“I want music to connect people with their inner feelings, raise awareness, and bring people together. To some extent individuals are listening to music with their earbuds on lower quality systems and not sharing the experience physically.”

Anton Roolaart: 

The Ballad of General Jupiter

Anton Roolaart is a Dutch-American solo artist whose musical journey is a testament to perseverance, passion, and artistry. Renowned for his contributions to the symphonic and art rock genres, Anton has crafted a distinctive sound that blends atmospheric soundscapes, symphonic rock elements, lush keyboards, and intricate guitar riffs. His evolution as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist—rooted in the emotive strains of his primary instrument, the guitar—has been a lifelong pursuit. Anton’s path to recognition has been anything but ordinary. With two critically acclaimed albums—“Dreamer” (2007, Umbrello Records) and “The Plight of Lady Oona” (2014, self-released)—he has solidified his place within the progressive rock community. His music resonates with both complexity and heart, a reflection of the decades spent honing his craft. To bring his vision to life, Anton has collaborated with an array of talented musicians, most notably Rave Tesar of Renaissance, who co-produces his albums. These collaborations, coupled with Anton’s artistic direction, have resulted in richly textured compositions that captivate listeners. His dedication extends beyond his own music; he has been a vital supporter of progressive rock artists and the broader prog community. As the founder of ProgRockRadio.com, an online streaming station dedicated to the genre, Anton championed both emerging and established prog acts for a decade until the station’s closure in 2016. His efforts have strengthened the ties within this niche but passionate musical realm.

(Anton Roolaart / Photo by Borislav Boro Kresojevic)

MoonJune Records with Wandering Willow Records will released the latest album from multi-instrumentalist Anton Roolaart, ‘The Ballad of General Jupiter’ (digital release day: January 23, 2026). Entirely composed and produced by Anton — except for the closing track Yesterday and Today (written by Jon Anderson of Yes), this album marks another bold step in Anton’s artistic evolution. Blending rich musical textures with evocative and lyrical storytelling, The Ballad of General Jupiter is a collection of sonic tales — snapshots of imagination, emotion, and resilience. With echoes of David Bowie, Pink Floyd, early Genesis and Caravan, Roolaart paints vivid musical portraits shaped by imagination, introspection, and social consciousness as he explores not only personal themes, but also broader reflections on a world grappling with chaos, greed, and injustice.

Interview by Michael Limnios          Special Thanks: Leonardo “MoonJune” Pavkovic

How has the music influenced your views of the world? What moment changed your music life the most?

Honestly, in a way it’s the other way around for me. The world influenced me first, and I’m trying to translate that into something artistic and emotional, not just literal. Through music, I’m basically telling people: here’s my artistic view on the subjects we all face. I’m not always trying to “express myself” directly, I’m trying to express a scene or a story, much like an author writing books and creating worlds you can dive into. It borders on surreal sometimes, but I like offering other ways for music, and its structure, to carry stories.  

The moment that changed my musical life most was discovering the creative times and universe of 70s and 80s records, especially bands like Pink Floyd, Yes (especially Steve Howe’s guitar playing), Genesis, and King Crimson, Bowie, The Beatles, Cat Stevens, Neil Young, etc... It wasn’t just that I liked it, they were my mentors. Those records built whole worlds inside a few minutes. That didn’t just inspire me, it gave me reason and a goal of what I wanted to do in life. I wanted to be part of that act of creation, and I want the listener to feel like they’ve been somewhere, not just heard something.

How do you describe your sound, songbook, and music philosophy? Where does your creative drive come from?

I don’t write songs as many think of that concept, I hand the listener a story and offer places you can visit, however dreamy they may be. For me the album artwork matters too. It sets context and helps connect the dots. I write in scenes where reality has a thin veil and the inner world shows through. I want the listener to enter a world, not just hear a track.  I certainly don’t think of verse - chorus - verse - chorus… ha ha.  In other words I don't think of a format I just take the music where I feel it needs to go.

Sound-wise, I live somewhere in the neighborhood of progressive rock, art-pop, and cinematic songwriting. I love atmosphere, detail, and melody, and I’m not afraid of a little oddness if it serves the emotion. You can see it in earlier songs like “Dreamer” or “Gravity,” where the images are surreal but the emotional problem is very human.

My creative drive comes from emotions and curiosity and from trying to solve the puzzle of a song. Often the songs started in a singer-songwriter fashion while I was doing acoustic gigs in cafes.  Sometimes it starts with a line, sometimes a groove, often a scene in my head. I keep working until it feels honest. Even when the story is fiction, the emotional content is documentary.

