Stream of Passion did some shows in May and Raymond Kruijen spoke with the beautiful front lady Marcela Bovio.
He also wrote an review of their latest album, please check it out.
[R]:
What was the impact on Stream of Passion when Arjen Lucassen, Lori Linstruth and
Alejandro Millán left the band ?
[Marcela]:
Well, after the initial hesitation and questions whether or not to go on with the band and deciding that we definitely wanted to keep working as Stream of Passion we had to have a period of readjustment and figuring things out: what do we want to achieve, where do we want to go and what do we need to get there. We had to find the right people to fill the empty positions, and come up with a new way of working together. It was a bit hard at the beginning, but eventually everything started falling into place!
[R]:
Some reviewers asserted the debut of Stream of Passion had an symphonic Ayreon touch.
Do you agree with it ?
[Marcela]:
Definitely. I think Arjen’s writing style is very clearly present in the first album.
[R]:
On the debut album Arjen Lucassen had an major input, for example in the songwriting.
How does the songwriting process work out for ‘The flame within’ ?
[Marcela]:
What we did on the first album was that I would work on vocal melodies and lyrics with basic acoustic guitar song ideas that Arjen would send my way. Now for the biggest part it was up to me to also come up with those initial song structures; it was difficult for me at the beginning, because I was used to always co-write with someone, but after the initial mental barriers were down I felt really comfortable and excited and started coming up with lots of ideas. These ideas I then would send to the rest of the band, and we defined the final song structures and wrote the arrangements together.
[R]:
What was the main reason for changing of recordcompany ?
[Marcela]: InsideOut is a label more orientated to progressive rock, we wanted to look for a label that would also be able to take our music into the gothic and metal audiences. Napalm Records is a label with lots of experience in the area, and we’ve been collaborating wonderfully with them.
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[R]:
The new songs own an live feel environment.
What was the reason to add that environment to the bands sound ?
[Marcela]: It was something that we had already thought about even before all the big band line-up changes: if we’re ever to do a second Stream of Passion album it would have to be heavier and more live-orientated. We have lots of fun playing live, shedding lots of energy on stage and sharing it with the audience; the first album has some great heavy moments, but also a lot of quiet passages. We wanted to fill this new album with songs with which we could really kick it and go crazy on stage.
[R]:
Listening to ‘The flame within’ words as dreamy, melancholic and romantic comes to my
mind. Do you recognize those words ?
[Marcela]:
Marcela: Absolutely. Those are qualities I always look for in music to listen to and I always bring back into my own music.
[R]:
Are there songs on the new album who has a special meaning to you ? And why ?
[Marcela]:
Most of them have a special meaning for me, since the majority of the songs talk about very personal things. For instance, “Now or never” is a song I wrote trying to push myself to go forward and chase my goals and not get discouraged with the obstacles on the way.
[R]:
Stream of Passion is often categorized as Gothic Metal.
In my opinion does that term not cover all.
What do you think about your categorizing and in general ?
[Marcela]: I’m not that fond of categorizing, but if it serves the purpose to help people with a specific music taste to come in contact with your music then I don’t really mind. It’s what it’s all about in the end, to help listeners find more music they could enjoy. It’s not totally descriptive and somehow enclosing, but that’s just the way it is.
[R]:
How does look the future for Stream of Passion ?
[Marcela]:
We have a bunch of shows planned in Holland and Belgium, and after working on our new album for so long we’re really excited about taking the new material on stage and enjoying from the live performance experience. We hope to be able to plan as many shows as possible and reach as many different places as possible.
[R]:
Do you have musical ambitions beside Stream of Passion ?
[Marcela]:
I would love to have the chance to do some opera in the future, as well as exploring some different musical styles like jazz and post-rock. Though I don’t really have time to do everything! But we’ll see what future brings.
[R]:
Thanks Marcela for taking the time to answer these questions.
Groetjes…Ray
[Marcela]: you’re welcome!
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Pictures by Jaak Geebelen
Pictures below from Wil Delissen, from the Muziekgieterij Maastricht Oct-2009.
Click on them to enlarge.
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