The enigmatic Lord Phobos is not only the lead guitarist of Canadian quartet TWRP – the backing band behind American comedic duo, Ninja Sex Party – but also a bona fide cover song aficionado. With TWRP and Ninja Sex Party, the anonymous star has released a series of cover albums entitled , which, as the name suggests, comprises reimagined versions of tracks from artists ranging from Pink Floyd to the Bee Gees. With a hefty repertoire under his belt, Lord Phobos knows a thing or two about piecing together covers – and now he's revealed the song that was the hardest to tackle.
“ by Yes was quite a tough one because of all the weird changes,” he admits. “The switch into the bridge section is very unpredictable. That’s what I love about Yes, even when they make the most accessible pop, it’s still really complicated in strange and subtle ways.
“They’re a legendary band and Steve Howe is a brilliant player. That song also has a pretty epic solo. I remember scratching my head a bit trying to figure out the harmonizer effects he was using.
“I debated playing the solo twice in different positions, but that was too hard. In the end, we just used an Eventide rackmount thing, set to a doubling effect with the wet sound pitched up to make it sound like two guitars. Some of the licks didn’t work too well with the effect on, so I had to change how I played certain lines!” Despite having such a vast repertoire, Lord Phobos surprisingly doesn't use a ton of different.