“I miss getting together with friends, putting on a vinyl album, and listening together. Reading the liner notes, seeing who played what, admiring the artwork. We didn’t only listen to progressive rock either, it was all kinds of music, but the ritual mattered.” (Anton Roolaart / Photo by Borislav Boro Kresojevic)

How did your relationship with MoonJune Records come about? Do you have any stories about the making of new album “The Ballad of General Jupiter”?

This all started when I founded the online/internet radio station ProgRockRadio.com around 2005, which I ran for about 12 years, mostly a labor of love and I was really happy to support these artists. It’s inactive now, but it was a huge chapter for me. Labels would contact me, send music, and arrange interviews. Leonardo (Pavkovic) found out about the station and started contacting me, originally more on a business level.

We didn’t really become friends until later. During COVID he moved to Spain, and I had already moved back to Amsterdam, which was a long-time dream of mine. When I learned he had moved, I reached out and we started speaking more often. Eventually I went to the MoonJune festivals. In 2024 I performed at the MoonJune Festival in Spain near Toledo, and I also volunteered to help Leo with logistics coordination, artist coordination, and stage services along with Leo and Mauricio. After that I told Leo I was finishing my third album and planned to release it on my own. He already knew my previous music, he heard the new one, and he suggested MoonJune distribute and promote it. So there you have it.  One thing more about Leonardo and it is in the vein of admiration, and that is that this man has done so much for artists, and I know it's not easy.

The Ballad of General Jupiter: 

As for the album itself, I started working on it while living in NYC, before I moved back to Amsterdam. COVID put a wrinkle in the move and delayed the album, and later I had a serious back injury that took me out for a while too. Anyway, the move to the Netherlands is represented musically with the first song, “Amsterdam.”  The themes and topics on this new album have been with me for a long time, some of them for decades although the names of some of the songs have changed and evolved into something bigger than it was.  In the context of a theme to some extent these songs included topics on climate change, and being appalled by what’s allowed to happen and what is normalized in the world. I didn’t want to be too obvious lyrically by naming specific current events. I wanted scenes and symbols, and I’ve always intended the artwork to help connect the dots. 

For the rhythm section, I called on my drummer (from my band in USA) and longtime friend Bob Kirby, I was very happy to be able to work in a very detailed way with him. I played the bass on this album, I fell in love with how it affected the music and my writing, much to my delight.  I had ideas about using saxophones and flutes which led to me engaging Amsterdam musician Wouter Schueler to complete those roles. Last but not least, Rave Tesar (Renaissance) played a familiar role and has been a dear friend and my long-time production compass. He’s played on many tracks, and he keeps me straight when my brain starts trying to do ten things at once. Very professional, great ears, great taste, and the kind of honesty you actually want around your music.

“The moment that changed my musical life most was discovering the creative times and universe of 70s and 80s records, especially bands like Pink Floyd, Yes (especially Steve Howe’s guitar playing), Genesis, and King Crimson, Bowie, The Beatles, Cat Stevens, Neil Young, etc... It wasn’t just that I liked it, they were my mentors.” (Photos: Anton Roolaart & Leonardo Pavkovic / Anton with his new album The Ballad of General Jupiter, a collection of sonic tales — snapshots of imagination, emotion, and resilience)

Are there any specific memories or highlights of your career that you would like to tell us about?

Yes, let’s start chronologically. My father was an avid classical music and opera listener, and I think that planted the seed for me. I still remember him painting for hours with opera blasting in his studio where he worked, completely absorbed. That kind of passion stays with you.

When I was around nine or ten, my brother, who was a talented artist, painted his bedroom walls top to bottom with album covers: ELP’s Tarkus, Uriah Heep’s Demons and Wizards, Jethro Tull’s Aqualung, Santana’s Abraxas. Soon after he moved out, I got his room. I had no idea at the time that it was fortelling my future.

Then in junior high school in Charlotte, North Carolina, some friends and I would skip school and hang out listening to music. Those days became a different kind of education. We’d sit around and listen to albums. These friends introduced me to progressive rock albums and I was blown away. Some of us had guitars so we’d play and sing too. It was memorable, and honestly I miss those days.  

ProgRockRadio became another major highlight. It exposed me to artists from all over the world and allowed me to interview some of my heroes, which is just wonderful. And it led to some surreal moments. Right after starting the station I was invited to London by Chris Squire and Steve Nardelli around the reunion of The Syn. Before I knew it I was there, hanging out with famous rock artists I’d grown up listening to. I could just pinch myself. That period also led to my first record deal through their label idea, Umbrello Records, and it felt like I’d entered a whole new wonderful world.

What do you miss most nowadays from the music of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

I miss getting together with friends, putting on a vinyl album, and listening together. Reading the liner notes, seeing who played what, admiring the artwork. We didn’t only listen to progressive rock either, it was all kinds of music, but the ritual mattered.

