Stéphan Forté: I'm the guitar player and composer for the progressive band Adagio, we've released 4 albums so far, and working on the fifth one at the moment. I've started playing the guitar when I was 5, and pretty soon decided I would do this with my life. I'm endorsed by several music brands such as Di Marzio, Mesa Boogie, Line 6 and Lag guitars. I have a signature model with Lag guitars which is a 7 strings/27 frets. Working a lot on studying music and practicing hard everyday. I have just released my first instrumental solo album which is called The Shadows Compendium.

MR: You latest solo album is entitled The Shadows Compendium, can you tell us bit about how did this album come about and can you explain the title.
SP: The Shadows Compendium is an instrumental album, and most definitely a guitar album. I'd say it's the musical transcription of what I have in my heart and in my head. It's harmonically most of the time pretty dark, but here and there, there's some light too, I just tried to say with my guitar what I cannot express with words, my very intimate self….The name of the album represents my taste for darker side of art, it's a metaphoric way to introduce my philosophy of life and ideas.

MR: How was the recording process different comparing to recording with your band Adagio?
SP: Recording process per se was not that different, I wrote the music and different instruments parts and we all worked on it our way. I've recorded all the guitars in my home studio and then went at Kevin's studio to work on the mix. Maybe the only difference was that I had no time constraint and could take my time to compose guitar solos and arrangements.

MR: Where did you record the album and how long did the whole process take?
SP: At Kevin Codfert's studio in Paris. Kevin is the keyboard player in Adagio and is also handling the mixing and recording duties. The writing process took approximately 3 months and recording 1 month.

MR: The Shadows Compendium features guest appearances from Mattias IA Eklundh (Freak Kitchen), Glen Drover (ex-Megadeth) and Jeff Loomis, among the others. How did this come about?
SP: I've known Mattias, Jeff and Glen for quite a long time and thought that would be cool to have some of my friends playing on the album. Only Daniele Gottardo and Derek Taylor I didn't know personally, but I am a big fan of their playing so just asked them on Facebook and they said yes.

MR: Technically speaking, did the special guests record their parts on their own or were they more involved in the recording process of these songs?
SP: Yes, I've sent them the backing part for their respective solos and they sent me their guitar track back via email.

MR: The album is quite diverse. Where do you get you inspiration for the music , but also for the themes of your songs?
SP: Everything can be an inspiration. Of course music, of any kind, whether it is Meshuggah or Chopin, I'm just trying to listen as much music as possible, and try and discover some new stuff. Then books, movies, and art in general inspires me; Most of the times, I'm hearing music when I see something.

MR: Did you have chance to play the new material live? If yes how did that go?
SP: Yes I did. A couiple of times with backing tracks, and once with a backing band. That was for the Jason Becker benefit concert in Netherlands along Kiko Loureiro, Michael Lee Firkins, Stuart Hamm, and a lot of great players. Franck from Adagio was doing the bass and Atma Anur who was the drummer on Marty Friedman and Jason Becker's albums handled the drums for my set. It was awesome.

MR: This is you first proper solo release, can we expect more solo records from you in the future?
SP: Definitely. At first I just wanted to do this album, but I'm enjoying it so much that I'm now very much looking forward to work on a second one as soon as possible. I guess as soon as I'm done with upcoming Adagio album I'll start working on it.

MR: Speaking of the future, what are your plans for Adagio?
SP: Right now I'm finishing the writing of the album, three songs left, and we shall start recording mid may for a possible release end of 2012/early 2013, then we will tour for this album.

MR: Can you tell us about you guitar gear and what is the difference between your studio and live gear?
SP: I have my own signature guitars, which are LAG's 7 strings, 27 frets, with a very thin and profiled body shape. My pickups are custom made by Di Marzio. I'm using Mesa amps, a Mark V for lead and a dual rectifier for rhythm. The full list of my gear is here.

MR: Do you have a message for the readers of Metal Revolution?
SP: Well I really hope I can meet you guys sometimes soon on tour with Adagio or my solo album, I'd love to discover your country !! You guys can come and say hello on my facebook page, I'd be very glad to read from you guys, here's the address:  http://www.facebook.com/stephanforte

MR: We would like to thank you for taking time to talk to us and we are looking forward to hearing new material from you in the future.
SP:Thanks to you and talk soon for the upcoming Adagio release ;)