This page last updated: 1 Dec 2024

YES and projects with several Yesmen	Jon Anderson	Steve Howe	Geoff Downes	Chris Squire Alan White
Billy Sherwood	Jon Davison	Rick Wakeman	Patrick Moraz	Trevor Rabin
Trevor Horn	Tony Kaye	Oliver Wakeman Jay Schellen	Igor Khoroshev	Bill Bruford
Peter Banks Benoît David	Asia	Arc of Life CIRCA:	Yes ft. Anderson Rabin Wakeman	Others associated with the band

On this page: Solo projects - Album with Virgil - Steve Howe Trio - Guest appearances

On other pages: Yes news - Asia

Steve Howe's official sites: Homepage - News - MySpace page - Official YouTube - Official Facebook - Twitter

Howe said in a Jul 2024 interview, "I have projects lined up that I'm not going to say any more about right now, but I'll be talking a lot about in future". In an Oct 2020 interview, Howe said, "I tend to write in batches. I upgraded my studio at the end of [2019] and delighted in it, and I realized as I released my book All My Yesterdays [see below] that I'd accumulated a lot of ideas but hadn't really developed [them] at all. Last year [2019], about October or November, I was recording — it's all just sort of floating. [...] I've never been short of projects I can do. I can rally around those and dabble with things and see what holds my attention the longest." In a Dec 2020 interview, he talked of an "outpouring of musical ideas" after he finished working on the book.

On 7 May 2020, he posted on Facebook about "Recording my koto on a new song!" In another Jul 2020 interview, Howe talked about having "just finished mixing" a song called "Penance", a vocal version of "Pennants" from The Steve Howe Album, having recorded it "quite recently". He continued: "wait for further information on its release".

Yes
Howe remains in Yes—see details on main news page.

Solo
Howe said in an Aug 2024 interview that he is planning to do a solo tour in 2025. In a Sep 2024 interview (conducted around Jul), he said he wants "some part of next year" (2025) to be on solo performance.

Howe's latest solo album is Guitarscape (HoweSound), released 27 Sep 2024 on CD, vinyl and digital (including Dolby Atmos). It is a 14-track instrumental album, written and produced by Howe. Howe plays acoustic, electric and steel guitars (with a focus on the ES Artist electric guitar), bass and keys, with his son Dylan Howe (worked with Yes, Jazz Sabbath) on drums. Dylan recorded his drums parts remotely. The album was assembled and mixed by Curtis Schwartz (worked with Yes). Tracks:

1. "Hail Storm" (2.22)
2. "Spring Board" (2.45)
3. "Distillations" (1.48)
4. "Up Stream" (3.17), one of the earlier tracks to be recorded
   
5. "Secret Mission" (3.26)
6. "Passing Thoughts" (2.36)
7. "Touch the Surface" (3.21)
8. "Spring Rhyme" (2.02)
9. "Equinox" (3.04)
10. "Seesaw" (2.12)
11. "Gone West" (3.03)
12. "Suma" (1.34)
13. "Spring Tide" (2.41)
14. "Steel Breeze (2.57)", possibly not on the LP version
    

Howe said:

This album has given me the opportunity to do something different [...] I bought a Novatron Summit keyboard and found that it had a wealth of inspiring sounds. It gave me a golden opportunity to create my own keyboard structures – chordal movements and structures that I thought were a bit different.  I think differently on a keyboard, I don’t see the chords looking the same but then I had fun playing around with the guitar to see where that goes.

I’ve utilised most of the colours, as I like to I think of my styles [...] it moves from a steel, maybe, to a Spanish guitar. Because it’s a different sort of album, I’m not using terribly conventional chord sequences but things that give me a fresh feeling and opportunities to improvise and stretch out as well as be melodic and make this a nice tuneful experience.

I began feeding the tracks to Dylan. We get on great and he seems to know what to play around my guitar, it’s almost instinctive. Dylan and I fit together really beautifully.

It was at #28 in the UK progressive albums chart, Nov 2024.

In a Jul 2024 interview, Howe described how he went about making the album: "I just find my way. [...] I mean, it appears I have a plan, but, in a way, what I'm really doing is exercising instincts and sort of guesses, really. Wild guesses. And that's how I got the backing tracks for the album was really by improvising on a keyboard and then having lots of these tracks [...] that all had a different tempo, they had a different keyboard texture and I was then beset with the task to kind of fathom out what were the best colours to add to that [...] was it an electric moment[?] [...] some of them were acoustic". He also said the album "[i]s quite different from I'd say all of my work, particularly Yes [...] although it has all the shades, I hope, of my Yes stylings". He said "Secret Mission" was one of the last tracks to be recorded. In an Aug 2024 interview, Howe explained, "I got this keyboard, so I heard something kind of special in this. So I ended up doing about a dozen tracks with different sounds from the keyboard, at different tempos on the drum machine, just to kind of find out what I could lay down. And that's how the album kind of started, from a very different perspective than usual when I'm assembling parts of tunes I like. I like those chords here. I like that riff over here. But this kind of, like, had a more organic process". The album was made over a period: "I went on tour and came back to it and, you know, worked on Mirror to the Sky and then came back. So I use that same reviewing technique that I do, which is leaving things, reviewing them, coming back to them. When you put them back on, you know really what you're going to do." The album has some focus on Gibson guitars: "I was looking to keep the tonal choices a little bit confined. So I had different guitars. I didn't then need too many different kinds of electric guitars". In the Sep 2024 interview, Howe explained that the "Spring..." tracks were the exception to this pattern of starting with the Novatron. He also described the album, "It isn't jazz, but it's free form music".

