THE NEVER-ENDING TRILOGY

Aurora is the third Yes studio album to be released in five years, an astonishing work rate for a veteran band who seem to be riding a genuine wave of creativity. Prog spoke to Steve Howe and vocalist Jon Davison about this burst of activity and how, even after nearly 60 years, the band are still honing their craft.

- Stephen Lambe

To release three albums in the space of five years would be a fine effort for any contemporary band. But for a supposed 'heritage act' with a history spanning more than 55 years, it's a herculean feat, although Yes's current rate of work isn't quite on a par with their run of early-1970s classics. They recently unveiled Aurora, the third album in a trilogy that began with The Quest in 2021 and continued with Mirror To The Sky in 2023.

"I really like some of the songs on The Quest, but we were finding our feet, and then on Mirror To The Sky, we were much more assertive with the rock elements," says Steve Howe of the progress that he feels the band have made across those releases. "When this opportunity came up for another record, we all felt we should try to do even better; we wanted to develop more polish and detail, leading to a greater continuity in the music. I think it's quite a successful project in that regard."

A feature of Aurora is the varied combinations of writing credits, with even Jay Schellen — playing drums on a Yes album for the second time following Alan White's passing in 2022 — contributing to the 13-minute album centrepiece, Countermovement.

"Each song takes a great deal of crafting, and every member of the band contributes," explains Howe, "especially in developing the arrangements. That's always been the key to Yes music. We still want to attempt to inspire, and to get across that Yes are a band of very high standards, which we still hope to achieve.”

A further aspect of Aurora is the enhanced contributions of Geoff Downes, following a somewhat mooted role on Mirror To The Sky. Jon Davison admits that this was a deliberate move.

“We wanted to bring him more tightly into the fold, so we expressed our love and appreciation for him and how important it was that he be given a position where he can really make his own unique stamp on the album.”