Interview Audio: Phish Discusses How They Wrote ‘Fuego’

In a new interview with NPR, Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell of Phish sit down with the “All Things Considered” program to discuss the process behind their new album, Fuego. The duo discuss their process from start to finish, coming together, writing songs, working with Bob Ezrin, and even talk about their Halloween traditions.

Trey explains that their first new album in five years stemmed out of “a genuine desire to hang out together.” Once they arrived at The Barn, Page talks about how the four band members wanted to “see if the four of us can write songs together, in a way we hadn’t before.” Pushing the envelope of their creative process, so to speak.

So how did they write these songs together? As the two explain, each member looked at a particular image and wrote their thoughts on a pad. “If there were certain lines that really resonated with the other three, we would put them on a fifth pad — until they were all intermingled and we couldn’t remember who had written what.” 

By the end of this process, the band had approximately 40 songs written. At that point, it was up to master producer Bob Ezrin to decide which songs he wanted to work on for the final cut. As Trey describes, “within a half hour, it was down to 14 songs.”

Page then talks about Ezrin’s creative contributions to Fuego. He discusses a particular moment on the track “Wingsuit” that Ezrin was able to bring to life, a transition supplemented with subtle backwards vocals in the background. 

Finally, when asked about their Halloween album covers, Trey and Page must have rolled their eyes in the studio. Both of their responses seemed to indicate that the days of covering albums were behind them, with the earnest desire to begin a new tradition.

You can check out the full, ten-minute interview by following this link to NPR’s All Things Considered. You can also check out our review of the new album, Fuego.

Phish tour is scheduled to begin on July 1st, with shows from July 3-5 in Saratoga Springs and July 11-13 in New York City. You can catch the Everyone Orchestra Phish pre-party in Saratoga Springs on July 2nd, and a pre-Phish July 4th BBQ with Z3, FiKus, and The Jauntee just minutes from the venue.

And don’t miss our Band of Gypsies after-party on July 13th at BB King’s, featuring the music of Jimi Hendrix as performed by Roosevelt Collier, Jennifer Hartswick, Ron Johnson, and Adam Deitch!