On March 20, I had the chance to meet up with Jacob Roberge, who released one of my (and Jeff’s) favourite progressive rock albums of 2025: The Passing. He was preparing for their set at Québec’s Anti and we got to talk about Jacob’s background, the process leading to The Passing, his influences, and a little bit of a deep dive on some aspects of his compositions.
You can watch the whole interview (in French with English subtitles) on Youtube.

But in case you prefer the written word, here’s an English translation of most of the interview.

Dave Tremblay: Hello everyone, I’m here today with Jacob Roberge just before his show at L’Anti in Quebec City. I was with him, and we’re going to ask him a few questions about prog in general, his album, and music in general. We’re going to geek out about music a bit. Hi Jacob, how are you?

Jacob Roberge: I’m doing great. You?

DT: I’m doing very well, thank you. Is this your first concert at L’Anti?

JR: Technically, we were here last year for the album release. We really enjoyed the experience and wanted to do it again this year. We have a couple of new tunes. We also spent more time together as a band because the first time we did it, we rehearsed for a day and then did the show because it was a bit rock and roll. This time, we’ve spent more time together, and the songs have matured a bit. So we wanted to come back and do a show in Quebec City.

DT: So you’re saying it’s matured. Does this mean things have changed a lot since the album’s release, or will we still hear pretty much the same songs as on the album tonight?

JR: We’ll hear the same songs, but definitely in terms of the musicians’ playing, we’ve taken it up a notch, we’re taking it a bit more seriously. We’re not excluding the person speaking anymore because I really worked on the album, but you know, on bass, on drums, technically it was me and the producer William who did everything. So having new musicians bringing their touch to those parts is really cool. And then we also have new songs, in fact, we have two songs that will be on my next album, hopefully, but the plan is pretty much in place for that. Then, we also have a song from my rock band when I was in high school that also has a bit of a progressive vibe. It was like our song where you could see me moving a bit more in that style, gently. The fact that we wanted to add it to the show adds a nice energy. Anyway, that’s what it sounds like.

DT: The Passing, that’s your progressive rock album that came out in 2025. Is that your only album?

JR: Yes, yes, I released it under my own name, it’s my only album. Before, I played, let’s say, on other artists’ albums where I wrote songs for some artists, but this was the first time I really released an album under my own name of original music. In fact, I decided to really go for progressive. At first, I wasn’t too sure if I was going to really go in that direction because it’s the style I love, but you know, it’s a bit more niche. I didn’t know, I was thinking, “Okay, I’ll try to be a bit more pop or something,” but eventually I thought, “No, because if it falls flat and it’s not exactly what I’m into, I won’t like it.” So what did I end up doing? I went full-on progressive rock, and it finally found its audience, which wasn’t at all the same audience I had before, before I did Star Academy or anything like that. It really found its niche, like a prog rock audience, and that’s cool because I connect a lot with that world. We have a lot in common; we have the same passions, the same bands we like, so it’s really cool. I’m really glad I chose this path.

DT: I heard you’ve been working on this album since you were 15. Um, I don’t know if this is too personal, but how old are you now?

JR: Today, I’m 28 years old. Technically, I started working on the album when I was 16. But it took me 10 years to put the first note into writing and for the album to be released. I started by writing the title track, “The Passing,” which is 32 minutes long. Back then, it was shorter. And that’s it. I wrote at a leisurely pace. I wrote a lot when I was 16 and 17, like almost half, I’d say about half of the album. And then… It matured over the years, I added a little bit, a little bit, and then finally I released it 10 years later.

DT: So, does that mean that Album 2 is coming out in 2034?

JR: I hope it will be before then. Things already look better than Album 1. Well, I have more resources now than when I was in high school, you know, when I started writing the first one. And I also have more experience in this style. So I don’t have an exact year, but I think may be… 2028, maybe, if we’re being realistic.

