3. Tell me more about your singing process: for how long have you been singing? did you follow singing lessons?

I started singing when we formed our first band, Twins No Twins what later became Asrai. I was 17 years old at the time. Singing through a microphone was a different story altogether We played through very old shabby equipment so a lot of details of the singing got lost while rehearsing, especially because we never used to play softly ,but this roughness of the music was something that really appealed to me; a lot of echo on the vocals and experimenting with effects and use of the microphone. In those days I tried to put emotion in my singing by combining "sweet" singing with intense and heavy roars, as long as possible and from high to low. In 1996 a significant band change took place by the bass- and guitar player leaving the band after being with us for a long time. Our new guitarist had a different sound that in a way changed my singing, and I started to notice that my throat felt soar for a longer time after rehearsals. It turned out I had a lump on my vocalchoards. At first I thought this was the end of my singing. This was a real slap in the face to me and I realized even more the importance of singing to me. I was fortunate enough to be send to a speech therapist who specialized in the area of singing. She had just started using a new method that was based on forming sounds with the help of your body instead of just trying to sing as nice as possible. This way you actually experience the sounds you create within your body and use this while singing this may sound a little vague, but it helped me enormously. Funny enough, I also found that sometimes being unable to sing in a certain way often has an emotional reason that can be overcome instead of me simply being incapable to sing in a particular manner. This certainly has changed my view on singing and the use of ones voice, especially because the therapy was applied to my personal use of voice and range, combined with the music of Asrai. It did turn out to be a polyp which was surgically removed. The voice is a complicated instrument that relies on a lot of different factors like ones condition, surroundings and emotions. I now follow lessons from a teacher who has always been very active in bands. I don't like to learn new tricks by copying existing songs, I personally feel that by learning a certain technique, like for instance Opera, you have to unlearn more, which results in making concessions where it concerns putting your own emotions into your singing. Emotions are not 'polished', so singing, to me, does not have to sound that way. Of course you can use 'standard' techniques to add to your repertoire to deepen your singing, but I think that's down to every singers own process, and that's what makes every singer unique.


4. Who are your favorite female singers?

I have a great admiration for Diamanda Gallas. Besides the fact of being a beautifully mysterious woman she also creates almost alien sounds that radiates the deepest desperation and darkness. She certainly doesn't make easy music. I was very impressed by her life-performance in Amsterdam. The effortless way in which she produces her sounds is unbelievable.very talented. Besides that the performance of Tori Amos in Rotterdam was very nice to see. Pity they had the audience sit on chairs. I'm not taken by all of her music, but it was good to see how she puts her feminity and sensuality into her show and her singing..

5. Can you play another instrument, like piano or guitar for example?

My brother once tried to teach me how to play the guitar, but me on guitar looks quite silly.it's not my cup of tea, though I would have liked being able to play an instrument. Especially because it makes the composing of music a lot easier than trying to explain what I mean with hands and feet (which is the way I'm doing it now). During my education (Creative Educational Work) I got the choice to learn how to play the guitar, piano (for which some experience was required) or accordion. This last one I thought was brilliant; I could picture myself with one of them pulling-bagsUnfortunately the classes for accordion got cancelled 'cause only two out of 90 students had enlisted, of which I was one. So I had some basic piano-lessons. The good thing about this school was that they had a wide variety of musical instruments you were allowed to borrow, like flutes, contra-bass etc. I learned a lot from playing around with these items.

6. Do you have any other gifts beside music? like writing, painting, dancing maybe?

Creativity is a very important tool to expand your awareness. Creativity teaches you to think solvently and challenges you to overstep your boundaries. I really enjoy people creating beautiful things, and I love to think along with them. When my boyfriend started tattooing he was already designing T-shirts. Especially in the early days I regularly shared my thoughts and views about certain designs with him. Since he started his own shop in Haarlem, and works there full-time, there's little time left for me to participate in the creative process, also because I have my own work and time is scarce. I do however try to come along to Tattoo-conventions to keep the feeling, think along with customers etc. I enjoy doing this and I enjoy the beautiful work of the artists; it's very inspiring to me. I also make up lot's of stories for my son Devon, and it's nice to see him copy this from me as he's getting older. He has a very rich fantasy. I would like to do more but I simply do not have the time. The thing I also like is that we're getting a lot of work sent through the internet by fans that get inspired by our music. This is a huge compliment.

7. I was talking about writing in the last question. Do you write the texts of Asrai's songs? what are they talking about?

I'm not the only one in the band writing lyrics. Karin does as well and Rick has also written a few songs, as has our former guitarist. To me it's important to capture the feeling of the words and being able to translate it in the way it was meant by the person who wrote the lyrics, lyrics by myself or Karin being the easiest. I write about things that occupy my mind, and do not use a new song as the basis. I've got a few lyrics 'on stock' and fit these into the song when we're jamming. It can start by just a simple sentence I've got going through my head when I hear a certain riff, and then I'll take it from there. I will not explain the exact meaning of the lyrics because they're based on my personal life and it would do damage to the emotional recognition of the listener. It struck me that I always write in a female-form, not consciously, but it's easier for me to sing to a woman and sculpt the image in my mind while singing.

I think lyrics are very important; stupid lyrics can really irritate me, like lyrics only about love or other cliché subjects that mean fuck-all. I don't write political lyrics; there are artists that are much better at that than I am, but I think our viewpoints will become clear when you listen to Asrai and understand our backgrounds.

8. What is the near future of Asrai?

It's as exciting to me as it is to the band. This is a new chapter for us and although I've always hoped for this attention I didn't really expect it. After a period of not playing live we're going to concentrate on doing gigs again and I'm really looking forward to that. Especially playing in different countries is very exciting, and I'm very curious as to the reactions we're going to get. So the future is wide open and I'm basically planning on enjoying it to the fullest..

9. Thank you Margriet, we hope the best for you and Asrai!

Thank you for the interview and your efforts and attention for women in music. Women play too small a part in music, especially in Metal, although there are lots of talented en tough women out there who have a lot more to say than housekeeping only! Emancipation in music was a big motivation to us to start an all-female band, and by doing so giving some counter-weight to the music-scene of that time. It's been a long but very educational process for us and I hope that the new generation will produce a lot more musical women that will take to the stage. The time is right..
Webzine
Margriet from Asrai (gothic metal- The Netherlands)


1. Hello Margriet, for how long does the band Asrai exist?

Asrai has been around for quite some time now; Karin and I started a band in 1985 which was to become Asrai in 1988.

2. Where does the name Asrai come from?

Asrai is a water faerie that turns to a puddle of water when captured or by being exposed to sunlight.

Kristell, Ladies of Metal website
www.ladiesofmetal.com