MARCELA BOVIO, The Flame Within

Diverse gouden grepen heeft Arjen 'Ayreon' Lucassen al gedaan met zijn diverse projecten, maar Stream Of Passion was wel het meest ambitieuze project. Via het internet muzikanten rekruteren, materiaal heen en weer zenden en uiteindelijk met een onbekende bassist en drummer de basis van een nieuw album opnemen. Dat alles zullen niet veel artiesten bedenken en ook doen. Arjen durfde het aan en met zangeres Marcela Bovio uit Mexico kwamen er een prima album, een tour en een livealbum plus dvd tot stand. Toen vond hij het welletjes en ging verder met zijn eigen dingen. Wat zou er met Stream Of Passion gebeuren?

Begin 2007 maakten Arjen, Lori  Linstruth en Alejandro Millan bekend dat zij de band gaan verlaten. Wat was jullie reactie hierop en waren jullie hierop voorbereid?

"Van Arjen wisten we dat hij op een gegeven moment zou afhaken. Dat zowel Lori als Alejandro tegelijkertijd zouden stoppen hadden we niet verwacht. Alejandro wilde graag een soloalbum maken en Lori wilde meer privétijd hebben. Met subsidie heeft Alejandro overigens een ‘cool’ album gemaakt. Hello Madness heet zijn project. Omdat ik nu hier in Nederland woon en werk zal Elfonia vermoedelijk wel verleden tijd zijn."

Wanneer besloten jullie om door te gaan met Stream Of Passion en hoeveel tijd kostte het om de band weer compleet te krijgen?

"Na de anticlimax van het niet doorgaan van de shows in Engeland begin 2007, had Arjen het wel gezien. Op dat moment was er niemand van plan om te stoppen. Ook nadat Lori en Alejandro te kennen hadden gegeven te willen stoppen, was er slechts één gesprek tussen Johan van Stratum, Davy Mickers en mij nodig om vast te stellen dat we niet van plan waren om de band op te geven. Dat klinkt nu heel simpel, maar in feite was het hele traject een langdurig proces. Direct daarna ben ik begonnen met het schrijven van liedjes en niet, zoals op het vorige album, werken met Arjens basale structuren. Dat was best lastig, maar ik had er plezier in. Het moest gewoon gebeuren en ik denk dat ik mede door het nemen van die hindernis, geweldig gegroeid ben. Als ik een zanglijn heb en ik ben onderweg, dan gebruik ik mijn mobieltje om die op te nemen en ga ik later aan de akkoorden werken. Soms pak ik mijn gitaar, soms de piano om een basis te creëren. Vanuit Mexico, waar ik toentertijd nog woonde, was het maken van heel ruwe demo’s ook de enige manier om mijn gevoelens muzikaal vorm te geven. Al heb ik de kennis om noten uit te schrijven, ik voel me veel prettiger als ik kan spelen en zingen in plaats van alles op te schrijven."

Hoe zijn jullie aan de nieuwe muzikanten gekomen? Waarop is er geselecteerd?

"Een advertentie was de basis maar veel informatie, tips en hulp bij de besluitvorming kwamen via ons eigen netwerk van muzikanten onderling. Uiteraard was de eerste eis dat het goede muzikanten moesten zijn. We kregen ook inderdaad sollicitaties van echt waanzinnig goede muzikanten, maar toen bedachten we ook dat als er een tournee zou komen en je moet wekenlang met elkaar in een bus zitten. Dan moet je ook op het persoonlijke vlak met elkaar overweg kunnen. Naast vakmanschap heeft dat ook een heel belangrijke rol gespeeld bij de selectie. Stephan Schultz was al een bekende van Davy en Johan, mogelijk dat hij ook op de rockacademie in Tilburg heeft gezeten. Jeffrey Revet, die onlangs slaagde voor zijn conservatoriumopleiding in Enschede, werd ons aanbevolen door Joost van den Broek (ex-After Forever). Eric Hazebroek kwam min of meer via via in ons gezichtsveld. Allemaal totaal verschillende kerels vanuit het hele land: Jeffrey uit Tubbergen, Eric uit Den Haag en Stephan uit Gemert."

