Pilot – February 2020

Scottish pop group, formed in Edinburgh in 1973 by two former members (David Paton & Billy Lyall) of the early Bay City Rollers. Their biggest hits were "Magic", "January", "Call Me Round" and "Just A Smile", all of them in 1974, and 1975. They worked closely with Alan Parsons, who produced much of their material. Three of them (David Paton, Ian Bairnson & Stuart Tosh) contributed also The Alan Parsons Project, and Paton & Bairnson played also on Kate Bush's two first albums 'The Kick Inside' (1978) and 'Lionheart' (1978). As we approach the 40th anniversary of Pilot's debut album, David Paton, Ian Bairnson, and Stuart Tosh have reunited as Pilot. As a first project out of the gate, it is only fitting that David and Ian would turn to The Alan Parsons Project.

Twenty years ago Jason Lytle made this ageless record while red-eyed and running around a sweltering slipshod home studio in his boxers using some gear he planned to return to Best Buy as soon as he was done. For this new, piano-centric The Sophtware Slump, Lytle traveled around Los Angeles, sourcing studios and pianos like a master chef selects foods from a farmer’s market. He identified three instruments and three studios that would suffice. Everything was in place.