Walking The Plank

After almost nine years of musical silence, Todmorden’s finest instrumental trio are sailing back over the horizon with a brilliant new album. Where have Plank been? How can a dog tune a guitar? What role does Barry Manilow play in their music? And how many time signature changes are too many? These questions and more are answered as David Rowe talks to Prog about their triumphant return.

David West

The sun rises and the sun sets, the tide flows in and out again, but it’s been a long wait between albums from Todmorden instrumental trio Plank. Nearly nine years after the insect-themed Hivemind, guitarist and keys player David Rowe, drummer Liam Stewart and bassist Ed Troup reunite with Future Of The Sea. Plank have displayed an affinity for nature-themed concept albums, from 2012’s Animalism, about the exploitation of animals, to Hivemind two years later. “All my favourite albums are concept albums so it’s a nod to that,” says Rowe. “The third one was going to be about bacteria but I thought there was nothing we could really hang the names of the songs onto.” Instead of exploring the microscopic world, Rowe’s creative path led him into the waves. He’d…

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Prog (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 139

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