Zonder Arjen zijn de nummers wat minder lang en de progressieve invloeden wat minder duidelijk, maar de piano als overheersend toetseninstrument is gebleven. Vanwaar die keuze voor piano in plaats van orkestrale bombast?

"De piano en dat heel organische geluid van het eerste album was iets, waarvan wij vonden dat het behouden moest blijven. Mede omdat Jeffrey een uitzonderlijk begaafd pianist is, was deze voorkeur van ons ook een natuurlijk proces om in stand te houden. Daarnaast onderscheiden wij ons daar ook uitdrukkelijk mee in het genre en we wilden het geluid op het album ook live perfect kunnen waarmaken, klinken als een band en niet als wat muzikanten aan het lijntje van een orkest."

In welke opzichten is dit album anders tot stand gekomen dan het eerste?

"Zoveel invloed als het internet had op ons eerste album, zoveel invloed heeft de band zelf gehad op het tweede. Nu hebben we de ruwe ideeën echt als band leren spelen en gearrangeerd, zodat ook een ieder zijn eigen bijdrage en inbreng heeft kunnen realiseren. Op het moment dat we de opnames gingen doen, hadden we alle nummers ook ettelijke keren gespeeld, dus we wisten precies wat we op de plaat wilden zetten."

Jullie hebben uiteindelijk een paar maanden in de studio gezeten vanaf eind december op diverse locaties. De producers waren Joost van den Broek en Jochem Jacobs (Textures). Vanwaar die keuze?

"We wisten wat we op wilden nemen en hadden ook al bekeken met welke instrumenten. Joost kenden we al heel lang. Hij en Johan hebben samen op het gymnasium gezeten en is een goede bekende van Arjen. We waren op de hoogte van het feit dat hij erg goed is in orkestrale (strijkers) arrangementen, dus wilden we absoluut zijn expertise gebruiken. Johan kent Jochem ook al langer en heeft eerder met hem gewerkt. Hij wist dat Jochem de perfecte man was voor het metalgeluid van drums en gitaren. Vandaar dat we het heavy gedeelte van Jochem en het meer symfonische van Joost hebben getracht te verenigen in ons album. Arjen heeft overigens ook, zij het aan de zijlijn, hulp verleend, hetgeen we erg op prijs gesteld hebben."

De mastering geschiedde bij de Fascination Street Studios door Jens Bogren. Hoe zijn jullie met hem in contact gekomen?

"We zijn allemaal fan van het album The Great Cold Distance van Katatonia. Jens heeft daarvan de mastering gedaan, vandaar de keuze voor deze Zweedse geluidstechincus, die ons werd aanbevolen via onze nieuwe platenmaatschappij Napalm Records."

Waarom hebben jullie Street Spirit van Radiohead?

"We wilden graag een cover op ons nieuwe album en we konden eigenlijk geen geschikt nummer vinden, totdat we ons bedachten dat Stephan ons een demo had gestuurd met zijn interpretatie van die song. Die sprak ons allemaal aan, dus daarna was het vlot bekeken."

Recentelijk nam ook Davy Mickers afscheid en is ex-Novact drummer Martijn Peters zijn vervanger. Hoe zijn jullie aan zijn naam gekomen?

"Dat was relatief simpel. We hebben wat rond gevraagd en die naam werd opvallend vaak in positieve zin genoemd. We hebben één keer samen gerepeteerd en toen had hij alle songs al nagenoeg feilloos onder de knie. Daarnaast is het gewoon een erg toffe vent die overal enthousiast voor is, dus twee dagen later hebben we hem gebeld of hij wilde komen."

Dan het nieuwe album The Flame Within. Kun je kort iets over alle tracks vertellen?

