With the new SIRENIA-album „Dim Days Of Dolor“, mastermind Morten Veland proved once more that he is definitely not done with beeing a songwriter, while the new singer Emmanuelle Zoldan made a convincing first appearance. In the following interview with Veland, you will learn more about how he sees the old Tristania-albums, how it is working with the new singer and what he thinks is most difficult when it comes to writing new songs.
Let’s start with a rather general question: Just like the music of your former band Tristania, the style of SIRENIA can more or less be classified as Gothic or Symphonic Metal. Where do you spot the differences between those two bands?
Wow, I get kind of amazed these days when people ask me about Tristania, as it is 16 years since I broke up with that band. I have to admit though that I have not heard their music for years and years, so I have absolutely no idea of how they sound these days. Back in January 2001, when we parted ways, my intention was to continue making the music that I liked at the time. When starting SIRENIA I wanted to make some differences though, I did not want to form Tristania number 2, but a band somewhat different. The biggest change, I think, was that I brought in a modern style singing female vocalist, rather than a classical oriented one. With me being the main songwriter in both bands there would obviously be a lot of similarities, but I tried to continue the musical evolution with SIRENIA. I think that SIRENIA and Tristania headed off in different directions back then.
If you think back to albums like „Widow’s Weeds“ or „Beyond The Veil“ and then compare those to the newest SIRENIA album „Dim Days Of Dolor“, what comes to your mind?
It is two completely different reas and times, there is 18-19 years difference between those albums. If I put on one of those first Tristania albums today, I get filled with nostalgia. I think those albums are great pieces of work, especially having in mind how young we were back then. I still can find some similarities though between those two albums and „Dim Days of Dolor“, which I think is cool. On the other hand it is very noticable how far we have come in terms of sound and production.
„Dim Days Of Dolor“ is the first album since the parting of Ailyn. Your new leadsinger is Emmanuelle Zoldan, which already sang for the band in the choir. Why exactly did you choose her to be the new singer?
The choice fell on Emmanuelle because she is such a diverse singer. She can handle all kinds of techniques and styles. We have worked with her for more than a decade, but mostly with her being a part of the choir. I have always been a fan of her voice. I always loved her voice and felt sure that she would do a great job and fit well into the band. And as expected the recordings turned out fantastic, it was also a great learning experience for the both of us. So I feel sure that we will even improve our cooperation even more in the years to come. She added a lot of diversity to the album, she is making great variation with her singing which is a huge step forward for us. I am already excited about writing new material for Emmanuelle’s voice, now that I have learned even more about her strengths as a singer.
How is working with her different from working with Ailyn?
Working with Emma is much easier, as she is a more professional, educated singer with way more experience. She is also a lot more diverse and can handle so many styles and techniques. Our previous singer was missing a lot of power and diversity, but her voice was very beautiful, especially on the two first albums she did with us. Also the recordings with Emma were done in a week, while the previous album took a month. Actually it took several months if we count all the times we had to postpone the recordings etc.
After you made more frequent use of your growls on „The Seventh Life Path“, they have now once more been limited to a few passages on „Dim Days Of Dolor“. Did you do so in order to put Emmanuelle a little bit more in the spotlight or is there another reason for the lesser use of growls?
The amount of growls on our albums swings a bit back and forth from album to album. „The Seventh Life Path“ was a darker and more old school kind of album, which in my opinion required more growls. „Dim Days Of Dolor“ is a more melodic album which requires more female vocals. Also having a great singer like Emma it feels natural to give her more space and a bigger role in the band. A lot of fans was complaining that Ailyn sounded too pop for SIRENIA, but with Emma I feel sure that we have found the right singer for the band. She also does a great job live with her singing, which is kind of a rare thing it seems.
How has the feedback of the fans been so far until now?
I think some of the fans were sceptical in the start, which is natural when you change a so important bandmember as the singer. But after hearing the whole album it seems that the fans are acknowlegding Emma’s qualities as a singer. I think that she really did a fantastic job on this album, and all of us are very excited about the future. The last 3 years was a kind of depressive period in the band, but Emma has brought back the energy into the band.
What’s your personal favorite track of „Dim Days Of Dolor“?
I think that all the songs are really good, all of them with their own individual qualities. It is very difficult for me to pick just one song, but some of my favourites are: „Goddess Of The Sea“, „Treasure ’n‘ Treason“ and „Dim Days Of Dolor“. I also really love the French version we made of „Aeon’s Embrace“.
The lyrics of the songs seem to be rather stand alone, however, is there still some kind of concept that ties them together?
Yes, all the songs were written individually, so there is no typical overall concept or so. I think the dark, melancholic and bleak atmosphere though is like a red thread throughout the album. I have always been drawn to the darker aspects of life as a songwriter.
It sounds like the album’s production is much better than the one of its predecessor, especially the drums sound much more organic. Would you agree on that and if so, why do you think, the production is better this time?
I agree with you one hundred percent. This time we worked with a different mixing and mastering engineer, the choice fell on Jacob Hansen. I think he did a fantasic job for us and really was able to catch that sound that SIRENIA’s music really needs. In retrospect there is a lot of things that I am not satisfied with on the previous album. So it feels amazing to be back with an amazing sounding album again. I would love to work with Jacob on the next album too.
The artwork of the album looks similar in style to those of your last albums. What can you tell us about it?
Gyula Havancsak has made our two last album covers, he really did an amazing job. He was able to catch that particular feeling and atmosphere that I was looking for in a cover artwork. I find both of these artworks very epic and haunting, they trigger something very strong in me, and that’s what art is all about to me. His work is so detailed and deep. In the past we have worked with several different designers though. But I really think that we have found that perfect partner for design in him.
„Dim Days Of Dolor“ is already your eighth album, so you’ve already turned many ideas into reality. Has it become harder to stay musically creative or do you still have as many new ideas as at the start of your career as a musician?
I find it easy to be musically creative, but harder to come up with new lyrics. After writing way more then hundred songs it is hard to come up with new subjects to write about and to renew my way of writing.
What music do you listen to the most at the moment?
Leonard Cohen, David Bowie and Lana del Rey.
What are your plans for the near future of SIRENIA?
First we’re gonna finish all the press work in support of the new album in December. Next year we start touring again, first it seems as we are going to Greece and Romania, and possibly Bulgaria. In march the plan is to head on to Latin America and in May hopefully North Amercia. In the summer we aim to do festivals and in the autumn we will tour Europe again.
Alright, we are reaching the end of our interview. At last I would like to ask you to take part in our traditional Metal1.Info-Brainstorming. Please tell us what comes to your mind while reading the following terms:
Gothic: The Sisters of Mercy
Musical highlight of 2016: Leonard Cohen – „You Want It Darker“
Funeral: Cohen and Bowie
Opera: Carmina Burana
Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
CD – Vinyl: „Dim Days Of Dolor“
Thank you very much once again for lending us your time. Is there still something that you want to tell our readers?
It was my pleasure, you’re very welcome. Cheers to all the readers out there. Check out „Dim Days Of Dolor“ and catch us on the road next year. I’d like to wish you all a merry christmas and a happy new year.
30. Dezember 2016 Stephan Rajchl