ELVENKING
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 20th October 2010.
Elvenking's latest album "Red Silent Tides" recently came out, so we caught up with singer Damna on the Primal Fear tour to find out more...
Hiya, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
Damna: Sure; we are very well thanks! I’ve been doing answers from the tour bus for the last few days!
Congratulations on the new album. I assume you are extremely proud of it?
Damna: Thanks! Of course we are! This album is our new baby, so we are absolutely proud of it!
When did you start work on “Red Silent Tides”, and how well did it all come together? Was it hard work or surprisingly easy?
Damna: Actually, we wrote the first songs just after the release of “The Scythe” but then we made the acoustic album (in 2008) so everything was pretty much put to rest for a while. After the release of “Two Tragedy Poets” and the following tour, we started the real songwriting sessions for “Red Silent Tides”. It all came quite naturally; the creative process was instinctive and pretty easy to handle. When the songs were ready, we entered the studios with producer Dennis Ward and after two weeks we recorded all the tracks. Working with him gave us the chance to improve a lot as musicians and to work on some great arrangements. It was hard work, but in the end it came so naturally and all went so good, that it wasn’t that hard!
Who came up with the title, and was it there at the start, or did it come along later. What does it mean?
Damna: It’s a little less complex than the previous album title ….. The whole album is a ride through our deepest emotions and feelings and actually when we lay down the tracks and the lyrics, we felt like a small boat violently carried away by big waves, so its quite prophetic really! The cover artwork of the album come from some of the same feelings. May they be good or bad, our feelings drove us in the creation of this album and all we went through, this last year, contributed in making this music. These are the Red Silent Tides!
Is there a story or concept behind the lyrics, or are they are standalone tracks?
Damna: No concept, no. The lyrics are standalone and are the reflection of our feelings…. of all that we’ve been through this last year as I said, both the good and the bad.
How does Elvenking create songs? What would be the typical process behind the creation of a track?
Damna: Personally, I always start from a melody that comes into my mind. It may happen while I’m driving the car, or when I‘m in bed...whenever basically! I record the idea with a mobile recorder and then sit down with the guitar and start to build a song. This is basically how the first ideas come to life. After that, Aydan and I will meet the other guys in the rehearsal room, go through the basic idea and check the structures, add arrangements and so on.
Where do you look for inspiration in the writing process?
Damna: I don’t look anywhere for inspiration really. It’s inspiration itself that seems to look for me ;) It may come from anywhere. Or just out of nowhere. It’s difficult to explain. Actually I’m not the kind of guy who says “hey this book was cool.., let’s write a song on that” or “hey this song is great.., I wanna do a song in that vein”... that’s far from me. I just come with melodies and ideas...when the time is right :) Maybe I need some right impetus sometimes, too? Who knows…? Usually I write good music when I am in a very good or in a very bad mood...that helps a lot.
Do you have a favourite track on the album?
Damna: They change all the time. At the moment I really enjoy “Your Heroes Are Dead” for its energy.. We played it live on these last few gigs and it was a blast! But yesterday, my favourite was “The Cabal” for the melodies and the intensity .. It’s a song I’m very attached to for personal reasons.., and that helps a lot. Tomorrow I may change again though!
How do you feel the new album compares to your other releases, both in terms of quality and sound?
Damna: As far as quality is concerned, I think that “Red Silent Tides” is really one step higher up compared to the old ones. It’s very mature and finally, we have focused ourselves on making the best melodies we ever could and we defined the arrangements as we never did in the past. This time we also called two great keyboard players (Antonio Agate from Secret Sphere and Andrea Corona from Raintime) who helped us to create some incredible parts that improved the songs and the final result no end. I still like a lot the production of “The Scythe” (thanks to the killer mix by Nino Laurenne in Finland), but “Red Silent Tides” has the perfect sound for how we are nowadays, so that’s another real bonus for it!
Do you do anything special/unusual in the studio to get your sound?
Damna: Well, this time the whole process was supervised by a great producer and this is big news because, in the past, we mixed with great producers but we used to record the album in studios near home and it wasn’t always the best it could have been!
Are there any pieces of gear you couldn’t live without?
Damna: Well, actually, during this last tour, we discovered that we couldn’t live without “Travel Pussy”. That’s some great stuff you can if you stop in those German highway stores!! Ha! Ha! Ahahaha!!!
Do you enjoy your time in the studio, or do you prefer getting out on the live stage?
Damna: We love recording, but of course, the energy and the feelings you get on a stage are not comparable to the studio at all. The stage is where a band lives, the place you always dreamt of when you were a kid and you wanted to become a rockstar. So Stage 1 – Studio 0!
Do you have any gigs coming up that you are particularly looking forward to?
Damna: After this Primal Fear thing we’re taking a small break! The next gig is gonna be the release party of “Red Silent Tides”; we will play that in our hometown as usual! That’s gonna be a helluva show! And then, I think we’re close to confirming shows for 2011!
What is an Elvenking concert like? What should fans expect from one of your gigs?
Damna: Ooohh!! Energy for sure! When the fans come to a show of ours, expect to have to sing and jump, and make a lot of noise. That’s what I expect from our crowd!
Any thoughts on coming over to the UK again…. You came over last year, of course?
Damna: As I said, next year we’ll be doing some live shows around Europe, so I hope the UK will be one of the places we’ll visit. I love England, so I really look forward to that!
Any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
Damna: Uhmm..no...your’s are OK! eheh!!
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Damna: Doing something else to fight the boring life after being on the road,…ahaha!!
Anything else you would like to mention?
Damna: We send a big hug to all our fans in the UK! We can’t wait to rock and party with you all again soon!!! See you soon! Thanks!! “Thanks for the interview!!!
Thanks again to Damna for his time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of the latest Elvenking album "Red Silent Tides" by clicking here.
Label: AFM Records
Artist's website(s): Elvenking | MySpace | Facebook