The Art Of Loss is geïnspireerd op een gedicht. Ik was daar zo van onder de indruk dat de muziek bijna als vanzelf kwam. In The End is het eerste nummer dat ik voor dit album schreef en net als Now Or Never gaat het over de noodzaak om samen je schouders eronder te zetten en in ons geval om als band door te gaan. Vanuit Mexico schreef ik dat laatste liedje toen mijn zusje, mijn moeder en ik aan het proberen waren om ons doel te bereiken, terwijl we met de nodige problemen te kampen hadden. Een soort van pepsong! When You Hurt Me The Most is eigenlijk geïnspireerd op het boek Venus In Furs van de Oostenrijkse schrijver Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Door zijn boek is de term masochisme ontstaan. Run Away, de ballad op het album, is meer persoonlijk. Het gaat over liever geen verbintenissen aangaan met mensen uit angst een ontstane relatie vervolgens weer te verliezen. Games We Play ontstond als vanzelf toen ik wat met mijn gitaar aan het experimenteren was. This Endless Night is een song over het posttraumatisch stresssyndroom: het krijgen van flashbacks, nachtmerries en dat soort zaken. Al die rare onderwerpen kom ik meestal door stom toeval tegen als ik naar film kijk of naar het nieuws. Een voorbeeld daarvan is ook My Leader, een liedje over charismatische leiders of eigenlijk meer personen. Inspiratiebron daarvoor was een film over Andy Warhol. Burn My Pain is eigenlijk gewoon een liefdesliedje, de brandende vraag hoe je iemand vindt van wie je kunt houden en Let Me In gaat over iemand die alles opkropt en nergens over wil praten. Dan volgt uiteraard de cover van Radiohead en dan weer een persoonlijk liedje A Part Of You. Eigenlijk wil ik daar niet te diep op ingaan, maar het gaat over een poging om met iemand in contact te komen. De tekst van All I Know schreef ik na het lezen van het werk van Sigmund Freud: de melancholie van het verlies van een geliefde speelt daarbij een rol."

En over de bonustrack Far And Apart?

"Die is vergelijkbaar met Burn My Pain: ver van je geliefde zijn maar toch die band hebben en behouden."

Hoe ben je aan het artwork gekomen?

"We hadden geen specifiek idee over de cover, alleen dat het luid en duidelijk moest zijn: een boodschap, innerlijke kracht, een icoon. Dat is de informatie waarmee onze grafisch ontwerper Gustavo Sazes uit Brazilië - die ik heb opgeduikeld via internet - aan de slag is gegaan en we zijn erg tevreden over het resultaat, het is een duidelijk statement geworden."

Stream Of Passion kwam na de release op nummer 57 binnen in de album top 100 en op nummer 2 in de alternatieve top 30. Zegt dat jullie iets?

"Natuurlijk! Het betekent een bevestiging dat we de juiste koers varen en het geeft een enorme kick om te weten dat het publiek, de fans onze muziek waarderen. Wij kunnen wel trots op onze nieuwe plaat zijn maar dat is natuurlijk niet genoeg. Dit geeft ons veel vertrouwen voor de toekomst!"

ENGLISH:

Originally, Stream Of Passion was the brainchild of the Dutch multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen, perhaps even more widely known as Ayreon. When Arjen learned about Marcela Bovio’s voice, he was totally blown away and he knew instantly he had to do something with her talents. First step was to have her come to Rijsbergen (Netherlands) and sing on the album The Human Equation (2004). That wasn’t enough. He wanted to do more, a special project, focused on Marcela’s vocals and violin. Recruiting musicians through the internet and sending files to and fro, eventually, with time Stream Of Passion came to exist. A keyboard player from Mexico, a female shredder from Sweden and two talented young men from the Netherlands and so the first album Embrace The Storm was realized. A tour followed and thus the inevitable live album and DVD and then, as he already announced earlier, Arjen decided that his support and interference was no longer required. The band’s name had been established and he wanted to pursue other goals in his musical career. However, Davy Mickers (drums), Johan van Stratum (bass) and Marcela herself never expected that subsequently both Lori Linstruth and Alejandro Millán would call it a day as well. 
Before the show in Haarlem, Marcela explains what happened back then and will give her comments about the making of the current album The Flame Within.

