Joe Satriani and Steve Vai finally unite for SatchVai debut The Sea Of Emotion
SatchVai, the collaborative project from Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, have released their debut studio album, The Sea Of Emotion, via earMUSIC.
The ten-track record arrives more than five decades after the pair first met on Long Island, where a 13-year-old Vai began taking guitar lessons from the then-17-year-old Satriani in 1973. Their paths have crossed repeatedly since, including through the G3 tours, but The Sea Of Emotion marks their first full-length studio collaboration.
“We’ve been planning this since 1973,” Vai says with a laugh. “Just unconsciously.”
Two distinct approaches collide
The project took shape after a G3 reunion tour created a gap in both musicians’ schedules. Initially conceived as a single track, it expanded after Satriani sent Vai two completed pieces: The Sea Of Emotion Pt. 1 and The Sea Of Emotion Pt. 2.
Rather than simply trading familiar virtuoso fireworks, the sessions drew out contrasts in their respective writing processes. “The biggest surprise was that we write in completely different ways,” Satriani explains. “And that’s what made the project so fun and interesting.”
The album moves through hard-driving rock on Mayhem and Bronco Freight Train, swing-inflected turns on Zoot Suit Riot, and the darker, cinematic atmosphere of Old Sins Have Long Shadows. Elsewhere, I Wanna Play My Guitar features Glenn Hughes on vocals, while Dancing reworks a song by Italian singer-songwriter Paolo Conte.
A title suite with roots in Long Island
At the centre of the record is its three-part title suite. The closing piece, The Sea Of Emotion Pt. 3 / Reflections On A Year And A Half, opens with a reel-to-reel recording from one of Vai’s early lessons with Satriani.
“It illustrates just how far we’ve come,” Satriani says. “We’re these two kids who haven’t found our sound yet, but we’ve got enthusiasm. We’re chasing something, and we’re determined.”
Produced alongside keyboardist Eric Caudieux, the album features drummers Gregg Bissonette, Jeremy Colson, Kenny Aronoff, Matt Chamberlain and Mike Mangini, plus bassists Billy Sheehan, Bryan Beller, Philip Bynoe, Matt Bissonette, Marco Mendoza and Henrik Linder.
Vai adds: “That’s when I really feel, like, wow, we really did it. It’s a beautiful coming together of me and my friend in a very intimate musical way. That was the reason we did the record.”
The Sea Of Emotion track listing
- Mayhem (3:39)
- Bronco Freight Train (5:07)
- Dancing (3:40)
- The Feeling I Know (5:57)
- Zoot Suit Riot (4:36)
- Old Sins Have Long Shadows (4:43)
- I Wanna Play My Guitar (4:16)
- The Sea Of Emotion Pt. 1 (5:49)
- The Sea Of Emotion Pt. 2 (5:20)
- The Sea Of Emotion Pt. 3 / Reflections On A Year And A Half (6:39)
