. But having said that, there is a lot to read between the lines. If you really do your best, you will always see my personal opinion between the lines \u2013 especially if you listen to my solo album, Lost In The New Real <\/em>[2012]. There\u2019s a lot of myself on that album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: I think escapism is a word used the most often as we talk, so was it what actually drew you to music?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: Oh yeah, totally! It was really escapism for me. Like I said, I was really a nerd, you know, and I wanted to escape. Other kids were playing outside and I was in my room with curtains closed, reading a comic book and listening to Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd and Deep Purple and The Beatles… And I was perfectly happy, you know…? It wasn\u2019t like I was an unhappy kid and I didn\u2019t wanna be with others. I was perfectly happy on my own in my own fantasy world and my own bubble (laughs). And luckily now my hobby has become my profession which is great because now I\u2019m able to create this bubble around me and even spoil or please a lot of fans with it. That\u2019s a great feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Must be! So, looking back, what works of yours are you the most proud of? Is there any album you consider special for some particular reason?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: Yeah, like I said, my solo album Lost In The New Real <\/em>\u2018cause that\u2019s a hundred per cent me. It\u2019s the album I\u2019m most happy with. If I listen to it now, I\u2019m like, \u201cHey, this is cool\u201d (laughs). I don\u2019t think I can do a better album and it\u2019s totally me, so eclectic, so many different styles… And I know that I\u2019m not a great singer, but nevertheless it\u2019s a very personal album. Especially the track \u201cLost In The New Real\u201d which is like a ten-minute track with all these different little parts… I\u2019m very proud of that one. Apart from that, if people ask me what\u2019s Ayreon about, or what should they check out if they wanna check out Ayreon, I mostly send them a link to the clip \u201cThe Day That The World Breaks Down\u201d, a track from the previous Ayreon album The Source<\/em>.\u2018Cause again, it\u2019s a thirteen-minute track and it also has many different styles in it as well as amazing singers and a very cool clip… so usually when I wanna introduce myself to people I send them these two songs, \u201cThe Day That The World Breaks Down\u201d and \u201cLost In The New Real\u201d of my solo album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: You\u2019ve just mentioned your singing on your solo album, and obviously with Ayreon we have all those guest singers, so what are the differences in songwriting when you write for yourself and when you write for Ayreon?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: It gets very, very different when I write for other singers. Me, I\u2019m not a Metal singer. I don\u2019t have a powerful voice and I can\u2019t sing high notes with a beautiful vibrato and stuff like that… So usually when I write for myself it\u2019s more like in the vein of The Beatles or Pink Floyd and that kind of music which is suitable for my style of singing and also, even my style of guitar playing. But when I do Ayreon, I have all those amazing singers at my disposal and it opens up a lot of possibilities. People often say, \u201cOh, you\u2019re a genius \u2018cause you work with so many singers on an album,\u201d but it\u2019s not genius. It just makes my life so much easier (laughs) and my work so much easier \u2018cause you have all these different singers who are amazing and you can show off their talents and mix them… First, you got a low song and you\u2019ve got Jonas Renkse of Katatonia, then you\u2019ve got those high parts and you can put in Russell Allen and you\u2019ve got this mysterious part and you can put in Damian Wilson… for this powerful high female parts you can put in Floor Jansen… It\u2019s a luxury, you know, pure luxury to write for these great singers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: A lot of Ayreon\u2019s works, like the song \u201cComputer Reign (Game Over)\u201d for example, sound more and more prophetic as time goes by. What do you think is the future of the relationship between a human being and technology and is it as terrifying as in the song I\u2019ve mentioned?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: Well, basically that\u2019s the recurring theme of all my albums and if you look at the \u2018big\u2019 Ayreon story, that\u2019s how the Forever race lost all their emotions because they were completely dependent on technology. I grew up in the time before computers, so I\u2019ve seen how fast it goes. It took only twenty years for the world to completely change and people look at the phones all the time and so on… That\u2019s the clich\u00e9, you know. I honestly can\u2019t say if it\u2019s a good or bad thing, \u2018cause when I was young and I was watching TV, my grandfather would say \u201cOh, in our days we only had the radio and we sat around the radio!… How can you watch TV all day?\u201d But I had a lot of fun watching TV and I totally enjoyed it \u2013 and I still do. So if I say to kids now, \u201cWhat\u2019s the use of playing games on your phone all day?\u201d, maybe they have a great time doing it…? I don\u2019t know, but one thing\u2019s sure \u2013 I can\u2019t predict the future. Of course I try to do it in my stories. The way I see it is that technology\u2019s taken more and more control over us and it\u2019s not good \u2013 but I could be wrong…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Is there anything you\u2019d like to add in the end?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arjen Lucassen: I think I talked a lot and I\u2019ve said everything I wanted to say… (laughs) So, it\u2019s just thank you very much!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit Arjen Lucassen online: https:\/\/www.arjenlucassen.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska\u2014 Senior Columnist \u2014 How many of you have been drawn to music because of escapism…? Actually, one of the best things about experiencing music is that you can immerse in it completely […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":68564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[13214,13215,203,15134],"class_list":{"0":"post-68561","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-interviews-recent","8":"tag-arjen-lucassen","9":"tag-ayreon","10":"tag-interview","11":"tag-transitus"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}