Hi Marcela, nice of you to join me and congratulations with the album, because this is one fine piece of work!

"Well, thank you! Yes, I must admit it was a long road and we really put a lot of energy in conceiving and recording this album, but it was definitely worth it."

Let me start with a little side step: last Christmas you were involved in a project initiated by Joost van den Broek: The X-mas Metal Symphony.

"Yes, that was awesome, big names, beautiful venue and great music. It’s really sad the DVD will probably never see the light of day, but... that same organization has some more concerts planned and I think there will be a X-mas Metal Symphony this year too!"

That’s good news because I really enjoyed that show last year! Back to Stream Of Passion: I presume you already knew Arjen wouldn’t stay on board but you probably didn’t expect Lori and Alejandro to leave early 2007?

"When Arjen and I discussed the project, he explained that touring - at least extensively - wasn’t his cup of tea and that he had some other plans too, so I knew he was going to leave at some point. So when he announced his retirement to focus on his own projects, it didn’t come as a shock at all. What we didn’t expect was that both Lori and Alejandro decided to leave in the beginning of 2007, almost at the same time. Lori wanted to spend more time on her personal life and Alejandro wanted to do a solo album of which he was dreaming for ages, as long as I know him! He managed to get a government sponsorship for a recording and he gave birth to his own project called Hello Madness. It’s a really cool album, slightly rockier style than Keane: he does the vocals and keyboards and there’s guitars, drums and bass too."

And what about your band Elfonia? No regrets that band could be history?

"Well, since Alejandro is focusing on his solo projects and I’m here in the Netherlands working with Stream Of Passion and all the other band members are doing their own things, it seems like this break will be an indefinite one… And you know, everything has its time. For me as a musician, keeping this band together, finding new band mates and composing my own music for the first time has been a huge challenge. I feel I’m still maturing, learning more and more and I’m enjoying what I do immensely."

In the line-up with Alejandro there were two members of the band originating from Mexico. Have you been to South America at all with Stream Of Passion?

"Unfortunately we’ve only been there once in 2006. But what a gig that was! We played a nearly sold out venue for some 3000 fans with Xandria (Germany) and Anathema. Mexicans are crazy you know: everyone’s screaming the lyrics and they all keep on jumping and going completely bananas… I guess in Europe you couldn’t imagine what it’s like unless you have actually been to a show yourself!"

What about this time, any plans to go to South America? Are you well-known in Mexico?

"Obviously I would love to go there and show all these Dutchies to my country, but we have to do this step by step. First establish a base here, then tour Europe and yes, hopefully there will come a day when we will be given the opportunity to tour that part of the world too. I’m not such a kind of star that people will stop me and recognize me on the streets, but in the underground scene and the metal scene they do know about me and they think it’s great I moved to Europe and I’m doing well. I can appreciate these kinds of comments on my MySpace. Yes! I actually read all that stuff and I think it’s fun too, but yes, it takes time!"

When did you decide you were not going to give up Stream Of Passion?

"It didn’t take that long actually. We did that short tour in 2007 that ended with that horrible anticlimax when the two last gigs in the UK were cancelled. That’s when Arjen told us: “This is pretty much it for me and Stream Of Passion.” So, when Lori and Alejandro told us they were to leave the band too, Davy and I were at Johan’s place and we just looked at each other and we asked ourselves: what are we going to do? We’re not going to quit are we? No, it’s gonna be tough and we’ll have a lot of things to figure out but we’ll give it our best shot, right? And that was basically it. I already had a few songs and some other ideas and we started to look for replacements immediately. I guess this all sounds pretty simple but believe me, it still was a long process from early 2007 to where we are now!"