DT: I think your album sounds great. There’s a neo-prog sound, specifically within progressive rock, with a lot of inspiration from Steven Wilson, Pain of Salvation, Porcupine Tree. Is that right, or are there other elements that really influenced you more in composing your album?

JR: Well, Steven Wilson is definitely one of the biggest influences. He’s one of the artists who really made me love progressive rock. So he’s certainly one of my major inspirations. When I started writing the album at 16 or 17, I knew far fewer prog artists. It was mostly Rush, Pink Floyd, and then, slowly, I got into Genesis a little bit, and it was really when I discovered Steven Wilson that I was blown away. And then after that, when I discovered Neal Morse and Transatlantic, those two groups, those two types of sound, really blew me away, and I really wanted to include these sounds in my music. So it’s meant to be a bit of a blend of styles, more introspective Steven Wilson’s work and the more epic style found in Neal Morse’s music, Transatlantic, and his various projects. There are so many…

DT: Well I think that shows, I think it’s successful. Best Rush album?

JR: Hemispheres.

DT: Wrong, just kidding (laughters). Best Genesis album?

JR: Selling England by the Pound.

DT: Yeah, that’s true though. Yes?

JR: I’m less familiar with their discography. I would probably say, uh, Close to the Edge. My favorite Yes song would be Close to the Edge. I haven’t explored all the albums enough, but I’ll rely on that for now.

DT: That’s good. Steven Wilson?

JR: The Raven that Refused to Sing.

DT: That’s a very fair answer. Moving on, I notice a bit of experimentation, you know. Prog is known for experimenting with rhythm, harmony, all that. I’m not as good at harmony, but rhythmically, I did notice a lot of 5/4s, including Petrichor, which I think is entirely in 5/4. Um, I find the overall sound of the album very romantic, I’d say. I focused a lot on emotion, emotionality, and a lot of orchestration as well. Um, did I miss anything? Let’s say, would you like to talk about, harmonically speaking, for example, nice progressions you find appealing and would like to share or analyze with me?

JR: Yeah, definitely. But I like that you say it’s romantic, I think in the style of piano playing; there’s a lot of romantic music like Chopin and others. But definitely harmonically, there are a lot of things that really grab me. For example, Empty Traces, Pt.1, one thing I like to do with my songs is that in the verses, there’s always something that throws the listener off a bit, and then the chorus is the release. “Okay, now I’m home.” For example, in Empty Traces, Pt.1, all the verses are atonal, they’re not in one key. Each chord essentially changes key. And then we get to the chorus, and there we are in A major, you know, quite deliberately so. These are things I like to do.

DT: So in this example, to structure your harmonic progression, do you use a kind of pitch axis where you use a note which will remain the same throughout all your chord changes? For example, going from A, I say A, but it might not be the case there, but you know, let’s say A Phrygian, A Dorian, A Ionian, or whatever, to have a kind of cohesion? How did you do your atonal side, I’m curious?

JR: It’s a very good question! Let’s say, as you say, in A, like a pedal tone, let’s say the same note that is found in several keys, I didn’t really do it in Part One, but in Part Two there’s a section where I just hold an “Ohhh”, then we have like four chords that play one after the other, these are four chords in different keys, so I use that there, in Empty Traces, Pt.1, I sang a melody, then after that I found the chords, you know, on top, the melody went a little bit, let’s say, from A major to A minor, then after that it fell like more in F major, C minor, D-sharp minor, G minor, then after that, I based the chords on top there. Yes, the little pedal tone is a good idea. It’s true, I used it in “Part Two.”

DT: Very, very cool. Thanks for giving us a little behind-the-scenes look. OK. A slightly funkier question. Who would you like to collaborate with on, say, a future song or album? It could be composing, or let’s say a guest appearance, a feature, but let’s say someone who’s still alive and maybe not necessarily accessible, but someone who’s alive.

