While Phish has been hard at work getting a new studio album ready before summer tour starts, little is known about the new release. While Trey Anastasio recently revealed that the album has all new material and would be produced by Bob Ezrin, little else has been said about the project.

One exciting detail emerged today, however, as Hamilton drummer Andrés Forero discussed the new release in an interview with the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Forero met the members of Phish when the band caught Hamilton after their New Year’s run at Madison Square Garden. He talks about how friendly Anastasio was in their initial encounter. “He was so sweet,” Forero says. “He said, ‘My name is Trey, this is my wife and this is the rest of my band Phish.’”

Forero said he didn’t realize who Anastasio was at first, but he quickly figured it out and got back in touch. “I have three of their albums, but I didn’t know what they looked like,” Forero says. “That night I sent an email and apologized. He sent one back and said, ‘I’m glad you didn’t know who I was,’ and invited me to play on three tunes on their new album. One was a 15-minute piece with classical percussion. Even though I double majored in college in classical and jazz, it’s been a while for me. Of course, I agreed to do it.”

A 15-minute piece with classical percussion!Forero explained that, once he got working with Phish, there was a strong chemistry and he kept going. “We had such a synergy between us, near the end Trey said, ‘There’s only one song you haven’t played on.’” So he contributed to that final song as well!

Could Forero make an appearance with Phish on tour? It’s a possibility. “You know, we’re gonna have to play this stuff live sometime,” Anastasio told Forero.

We can’t wait to find out more about Phish’s new release!

[H/T JamBase]