You didn’t compose before except for vocal lines, am I right?

"Yes, that’s true. For the first album Arjen sent me some basic structures, and then I was supposed to come up with a vocal line, send that back to Arjen and then he would work on all the arrangements and so on. With Elfonia I was used to co-writing with Alejandro, but this time I had to do it alone, quite challenging but most satisfactory! Starting from scratch wasn’t easy but in time I’ve learned a lot. Sometimes I start with a vocal line. When I’m on the road I just record the vocal on my cell phone and back home I start working on the chords on my keyboard. But I also use my acoustic guitar to start with one or more riffs and try to build a song around them. Although I have the knowledge of the theory to write notes down, I don’t feel too comfortable doing that. I’d rather produce some rough demos and let others work with and around those. At the time I was still living in Mexico, so sending demos was the easiest way. It’s fun too, because you send out a rough demo and you never know what you will be getting back, it’s always exciting, always a surprise. That part was almost like the first album, using the internet extensively."

How did you recruit Jeffrey, Eric and Stephan?

"It started with an ad on our website, then we could also use our network of musician friends and these two together turned out to be a pretty powerful combination, because you have a lot of information, references before you even consider inviting someone to come to an audition. You know we received demos from top-notch musicians and of course we were looking for really good musicians, but we also wanted to make sure it would click on a personal level too. If you would be embarking for a three-month tour and you’re living together in a bus all the time, you have to be able to do that with the members of your band and that’s not with anyone! So Johan and Davy spent a whole afternoon with Stephan and they had a real good feeling about him. I think they even knew him from way back when. Jeffrey came into the picture via Joost van den Broek (ex-After Forever). He graduated from the conservatory in Enschede, where Joost also graduated earlier, just the day before and we played a song there. It was his final assessment! Eric sort of popped up after a thorough search. We didn’t really know him until he came to audition. We haven’t made it too easy however, because Eric lives in The Hague, Jeffrey in a little town called Tubbergen near the border with Germany and Stephan lives in Gemert."

Without Arjen it seems that the tracks are a little shorter, a little bit less progressive but the piano is still the main keyboard. Why the piano and not the orchestral bombastic sound? Is there less violin solo on the album?

"When we were composing, arranging and trying to define the sound of the band, we looked back at the first album and we discovered we all liked the organic sound and the piano as main keyboard appealed to us all, so we decided to preserve that element in our sound. Jeffrey happens to be a very good piano player, so this added even more to our feeling this had to be our sound. Throwing in huge orchestrations would mean we were bound to become ‘gothic metal mainstream’ while we wanted to focus on the piano and a more organic live sound, songs we could play without a whole lot of technology of extra strings, choirs and that sort of stuff. After the initial demo-phase we actually got together. We rehearsed and arranged all songs as a band and we succeeded to get that band feeling even before we decided we were ready to take our songs to the studio and record them. About the violin: I was planning to do more solo violin on this album, but after hearing the first mixes we discovered that everything was so ‘full’ already that I decided: no more violin, let’s keep it as it is now."

How long did it take to record this album? Did you use several studio facilities?

"Yes, we didn’t want to make it too easy. Drums were recorded at the Excess Studio by Jochem Jacobs (Textures), the guitars at Jochem Jacobs’ place (Split Second Sound), grand piano at the E-Sound Studio (Weesp) by Joost van den Broek and the string quartet also by Joost at the Excess Studio. Finally my vocals, violin and keyboards at the Juicy Studio. In total I think it took us about two months."

You chose to hire the services of two different producers: Jochem Jacobs and Joost van den Broek. Can you explain why and how you met these two musicians?

"We’ve known Joost for a long time. Of course he worked with Arjen, with whom he became good friends and Johan and he went to the same highschool. We knew about his expertise with string arrangements and orchestrations, so we definitely wanted him for that symphonic part of the album. Jochem is well-known for expertise to get a monster sound on drums and guitars. Johan already worked with him with Forcefeed, a band Johan used to play in. We kind of figured out that the powerful metal sound of Jochem, combined with the more symphonic approach by Joost was exactly the sound we wanted. They worked really well together and we agreed that should there be any problems, I would have the final say!"

