Robbie Robertson has had a pretty amazing career, but even he admits that he's never experienced quite the influx of inspiration as that of the last couple of years.
Robertson's new album, Sinematic, came out in September. But while he was working on it, he was also busy writing the score for Martin Scorcese's new film, The Irishman and was the subject of a documentary, Once Were Brothers, based on his 2016 memoir, Testimony.
Robertson tells Q104.3's Out of the Box with Jonathan Clarke that the new album came about as all his other projects were swirling about. Sinematic finds him reminiscing and also pushing forward at the same time.
"I just sat down one day and I was missing Rick [Danko], Richard [Manuel] and Levon [Helm]," he explains. "I was missing my brothers that have passed away and I wrote a song. It was very reflective of that. When the people [that were making the documentary] heard this song...they not only said, 'We've got to use this in the movie, but we want to call the movie Once Were Brothers.' All of these pieces, the way they fit together, end up feeling really good."
Robertson says he's blown away at how things have come full circle so poetically some 50 years after The Band first struck out on its own.
"Things are connecting in a magical way," he adds. "You couldn't have planned it any better. I'm just thrilled with the way that's worked out and the way the things in Irishman have worked out. All of this has made this record, Sinematic, above and beyond anything that I've ever done before."
Watch the full interview in the video player above or here.
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