Kristian Nergård at Metal Express Radio caught up with Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess ahead of the band's three appearances in Oslo, Norway on their current 2016 tour. Hear Jordan talk about the new Dream Theater album The Astonishing, addressing what’s actually going on with the songwriting process after the departure of Mike Portnoy, the visual artwork for the current tour, the upcoming Levin/Minnemann/Rudess album, his plans for a new solo album, what’s next for Dream Theater and how he became known as The Wizard.

Rudess on the upcoming Levin/Minnemann/Rudess album: "Ever since Marco Minnemann auditioned for Dream Theater, you know, I just always found him to be a very special musician, very unusually gifted player and I wanted to work with him. Although Mike Mangini (current Dream Theater drummer) is out of the box amazing, so it was a little bit of a tough decision there, but I wanted to work with Marco and we had found this opportunity to work together. And what’s great is that, you know, because it’s a three piece it opens up the door for so much of my creativity and so many keyboard sounds that, you know, are really fun for me, so it’s like a sonic field day. I get to use all my apps, I play a lot of GeoShred on this new album, a lot of Seaboard which is not quite a keyboard but an evolution of the keyboard that I use. And yeah, it’s going very well, a couple of more tracks and then, we don’t have a release date yet ’cause we’re still working on it but people can kind of stay tuned for the next Levin/Minnemann/Rudess album."

Rudess’ Wizdom Music recently launched a new app called GeoShred that lets musicians create music on an iPad. GeoShred features next generation physical modeling sound synthesis from moForte, enabling musicians to create mind bending guitar sounds and effects on an iPad.

In the clip below, Jordan showcases the Classical Acoustic patch included with GeoShred from WizdomMusic and moForte.

Rudess previously posted the video below to discuss and demonstrate one of the most important elements in playing an instrument, the control of pitch. Learn all about how important vibrato is to your music making and how mastering it can give you new levels of personal musical expression.

Dream Theater's new album, The Astonishing, a character-based two-act double album that tells the story of dystopian future in which only machines can create music, was released on January 29th.

Tracklisting:

Act I
“Descent Of The NOMACS”
“Dystopian Overture”
“The Gift Of Music”
“The Answer”
“A Better Life”
“Lord Nafaryus”
“A Savior In The Square”
“When Your Time Has Come”
“Act Of Faythe”
“Three Days”
“The Hovering Sojourn”
“Brother, Can You Hear Me?”
“A Life Left Behind”
“Ravenskill”
“Chosen”
“A Tempting Offer”
“Digital Discord”
“The X Aspect”
“A New Beginning”
“The Road To Revolution”

Act II
“2285 Entr’acte”
“Moment Of Betrayal”
“Heaven’s Cove”
“Begin Again”
“The Path That Divides”
“Machine Chatter”
“The Walking Shadow”
“My Last Farewell”
“Losing Faythe”
“Whispers In The Wind”
“Hymn Of A Thousand Voices”
“Power Down”
“Astonishing”

Album stream:

Dream Theater has announced their first North American tour of 2016, which will see the pioneering group performing a historic set in immersive and interactive settings for a unique and unparalleled live experience.

Set to kick-off April 14th at Quebec City’s Theatre Du Capitole, the spring trek will see the prog-virtuosos delivering a one-of-a-kind show in which they will perform their forthcoming double concept album, The Astonishing, live in its entirety. The momentous tour will continue through May with the band making stops at prestigious theaters throughout North America including New York’s Radio City Music Hall, Los Angeles’ The Wiltern, and Boston’s Orpheum Theatre with additional dates to be announced.

For up-to-the-minute news and ticket information visit this location.

Tour dates:

March
8 - Copenhagen, Denmark - DR Koncerthuset
9 - Berlin, Germany - Friedrichspalast
10 - Bochum, Germany - Ruhrcongress
14 - Nurnberg, Germany - Meistersingerhalle
15 - Frankfurt, Germany - Alte Oper Hall
17 - Milan, Italy - Teatro Degli Arcimboldi
18 - Milan, Italy - Teatro Degli Arcimboldi
19 - Milan, Italy - Teatro Degli Arcimboldi
22 - Stuttgart, Germany - Liederhalle Hegel-Saal
23 - Zurich, Switzerland - Kongresshaus

April
14 - Quebec City, QC - Theatre du Capitole
15 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
16 - Toronto, ON - Sony Centre
18 - Albany, NY - Palace Theatre
19 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
20 - Hartford, CT - Oakdale Theatre
23 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
24 - Baltimore, MD - Hippodrome Theatre
26 - Greensburg, PA - Palace Theater
27 - Cincinnati, OH - Taft Theatre
30 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theater

May
1 - Minneapolis, MN - State Theater
3 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
7 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
10 - Portland, OR - Schnitzer
11 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theater