In an Apr 2023 interview, Howe had mentioned, "I can play some keys, as I do in some forthcoming projects", which would appear to have been a reference to this album in part.

Motif Volume 2 (HoweSound) was released as a CD and a limited edition (500 copies) gatefold black vinyl LP (HSLP009) on 24 Oct 2023 through Cargo Records. A general release followed 24 Nov 2023. There are also digital and Dolby Atmos formats. As with Volume 1, this is a solo guitar album mixing new compositions with new recordings of older pieces. Tracks:

Howe previously released Motif Volume 1 in the same format. Howe explained that the album:

He has been working on a second volume for a while. Volume 2 was due "perhaps this year [2009]" according to a May 2009 Billboard article, and "soon" according to a Jul 2009 article. In an update on his website in Mar 2010, Howe describes Volume 2 as being "in the planning stage" and that he will tour in support of it in due course. In an Oct 2011 interview, he talked of working on Volume 2 and says "maybe next year [2012]" for when it will appear. In another Oct 2011 interview, Howe said:

I am writing new material, I am going to follow up 'Motif, Volume 1' with, surprisingly, wait for it, 'Motif, Volume 2'. I've got new material, I'm going to record it in the studio, as opposed to how I've done it before. I enjoy that side of my life, probably more than Yes or Asia, I don't want to make that seem unappreciative, but the older I've got the more I've dug in to that solo side. That's why 'Motif, Volume 1' was a very important release for me, because it pulled together that side of my life that had been spread over Yes, Asia, solo records, Trio records

In the 2021 TotalRock interview, asked about his future plans, Howe said, "My next [solo] project will be something different [to Love Is]." He went on, "I've got a nice concept for it, that's different again." And said, "I refuse to be typecast as a rock guitarist or [in any other style]." Later in the interview, he talked of how, "The guitar family is what I'm interested in playing", and then how, "My next solo album [will be] a bit of surprise." That description does not seem to fit Motif Volume 2, so he may have been talking about something else.

Homebrew 7 (HoweSound, distributed by Cargo Records; duration 49:41) was released 30 Jul 2021, marking the 25th anniversary of the release of the original Homebrew. The album is written, arranged, engineered and produced by Howe, and the album was compiled with Curtis Schwartz (worked with Yes) and mastered by Simon Heyworth. Previous Homebrew releases have consisted of his early versions of tracks previously released elsewhere. In a change, Homebrew 7 consists of tracks never released in any form before (with one exception), and where there are no plans to re-record them in the future, although some tracks had been offered to Asia or other acts down the years. 4 tracks have vocals by Howe ("Half Way", "Outstanding Deal", "Devon Girl", "From Another Day"). Sons Dylan (worked with Yes) and Virgil Howe are credited with additional drums. Liner notes are by Steve Howe, including some of his photography. This was the first release on Howe's re-started label HoweSound, working with a new distributor Cargo Records.

[a solo album] in progress, and it’s gonna be quite exciting. I’m looking forward to announcing it. But other than that I’m not saying much about it until it’s finished. Watch this space.

they’re really like jamboree. I mean, I’m playing jazz here and weird, psychedelic stuff here and a band here and then I’m singing and then I’m not singing. I kind of like those, but I think I should be more in the Turbulence mindset, where I pick a style and put all of my music around that. I’ve actually got a new album coming that, strangely enough — well, it is not finished yet so I can’t tell you the title, even though I do have it — it is actually a mixture of instrumental and songs, but not quite in the same way.

When I do [a solo tour] in other countries [i.e., not the UK] it takes a lot more organising and you’ve gotta get the CWA and IRS involved [...] But I would say that I’ve missed not doing either really. The solo tours I’ve done in America, the last one I think was way back in 2010, maybe 2008. So I’ve missed doing that in America. [...] doing a full band tour would be wonderful too. And like I say, I think I’ve got a vehicle for the future that will make that work. So, hold your breath on that one.

Asked about a next solo album in a Mar 2015 interview, Howe replied:

I’ve always got a backlog of music [...] I create a sort of nest egg [...] of music and song that I can back to. And they’re most probably going to be on another solo album, because once I start to become secretive or very introverted about them – because they really are personal, certainly if there are lyrics [...] – then I’ll tweak ‘em an awful lot, I’ll go back loads of times, and think, “Well, you know, I just want this to be something else. How’s this going to live up to my new expectations?”

