Webzine |
Klaus Coltrane [09.07.2004] |
Klaus_: "Touch In The Dark" is your second release and it has been six years since your debut "As Voices Speak", what have you done in the meantime? Asrai: Being on stage, making plans for another cd. And after our guitarist left, trying to find the right musicians. Now the band has a good firm footing and a creative chemistry. But it's taken more time than we anticipated. We're able to experiment more with keyboards and samples. The release of the CD has also been delayed by a fire at the CD factory! _Klaus_: You had been around for some eight years before you managed to get a deal on your first CD and then you had real bad luck when the label went belly up just shortly after the release. I could imagine that this makes one fed up with the music business and leaves one frustrated and in despair. How did you overcome this time and what kept you going? Asrai: Of course there were some times when we felt tired with the music business, but we were never fed up with making music. We were especially disappointed when our guitarist decided to leave the band after the Poison Ivy disaster. But Karin and Margriet had a very strong urge to keep on with the music and especially with Asrai. We wanted to record a new album when we had a stable line-up. and also musicians who are ready and willing to go for this musical adventure. _Klaus_: How important is the gothic fashion and styling for you? Why in your opinion is it that especially Gothic Rock and Metal bands care much more for their appearance in style than in other Rock and Metal genres? Every scene has its own style and " dress code". Even the sleazy greasy nonsense look of rock and metal is a style. It seems to much in that kind of genres when you fully (over) dressed up. That's appealing to us in the Gothic scene. It's a very feminine style. Everybody can dress up and show what he or she wants to be . You can be a Vamp without being a Tramp! Just like every scene it's a way of living and being. The exhibitionism, extravagance and creativity of gothic fashion appeals to us. But appearance isn't the most important thing. What's important is the space you have to express yourself in the way you want to be. The Gothic audience wants to be stimulated by dark, romantic, shocking and beautiful things. And in turn, that makes it stimulating for the band to present itself in an exciting way to the audience. _Klaus_: I assume that you will not make a living from your music as of yet, do you have regular full time jobs? Asrai: We all have day jobs that we like and are very important to us. Only a few can live from their music. We are realistic enough to realise that living from your music might not be for us. Certainly not at this moment. We're trying to find the right balance between our jobs, music and family/personal lives. _Klaus_: How is the reaction on your styling and clothing then? As liberal as Holland is I could imagine there are occasions that your appearance is frowned upon,or...? Asrai: We are who we are....take it or leave it. We're not going to change because other people want us to ....not even for our jobs. If others can't see the people behind the fashions, that's their problem not ours....and we have seen enough of that.... _Klaus_: Gothic style music or related acts seem to get a wider public audience at the moment if I look at bands such as WITHIN TEMPTATION and NIGHTWISH. Apart from good label and promotion work, why do you think that this music style is getting more and more appealing to mainstream audiences? Asrai Of course, good promotion is necessary to introduce a band to the (mainstream) audience. In the 80's the different music styles were much more separated, like Punk, Metal, Wave, Disco etc. When house music made it's appearance it combined lot of styles together. After some revivals like the 80's the audience is more and more ready for this kind of music. People aren't afraid any more to look beyond their own style. _Klaus_: When I listen to Margriet's voice and singing I sometimes get flashbacks of TOYAH, HAZEL O'CONNOR, SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES and other female New Wave and Punk singers of the early Eighties. Am I totally wrong on that or do you have roots in that time and music? Margriet: Yes, you're right, our roots lie in that period. For me, singing is a way to express emotions. Emotions are not smooth and polished but raw and honest. For me, every voice is unique. It's very difficult to find the correct balance between the emotions and technical part. With vocal training you're thinking of the technical part of the singing and controlling your voice. But this can also mean that you loose your own identity and the spontaneity of your singing. I feel it's a compliment to be compared with them because I like their way of singing, their voices are ways we remember that period. At this moment the opera style of singing is very popular. Opera is a very trained and technical way of singing, especially difficult when playing live, when you're tired from the journey, in a hot smoky venue. It's very hard for your voice. I made a choice for the emotional way of singing . This is me. _Klaus_: Karin and Margriet are twins, right? Asrai: Yes you are right... _Klaus_: If so, you both must have started playing music when you were really young.Was it always clear to both of you (or them, whoever answers) that this is what you wanted? Asrai: We've been so long together (as twins) but there's always a time that you decide to go your own way... We wanted to do something together to express our connection and bonding. The three of us (the twins and our older brother) were in our way always interested in music. We never felt comfortable with mainstream music and when we came in touch with the alternative music scene, it felt like coming home. Our brother Henk has been a roadie for a hard rock band and soon after that he started his own punk band. We liked that so much, we wanted that too. So we started our own band. There were so many less women active in the scene at that time. From that time on it became an important part of our lives. Something we don't want to miss. _Klaus_: Do you bear the same tattoos then J? Asrai: We got our first tattoos together, with our brother. Margriet and Karin took a similar pixie, with a tiny difference between them, just like we are as being a twin. After one tattoo you get addicted to it, so one became more.... A funny thing on older band photos is not only to see your self grow but also your tattoos. T h e story will continue. .... _Klaus_: I very much like the catchy, but rocking tunes of "Touch In The Dark". Is the outcome what you had in mind when you started recording? Asrai: It came out while recording . Sasha has put the right accents in it. _Klaus_: The lyrics seem very emotional and personal and not the banal stuff of wild roses growing in enchanted forest and the usual blah-blah. Who writes them? Asrai: Most lyrics are written by Margriet, some by Rik, who wrote Pale Light, some by Serge our former guitarist, and by Karin. We're not writing poetry about love but more life itself and the way we experience it. _Klaus_: And who writes the music, is the band fully involved? Asrai: Yes the band is fully involved, most of the numbers come from jamming. Everybody has his or her own input in making our songs... for us it's a very important factor. We don't have a leader in the band, it wouldn't be possible with so many strong characters in it. By jamming you're listening to each other and everyone's input. Very important to express our feelings, as individuals or as a band. _Klaus_: Have the songs slowly been growing over the past years or was it rather a song writing process with a fixed start and finish date? Asrai Our songs are grown in time. Playing them, trying new things, made them what they are today. _Klaus_: Can we hopefully see you in Germany one of these days? And what other live gig plans do you have for the following months, after the festival season? Asrai: You can expect us next season... Hopefully we will be able to play in Germany. We had some positive reactions from Germany and we like the loyalty of the German audience, it's very inspirational for a band. We hope to give some nice gigs. _Klaus_: I wish all the best of luck for "Touch In The Dark" and the success it deserves. Thank you and stay well. Thanks you, all the best dark regards, Asrai Klaus Coltrane for www.powermetal.de |
