INTERVIEW: DEVIN TOWNSEND on ‘Lightwork’: “It Pushed Me Out Of My Comfort Zone”

Jessie David had a chance to chat with Devin Townsend about the release of his upcoming album “Lightwork” which will be released on October 28^th

During the interview, the two discuss the making of ‘Lightwork,’ its accompanied piece ‘Nightwork,’ Townsend’s favorite song off the album, and news of his musical theatre ‘The Moth.’

To much surprise, ‘ Lightwork’ is more accessible to the average listener. This was something Devin Townsend did intentionally. Townsend said that the album’s accessibility is due to him not only working with a producer for the first time but also going hand in hand with his prior project ‘Puzzle.’ Townsend said, “The album ‘Puzzle’ was the least accessible thing that I’ve done, and it’s always typically the case that when I finish something the next thing is always going to be its opposite.”

Lyrically, ‘Lightwork’ reflects the aftermath of the pandemic and the struggles of the past few years. Townsend worked with a team for the very first time for the creation of the album. This was something Townsend did to push himself out of his comfort zone and to get away from patterns. He worked with not only a team but producer and longtime friend, Garth Richardson. During the interview, Jessie asked him about the experience, to which he said, “it certainly pushed me out of my comfort zone and the benefits of it are something that will benefit my future work as well.” When asked if he sees himself working like this more often. Townsend simply said “ No.” He said it was a fascinating experience that made him realize that one’s need for control can be interpreted in many ways.

‘Lightwork’ will be accompanied by ‘Nightwork’ an album of B sides and demos. Which is something Townsend has been doing for years. A bunch of material that is darker and heavier that didn’t quite make it onto ‘Lightwork’. One of the songs on ‘Nightwork’ is titled ‘Starchasm Pt. 2’ a continuation song off of ‘Puzzle’ When asked about how the upcoming song will compare, Townsend, said ‘Well it was the same session and what’s interesting about that song is I started writing it years ago when I collaborated with Steve Vai, but it was very much two songs.” The song was never quite right until now.

Devin Townsend has been very busy. Not just with the release of the upcoming album, but also with a musical theatre he has been working on for years titled “The Moth”

In a way, the premise of “The Moth” is one giant d*ck joke but Townsend said “The more we see the world unfold the more we see it just one big swinging contest” Currently Townsend is trying to get the ending right, which is dark humor but he wants to make it a bit more optimistic. His goal is to wait for an ending to appear that will make it something he can get behind. On the horizon, Townsend’s end date goal is earliest 2024 latest 2026.

Make sure to check out ‘Lightwork’ which will be released on October 28^th.

Watch The Entire Interview Below: