Thomann Guitars & Basses caught up with bass legend / composer Tony Levin and discuss the new Liquid Tension Experiment album, 3. Levin breaks down the writing process, arrangement and recording in th eclip below. He also talks about the bass tone he used on Peter Gabriel's #1 hit "Sledgehammer" and his approach to gear and playing.

On writing and recording Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer"

Levin: "I've been conditioned (since 1977) by the way Peter is to approach his music in a more creative way the I would have before I met Peter and played with him so much. He played this piece with a nice groove, 'Sledgehammer', and we were done with the album; he wanted to do this extra track so we'd have it for the next album, or just for fun. We didn't work on it the way we worked on most pieces. In fact, it was only a few hours. I looked at my pedals and said 'I wouldn't normally play fretless, and not with a pick...' My octave pedal was having a good day and I'm very grateful because I only did one or two takes. I was very lucky that the octave pedal was in a good mood and was my friend instead of my enemy, and we got that sound."

"Sledgehammer" was released as the lead single from Peter Gabriel's fifth studio album, So, on April 21st, 1986. It was produced by Gabriel and Daniel Lanois. The songs reached #1 in Canada, where it spent four weeks, #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, and #4 on the UK Singles Chart. It was Gabriel's biggest hit in North America.

The song's music video won a record nine MTV Video Music Award at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards, and Best British Video at the 1987 Brit Awards. "Sledgehammer" also saw Gabriel nominated for three Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year.

Liquid Tension Experiment, the legendary supergroup comprised of Mike Portnoy (Transatlantic, Sons Of Apollo), John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), and Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel), returned on April 16th with a new album, LTE3, twenty-two years after the band’s last studio album.

Tracklisting:

"Hypersonic"
"Beating The Odds"
"Liquid Evolution"
"The Passage Of Time"
"Chris & Kevin’s Amazing Odyssey"
"Rhapsody In Blue"
"Shades Of Hope"
"Key To The Imagination"

Bonus Disc: Includes almost an hour of improvised jams.

"Beating The Odds" video:

“The Passage Of Time” video:

"Hypersonic"

In 1997, Mike Portnoy, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, and Tony Levin, joined forces to create Liquid Tension Experiment. The foursome would release their iconic, self-titled debut album in 1998 and the dazzling follow-up, LTE2 in 1999, creating a dynamic, frantic, and inventive sound all their own. The incredible creativity between the collective would prompt Petrucci and Portnoy to invite Rudess to join Dream Theater, effectively marking the end of this side project. However, since that time, there have been few reunions more in demand. Now, with the world in lockdown and calendars unexpectedly aligned, the inconceivable has finally happened… a new Liquid Tension Experiment album.