JR: I know we talked about Steven Wilson earlier. I think his production is like the best you could ask for. In fact, collaborating with him would be a dream. Especially since he’s one of my favorite artists. Otherwise, Guthrie Govan on guitar would be amazing, or Eric Gillette, those are artists I really dig, or Marco Minnemann on drums, that would be another option. There are so many, so many, I could never stop there.

DT: But yeah, the album would be quite expensive though. Have you been in other bands before that passage on the side of prog? Earlier, you were talking about a kind of rock band that was a bit more steady, let’s say, less progressive but with progressive tendencies. Have you had other experiences? You also mentioned “Star Académie”, but did you have anything else before Jacob Roberge’s eponymous band?

JR: As for songwriting bands, I’ve only been in one band, mainly the one whose song we’re going to play tonight, it was called Piccolo Overdrive. They’re my friends from high school and we were a classic rock band. We made music a bit in the style of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC but with a bit more influence from, uh, more modern rock, a bit like Billy Talent, let’s say things like that. It’s when I was in Piccolo Overdrive that I got the idea for The Passing, and I started writing it with them a little, but we quickly realized it wasn’t really our style. So we abandoned it at some point, but I really wanted to continue. I continued on my own after that. Then we had a little band, Étienne and I, who plays with me on stage, called Chromatic Fools. That was our progressive rock band. We had a lot of friends who were in different bands that weren’t prog, and it was our plan to release our prog songs somehow. It was actually with that band that I wrote “The Long Way Home” and then “Empty Traces Pt. 1”. It lasted one summer, but it was a lot of fun. And that’s it. After that, I focused on my solo career.

DT: Is there a particular moment on the album that you’d like to highlight, like, something really cool but nobody noticed?

JR: Oh, listen, there are so many. For me, it’s the little details, the hidden themes, all the things that get me going. So in “The Passing”, there are certain themes we hear 15, 20 times, but they’re always hidden. You put it in a different mode, let’s say the theme is normally in minor, it’s in phrygian, then in 11/8, let’s say. You know, there are lots and lots of things like that that I really get into.

DT: Neal Morse does a lot of that. I imagine you were inspired a lot by that, or maybe by the OG leitmotiv, Richard Wagner?

JR: That’s a good point, definitely a good point! Inspiration from Neal Morse on that, but also, let’s say, from musicals like Les Misérables. There are always themes that come back, and let’s say that brings a certain emotion, let’s say, to each scene, things like that, and then it all comes together at the end of the act, things like that. Yes, inspired by Neal Morse too, but I try to hide more of it. He often has his lines in your face. I have moments in your face, but let’s say in “The Passing”, the main theme, it’s front and center at the beginning of the tune and then back thirty minutes later at the end of the song. Then, all the rest of the time it’s just hidden, you know, through… often what I do is I’ll write a section and there won’t be little leads to fill the 5 or 10 seconds, it’ll just be like a little riff or a chord. And then, later, I’ll say, “Ah, this theme, it could fit here.” Indeed, we’re not in the same key. We’re not in the same time signature, let’s say, but it fits and that way it’s kind of more hidden there. Well, I’ve tried to do that pretty well.

DT: I think it’s well-balanced. Because with recurring themes like that, it can quickly become tiresome. You know you’re coming in, you’re like, “OK, yeah, I get it, it’s so-and-so coming in, it’s his theme, whatever, you know.” But I think you’ve balanced it well, and great job on that. What album are you listening to right now?

JR: I can say what I’ll be listening to tomorrow on the way to the Montreal concert: there’s Sunya by The Dear Hunter that came out today. And they’re definitely one of my favourite bands right now. I’ve listened to their entire discography recently. And I was really looking forward to this album today. Today, I didn’t have time with all the soundchecks and everything, but tomorrow on my way to Montreal, I’ll definitely be listening to it. Otherwise, I’ve been listening a lot to the new Neal Morse Band, which I like, and then Moron Police’s Pachinko. Right now, I’m really into that album.

DT: Thank you very much, and have a good show!

JR: Cool. Thank you very much. It’s fun to talk about this kind of aspect of music.