Throughout their musical career, which began in the mid-1980s, the band Acoustic Alchemy, has remained committed to expanding the horizons of instrumental music. Their discography is a testament to their ability to blend various musical styles, from jazz and classical to world music and beyond. And according to the group, this versatility has allowed them to build a loyal and diverse fan base that spans the globe.

Acoustic Alchemy is currently on tour, and band member Greg Carmichael took time to answer a variety of questions on the band’s music and the latest album.

Jupiter Index: The band has changed since 2018 with the previous record 33 1/3. You now have Jay Rowe on your current release titled The Empire of the Lights, Part One. What was the recording process like in the studio for this current EP?
Greg Carmichael: Our writing process involves me travelling up to Mile's home studio in York where we take all the latest ideas and form them into something we like. We're very lucky that we don't have the pressure of a label wanting music all the time so we only write when we feel we have something really good to work on. Once we have the tracks worked out we record our parts and then the music is mixed in Germany - we've been using that studio right from the beginning and it's a huge part of our sound. Jay is an amazing addition to the band - we've known him for a long time but when we asked him to join there's always a slight nervous anticipation about how someone will fit in, not only musically but just to the shared experience of touring, and Jay has just stepped in an[d] fitted with us perfectly.

JI: The music seems to take on different perspectives when you compose music. How do you manage to succeed with that feat with every track?
GC: We are a band who like sot listen to a wide range of things. Even though we're described as smooth jazz I think as individuals we all have our own styles and interests and the "alchemy" part of our name is bringing all those styles together and making something new. On the current EP we have a jazzier track, a pop-y track, a reggae inspired tune and a country tune!

JI: Talk about how the song “Alisio” came about and what the track means to you?
Growing up in London you hear a lot of diverse style of music and Reggae was something that you hear quite often and it's always been something I've enjoyed playing around with. I wouldn't ever claim to be a reggae musician but the feel of it has inspired a lot of Alchemy's tunes over the years. “Alisio” is one of the tracks that puts everyone in a good mood when we play it live.

JI: The group is on tour now, but can you say how the audiences are enjoying seeing your performances with the new music?
GC: We're very lucky with our fans. They just seem to always get what we're doing and love to hear new material along with the classics. We try and give a good balance in our live set - you want to introduce new things but not to the point where people feel they've missed out on hearing their favorites!

JI: Since 1981, what is it about music that is still special for you? Does it heal or reveal?
GC: I think musicians have a slightly different relationship to music than the audience. Because it's also "the day job" sometimes you have to look at it critically or force yourself you listen to things even if you're not in the mood at the time, but the amazing thing about music is that it's just always there, it's something very fundamental to the human experience I think, you can't go too long without missing it, and there's always something new to discover.

JI: Would you like to add anything more about the groups’ music?
GC: We just hope people continue to like what we're doing so that we can continue to keep doing it!

Thank you.

by G.M. Burns