“We focus too much on the celebrity aspect of music,” says the guitarist, songwriter and producer who bills himself mononymously as DarWin. “I don’t want people to know where I come from or what my real name is. All that matters is the music and the emotions it stirs in listeners. The less people think about me, the better.”
However, DarWin has wisely set aside his anti-celebrity ethos for his self-titled prog-rock supergroup, which boasts a drool-worthy pack of virtuoso luminaries: drummer Simon Phillips (Jeff Beck, the Who), singer Matt Bissonette (Elton John, Joe Satriani), bassist Mohini Dey (Steve Vai, Guthrie Govan), keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Sons of Apollo, Black Country Communion) and guitar star Greg Howe, who – in addition to his solo career – has performed with Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake, among others.
“I was playing in Simon’s band, Protocol, and he played me some of DarWin’s stuff,” Howe says. “I thought it was pretty cool, and I jumped at the chance to get involved. It’s funny for me, because when I get around jazz guys, they say they like my metal playing, and metal guys say they like my jazz side. DarWin is great because it allows me to explore all sides to what I do.”
On the band’s new album, Distorted Mirror, Howe opens up a big can of shred badassery on futuristic tracks such as Rising Distortion and Loophole.
But it’s his jarring, high-impact soloing on the outro of the deep-grooving Rising Distortion that rules the day – he zigs where others might zag, so don’t even try to predict where it’s going next. “It went on longer than most end solos should, but that’s because we didn’t want to stop Greg from what he was doing,” DarWin says.
“A lot of guitarists don’t want direction from the writer or producer, but I’m the opposite,” Howe says. “I like knowing the artist’s vision because it gives me something to tap into, and then I can go about complementing that vision.”
He laughs: “And I’ll keep going until I screw up or miss the boat entirely.”
“Which doesn’t happen,” DarWin quickly adds. “If anything, Greg goes far beyond anything I could imagine.”
- Distorted Mirror is out now via Oos/Phantom.