The mastering was done in the Fascination Street Studios by Jens Bogren. Where are they located? How did you find him and get in touch with him?

"I think somewhere in Sweden. We all loved the massive guitar sound he created with the album The Great Cold Distance by Katatonia. He’s done a great deal of cool things and I believe he’s involved in the new Paradise Lost album as well. He was recommended by our current record label Napalm Records, that was the first step. Then we made contact and we felt immediately this was the right thing to do so we sent our stuff to Sweden."

And then: recordings done and suddenly no drummer?

"Yes, that’s a fact. Davy found out he was to be a father soon and decided he wouldn’t be able to combine his duties as a father for his family, whilst giving all of his energy to the band. Of course we respectfully accepted his decision and we started asking around and we came across the name of Martijn Peters (ex-Novact) very quickly and anyone we asked said: Martijn? Sure, great drummer, should be your first option! So we called him, he was enthusiastic right away and we got together just one rehearsal and he already figured out the songs almost exactly right: pretty scary but very positive, so we immediately accepted Martijn without any further discussions! Apart from being a truly talented drummer he’s also a very cool, easy going guy and he’s all enthusiastic about anything."

Is your sister Diana still with the band?

"Diana isn’t with the band any longer. She went back to Mexico and fulfilled her dream: working in a musical theatre. Although she graduated as a graphic designer and has a job in graphic design too, she managed to get involved in a big musical production in Monterey, so she is very happy now. A great actress she is too! As background vocalist we now have a friend of ours Lucinda."

How did you get from Inside Out to Napalm Records?

"We only had a contract for one album and two options, but when Arjen left, it didn’t seem to make a lot of sense to have both artists signed to the same label. So we mutually agreed that we would look for another label. Napalm Records was in the picture very soon and offered us a very attractive deal and we were convinced they could bring us to audiences we never played for. They are from Austria, know their way around in the gothic metal scene and they have an extensive network in Germany. And this we can see now already: they are really doing a great job!"

Did you actually set out to be a gothic metal band?

"No, not necessarily. I think it’s a really vague term and frankly it doesn’t mean that much to me. Some people call our music progressive rock, others metal or gothic rock. As long as our label finds us people who might like our music, come to our shows, buy our albums and T-shirts…who cares? We like black and metal so it doesn’t bother us at all if people like to define us as gothic metal."

How were the shows so far?

"Amazing! The CD-launch was quite a happening and the show in Tilburg was great too. The venue was full and both Arjen and Lori were there and were as enthusiastic as the rest of the audience. It was so nice to see them, especially Arjen because he helped us along the way, giving his opinion on the songs when they were created. He also stated after the show that he was really proud of what we had achieved so far and that feels so good!"

Why did you pick Street Spirit from Radiohead to be a cover song?

"We wanted one cover song on the album, but we found ourselves desperate at a point because we couldn’t find the right one. Then there was this demo by Stephan, a cover of that specific song with a lot of heavy guitars and once we rediscovered that demo, we knew this was the one and it came out to be nearly exactly how his demo he sent to us earlier, sounded! It was really cool to be able to portrait this song in such a heavy way, the original being so contained and emotional."

Could you comment on all tracks of the album? What inspired you lyrically?