So certainly there is a work in progress, but I’m not terribly clear which way it’ll go. But as you prepare, eventually you start to spot that you’ve got tracks that really are going in a startlingly different direction, and I think that’s what I’m waiting for. I’m not going to make another Turbulence. [Laughs.] Even though it’s a nice album!

[...] So the style of the music, I haven’t put my big toe in so deep yet. It might be that I’m waiting to see enough material in another style [...] and just say, “Well, when I feel it’s there, then that’s the album I’m going to do,” and I’ll start really building that album. [...] I’m not really pushed to do anything.

An Apr 2020 interview described Howe as planning solo shows for autumn 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have stopped that.

Howe has been working further with Paul Sutin. In a Jan 2012 interview, Howe they have some "new tracks we haven't released yet", "kind of a mix up of some things we've done where we've re-arranged them, re-played them, they're almost like different tunes because they have such a different feel", plus some new tracks which are "almost Europop influenced". He goes on to describe how they've worked together: "What I like to do [...] if you've got a sort of semi Euro dance track, I don't play like semi Euro dance track guitar. [...] I play [...] different sorts of things [...] It came alive because of the contrast."

The Steve Howe Trio The Steve Howe Trio brought together Steve on electric guitar, son Dylan Howe on drums and Ross Stanley (Dylan Howe Quintet) on Hammond XK3 organ. In a May 2023 interview with SOAL Night Live, Howe said "that was it" for the band after the release of their last album, New Frontier. He explained that "Ross moved away musically from us", that Dylan was busy with Wilko Johnson and that he had been busy with his other work.

New Frontier (Esoteric Antenna (Cherry Red)) was released in 2019. In the May 2023 interview, Howe said, "There's an alternative mix of the whole album" and also seemed to imply the possibility of releasing some live recordings. There was also earlier talk of a live release. A Mar 2016 interview with Steve opened: "[Howe ha]s spent a bit of time lately sifting through various concert tapes of the Steve Howe Trio [...] for a future live release. [...] "We're going to hone down to a final mix and then we'll look at how we should release it."" The band had last toured in Sep 2013, with 11 UK dates. The London set list was typical: set 1—"Mood for a Day", "My Buzzard Friend" (new piece), "The Ancient" (excerpt), "The Haunted Melody", "Tune Up", "Heart of the Sunrise"; set 2—"Dream River", "Devil of a Chance" (new piece), "Siberian Khatru", "Conversation" (originally by Joni Mitchell), "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", "Blue Bash", "Close to the Edge" (new arrangement compared to Travelling), encore: electric guitar solo piece by Steve, "Kenny's Sound". The Portsmouth set list was shorter: set 1—"Mood for a Day", "My Buzzard Friend", "The Ancient" (excerpt), "The Haunted Melody", "Tune Up", "Heart of the Sunrise"; set 2—"Dream River", new piece (probably "Devil of a Chance"), "Siberian Khatru", "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", "Blue Bash", "Close to the Edge", encore: "Kenny's Sound".

Guest appearances & collaboration
Howe has professed to being a fan of Alison Krauss & Union Station, particularly their dobro player Jerry Douglas (worked with Ray Charles, Phish, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello). In an Apr 2011 article, he said they have discussed collaborating:

"I asked them if they would work with me and they said yes," Steve says. "It has taken some time, but I have not stopped writing tunes [for the project]. I have a country side that I want to explore. I will do country records.

Asked about the collaboration in the Feb 2013 interview, Howe said:

I’ve got immense respect for Alison and the band. I just love them to bits. Things were mooted and there were was a little opportunity to try something. In the time that these things were talked about and mentioned, shifting sands changed here and there. So I never count on things like that. [...] My determination is to do some recordings that reveal some more of my connection with country and bluegrass through people like Chet Atkins [...] also Mel Travis and Tony Rice, Stevie West, Jimmy Bryant, I could go on and on. I’ve written 30 solo pieces, half of which are in the country style

I’ve been thinking about it since the first collection is now out of print [...] I’ve had some ideas about something more like a Steve Howe catalog of great guitars that I did keep, because since then I’ve traded, given, and sold instruments; a few a year, so that my collection would get smaller. [...] it’s more about things that, over the last thirty or forty years, I still value, as oppos ed to when the book was done, I was having a great time; buying shed-loads of guitars, and that doesn’t interest me now. [...] I have done some preparation, it’s just a matter of when and if I put it into action.

NVP (Nicolet Vidéo Productions) described on their website filming in Oct 2008 a 3D film and an accompanying one-hour, 2D film about Howe, but Howe says in the autobiography that the footage was lost. In a Jan 2009 interview for Notes from the Edge, Howe talked about "a lot of my films that I've been preparing for many years that will eventually come out on a DVD" (including performances of "Corkscrew"), which may have been related to this project or be something else. Howe has previously talked about a documentary of his career, concentrating on his solo work from 1975-1994. In his autobiography (finished 2019), he again talked about hoping to do a DVD compilation, mentioning a performance by The Syndicats on the BBC's The Beat Room and his 3-track promo video for his debut solo album, Beginnings.

Any news, additions or corrections, please e-mail Henry Potts. Thanks.