exclusief interview met: |
Kim Sosson (bass player of Elysian Gates)
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“A female singer who knows how to sing, scream, grunt, play the violin and work with real choirs.
Elysian Gates from Luxemburg has been given the opportunity to open two nights during the FemME Club Tour. The first night was in ‘De Verlichte Geest’ in Roeselare (Belgium).
Time for an interview with Kim during the soundcheck of the band.
Time for an interview with Kim during the soundcheck of the band.
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Danny: “Hello Kim, let’s start with the name of the band. I presume there’s a link with the Elysian Fields?”
Kim: “The idea was to believe in something higher, a higher power, a place where you can go. The life after the life we know.” Danny: “You’re all from Luxemburg?” Kim: “Yes, we are. It’s not too far away, but very small.” Danny: “Not the biggest heavy metal source of Europe.” Kim: “No, but there are still some metal bands. But the main style is more metal core and traditional heavy metal. “ Danny: “Are you known in your country? ” Kim: “Yes, there are not so many bands that are doing symphonic. Only three or four. So we are quite known. It’s problematic with the venues. There are some, but we always have to do everything by ourselves, so it’s not very easy.“ Danny: “Let’s have a brief look at the history of the band. You started out with a male vocalist.” Kim: “Yes, we started in 2010 with a male singer but after the first album, it turned out that we weren’t working properly together and we decided to go with a female singer. We first had a girl from Lithuania for about a year, but she was more into pop music and that didn’t suite us very well. So we were looking for someone else and I knew Noémie from other bands. I asked her and she gladly accepted.“ |
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Photo © Sandro Ortolani
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Danny: “Northern Winds was originally recorded with the first female singer? ”
Kim: “ Northern Winds was originally recorded for Sea Shepherd with Jelena Negatina, our first singer. But we rerecorded it with Noémie for the new album, as a hidden track.“ Danny: “And the Seven Angels single? ” Kim: “The single as well as the long version were sung by Jelena and were oringinally on the first album with a male voice. We didn’t rerecord that one, because it’s about fourteen minutes and we don’t want to rerecord all the old stuff. ‘Northern Winds’ only existed on YouTube or other sites and didn’t have any hardcopy yet. So that’s different.“ Danny: “Do you have to apply for Sea Shepherd or do they ask you?” Kim: “It was mutual. We knew some of the folks from Sea Shepherd and we played a gig for their organization. And then we got the idea to do a song about them.“ Danny: “And in 2015 Noémie joined the band.” Kim: “Yeah, we did a couple of gigs and soon we decided that we wanted to do a full recording with her. That’s also the reason the album is only fifthy minutes, but we are already writing new songs.“ |
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Danny: “How do you write new songs? Alone or together? ”
Kim: “It’s mostly Thierry, the keyboard player, Sue, the guitar player and me who write the songs. Lyrics depend on who comes up with something. So we write basic ideas with us three and we bring these into the rehearsals and from there we start to develop the whole idea.“ Danny: “Who plays the guitar solos?” Kim: “Sue and Guy, they both do their part of the solos.“ Danny: “And then came the new album ‘Crossroads’ ” Kim: “Yes, and it’s not only the song but also the album, the whole idea. It’s an evolution from the first album which was ‘Destination Unknown’ about a boy who was torn between two worlds and now he comes to a crossroad and has to decide. It’s not really a concept album but the bigger picture is about the young boy who’s growing up and searching his way through the problems of today.“ Danny: “Who is doing the screams and grunts? ” Kim: “That’s Noémie. She was in a metal core band previously and she’s a great screamer." Danny: “Who did the artwork?” Kim: “The artwork is done by a French artist. We gave him the idea of crossroads and that’s what he did with it. It was a long process because it’s very difficult to get something visually down as a translation from music. “ Danny: “And for the future? More gigs or new recordings? ” Kim: “In December we will begin writing new songs. We already have plenty of ideas. In March we will do some more gigs. But the new album will not be before 2019. And we want to do more gigs for Crossroads because we believe it’s a good album.“ Danny: “No label for the next album?” Kim: “Maybe, that would simplify a lot of things. But we all have daytime jobs and we think that labels need you to have time for them.“ Danny: “I hear Eastern sounds on ‘Far From Home’?” Kim: “It’s about actual problems. I don’t want to pin them on Syria, because that would narrow it down too much, but we believe that the world evolves and some people gain and some people loose. It’s the same theme, crossroads, but more contemporary.“ Danny: “Is it a real choir?” Kim: “Yes, the choirs are real. Noémie learned to sing in a choir and she still has the experience and we involved the persons she knows to do the choirs. We also have a cello and the violins are from Noémie too. The cello is another artist.“ Danny: “OK, thanks for your time and success with your gig.” Danny Focke, 18/11/2016 for Keys & Chords |
Photo © Sandro Ortolani
Photo © Sandro Ortolani
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Photo © Sandro Ortolani
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Photo © Sandro Ortolani
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