The Art Of Loss was inspired by a poem by Elizabeth Bishop, called One Art. It’s about losing something, someone. In The End is actually the first song that I wrote for the new album. In the essence it’s about the whole process of keeping the band together and keeping this project alive. When everything fails and falls apart, just stick together to overcome your problems. Now Or Never was the second song I wrote. I was still living in Mexico and at some point my mother, my sister and me were in the same kind of situation: strong doubts about yourself, wanting to achieve your goals but having to face numerous problems. It was an inspirational song for the three of us to stand up, set our goals and just go for it! When You Hurt Me The Most was inspired by the book Venus In Furs by the Austrian writer Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Because of this book the term masochism came to exist. The book portraits some strong emotions and that’s what I was looking for in this particular song. Run Away is a more personal song, the ballad on the album. It’s about the anxiety to connect with people in fear of losing them again. Sometimes it’s easier to be reclusive; that way you can’t lose a beloved one. Games We Play is a song that just popped up whilst experimenting with my guitar. It’s a kind of crazy, up-tempo song about people playing games, victimize or become victims. This Endless Night is a song inspired by the post traumatic stress syndrome: getting flashbacks, nightmares, that sort of stuff. Most of the time I encounter such weird subject reading the news, watching some movie. I just come across them by accident. In this case I went on to read about this syndrome and eventually led to the writing of this song. My Leader is a song about charismatic leaders, person but not necessarily the ‘good’ ones. I got inspired after watching a movie by Andy Warhol about this girl that got so obsessed by him, adoring him and ending up throwing her one life away just to follow him blindly. It concerns more the leaders who use their charisma for not so nice purposes. That’s what the song is about really: not particularly about Andy Warhol himself. Burn My Pain is about the longing for a lover. I won’t go into detail. Let Me In is about a person I knew, never opening up and obviously having a lot of problems, but nevertheless refusing help. A Part Of You too is a song I’d rather not discuss in detail, but it’s about the difficulty to connect to a specific person you want to connect with but somehow you just can’t reach him, not able to get a message across. All I Know I wrote after reading some of Freud’s works. Basically it’s about the melancholy of a lost love, the grieving. Far And Apart, the bonus track, is about the bond between two people, maintaining that bond in spite of being many, many miles apart."

Stream Of Passion entered the top 100 in Holland on place 57 and even better, on number 2 in the alternative to 30. Does this mean anything to you?

"Absolutely. It’s a confirmation that we’re on the right track and it’s a very positive feedback, making us more confident. It was a tough process to get this band together and this album released and we didn’t know what to expect from the audience, because this is another band than two years ago, so we are very pleased with these results."

Can you tell something about the artwork and the album title?

"Sure! When we talked about the artwork we didn’t have any visual concept. We just knew it had to be strong, bold and iconic. Almost by chance we got in touch with the Brazilian graphic designer Gustavo Savez and this is what we told him. We were in for a big surprise, because when he got back in touch after just a few days with this design, he had worked out every detail. It totally fits our ideas of the statement we wanted to make: drawing attention and tell the public, hey, here we are! The title was my idea, but it’s a result of the lyrical content of numerous songs, expressing the inner strength and willpower to survive and achieve ones goals."

You will continue touring in the Netherlands and Belgium, but also in Poland?

"Yeah, we got an invitation to play there on a festival in October, so we said: sure, why not? At the moment we have a great team working for us. This means that about a lot of things we don’t have to worry, because there are nice people taking care of them. We are really proud of our CD but we want to play live, we want to share this energy of the band with as many people as possible and we also believe, that seeing the show is a different matter than listening to the CD. Playing live and selling merchandise nowadays is the most important for most musicians!"

Marcela, thank you very much, all the best for you and the band
"You’re most welcome, see you at the show!"

Eerste bezetting/Original Line up:

Marcela Bovio - vocals, violin
Arjen Lucassen - guitars, music
Lori Linstruth - lead guitars
Alejandro Millán - piano
Johan van Stratum - bass
Davy Mickers - drums

Huidige bezetting/Current Line up:

Marcela Bovio - lead vocals, electric violin
Johan van Stratum - bass
Eric Hazebroek - guitars
Stephan Schultz - guitars
Jeffrey Revet - keyboards
Martijn Peters - drums

Discografie:

Embrace The Storm (2005)
Live In The Real World (2006, 2CD/DVD)
The Flame Within (2009)