From a production standpoint, I also miss when recordings weren’t trying to be so perfect. I studied formally to be a sound engineer as I am also fairly technical and I went to recording school after high school, and interned in a 16-track studio in the analog days. Limitations forced creativity. Today it’s easy to copy and paste until everything is “correct,” but sometimes the life disappears. That’s one reason I’ve been buying outboard analog gear for my studio. I like committing to sounds and performances that feel human.

As for hopes and fears, I’m not overflowing with optimism for the near future, for music or the world. We really need to get our shit together in many ways. I don’t want a world that becomes more and more fake, especially when creativity is outsourced and we start praising shortcuts. I’m not anti-technology, but I am protective of the human signature.

“One lesson I learned over time is that early on I thought you don’t need a formal music education to make meaningful music, but learning the language helps. I didn’t think theory mattered as much while I knew it was admirable. Later I started taking courses, learning harmony, reading music, and it opened doors. It didn’t replace intuition, it gave intuition more tools.” (Anton Roolaart, a solo artist whose musical journey is a testament to perseverance, passion, and artistry / Photo by Borislav Boro Kresojevic)

What is the impact of music on the socio-cultural implications? How do you want the music to affect people?

I want music to connect people with their inner feelings, raise awareness, and bring people together. To some extent individuals are listening to music with their earbuds on lower quality systems and not sharing the experience physically.  I'm so happy vinyl is coming back and that is the reason I insisted that I also release this new album on vinyl.  Music can introduce or re-introduce people to creative ways of expressing themselves and the events surrounding them, but without turning everything into a lecture. I like musical stories. I like scenes. I like symbolism. I like letting the listener do some of the work.

Ideally, music reminds us that we’re human. It can widen empathy in a way that arguments never will. And it can make people feel less alone, which is not a small thing.

I do worry about the admiration I see for copy-and-paste creativity and for work generated with minimal intention. I use modern tools too, and I’m not moralizing, but I fear overuse. I don’t want people to lose their muscles for imagination, ability to learn and play instruments, or forget how powerful their own brain is. Music should make us more awake, not more numb.

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in the music paths?

One lesson I learned over time is that early on I thought you don’t need a formal music education to make meaningful music, but learning the language helps. I didn’t think theory mattered as much while I knew it was admirable. Later I started taking courses, learning harmony, reading music, and it opened doors. It didn’t replace intuition, it gave intuition more tools.

I also believe music should be taught much more in schools and exposed early on at home, but not forced. Exposure matters. If you don’t expose kids to music, they may never find the thing that could light them up for life. Learning an instrument is good for the brain, and it teaches attention, patience, and listening.

I could also say that I kind of started late in being serious with recordings and I wish I would've started earlier, as I keep music on the side while really wanted it to have a bigger role earlier on. I wish I had started more seriously working with musicians earlier.  I will also say this, I remember a quote from some interview with David Bowie where he said something like “…don't try to please others - if you believe you have something, continue with your dream even when people are rejecting it…”.  In my case I remember my mother telling me when I was young that I couldn't sing, but I didn't give up. 

“My creative drive comes from emotions and curiosity and from trying to solve the puzzle of a song. Often the songs started in a singer-songwriter fashion while I was doing acoustic gigs in cafes.  Sometimes it starts with a line, sometimes a groove, often a scene in my head. I keep working until it feels honest. Even when the story is fiction, the emotional content is documentary.”

(Photo: Anton Roolaart)

What are you doing to keep your music relevant today, to develop it and present it to the new generation?

This is a good question, because part of me does wants to go backwards in time, at least in spirit. I don’t always want recordings to be perfect. I like a raw approach, and I think a lot of music today is overproduced. For me, the goal is to keep the human fingerprints in the performance, because that’s the part that ages well.

At the same time, I’m not stuck in the past. One thing that genuinely encourages me is meeting younger listeners who are discovering music from my era, and even earlier, and connecting deeply with it. It tells me the appetite for musicianship, imagination, and albums that feel like a journey never disappears. Sometimes it just needs the right doorway.

So my way of “staying relevant” is to keep developing, not chasing. I keep expanding what I draw from, prog is in my DNA, but I’m happy bringing in blues, jazz, and even pop songwriting when it serves the song. I’m also paying attention to the modern landscape where vocals and the solo-artist voice are often the entry point, and I’m leaning into that in a way that still feels honest to me.

And I’ll say this too: I wish we as a culture did more to support music education. If you give young people a chance to try an instrument, even briefly, you’re giving them a new language for life.  I’m not trying to chase trends. I’m trying to make work, and take journeys, that last.

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