I have to be honest and say that Leaves' Eyes are one of my fave bands of any genre. It goes without saying that they are a quality act, they are at the forefront of the female fronted genre, and now I get the chance to interview Liv Kristine from the band. So if you are interested in a singer with an awesome voice, who enjoys long distance running, loves listening to Wagner and Black Sabbath and enjoys the odd cigar! And if you also like reading interviews that mentions the word "sex", then without further ado, read on!
Can we be introduced to the members of the band?, and can you tell us how you guys all came together?
Liv: Leaves' Eyes came into existance in the spring 2003. It was actually a spontanuous idea my husband and I had during a walk through the forest, where we are living. At that point of time I had been kicked out by my former band "Theatre of Tragedy", you probably know the story...via a news letter on the band's homepage. It was my mum who told me about what she had seen. During our honeymoon in Ireland July 2003 we strted composing demo tracks and got the band's name settled. I showed my concept to my friends of Atrocity (all of them are part of my daily life - they are like my family) and they really liked it. Soon thereafter we got a record deal and released our debut "Loverlorn". "Vinland Saga" was released in 2005, and these days, our third full-length album "Njord". Additionally, we released the EPs "Elegy" and "My Destiny".
And something that I have been asked in the past, where does the name Leaves' Eyes come from?
Liv: My husband wanted to combine something personal, "my eyes", and nature. "Leaves" is almost homophonic with "Liv", so it was kind of clear, what it should sound like. I like it!
I like that. And can you tell us more about the new bassist, the lovely Alla Fedynitch? It already seems she is developing a small fan club here in England!
Liv: Alla is the perfect bass player lady for us, and also a great friend. She's very talented, and she is not the kind of woman that cries her eyes out if there is no shower around every day on tour. Of course we share girls' secrets! We discovered Seven Antonopolous about 10 months ago, and he is truly a great drummer! He is being recorded right now in the room next to me..that's for my solo project, which will be out at the end of this year or the beginning of 2010.
I am a curious human being...who plays the keyboards in the band (it just states keyboards by Leaves Eyes)?
Liv: Everybody. We all have a certain sense for "keys", even if nobody plays them live in the band. When the album is recorded, most keyboards are replaced by a real orchestra, anyway.
Keeping that lovely voice of yours Liv in top condition must be difficult. I presume you stay away from the demon drink (certainly before a gig) and the awful cigarettes. I myself do not smoke - mind you, I cannot sing either :). How do you keep your voice in top shape and sounding as awesome as it is?
Liv: Thank you for the compliment! To be honest, I do sing alot (especially in the car ;-) ), but I never had any singing lessons. I've gathered my musical experience since I was a little girl, and this is what makes me the singer I am. If the music demands from me that I try out different singing techniques, I will certainly find the information I need in my own source of experience. However, sports is very important to me. However, I have to admit that I do now and then drink a glass of red-wine, and smoke a cigar at New Year's, but never before a concert, of course.
Alex is involved with Atrocity, and I am sure all fans of the band will know this, unless of course they have been living under a rock for the past century. Are any other members of the band involved in any other musical projects?
Liv: Thorsten (guitars) and my husband (producer) are involved in my solo project, and Alla (bass) has another band. Seven (drums) does guest appearances for other band, as well.
This is not an issue with me, but regards the music of Leaves' Eyes, do you think the occasional extreme vocals may put some people off your music?
Liv: If the song demands a contrast to my voice, Alex will be in there. No discussion.
Anyway, 'NJORD' is your awesome new album and I enjoyed the taster to that record, the EP 'My Destiny'. Can you tell any readers that have not heard it yet, what to expect from the new record?
Liv: "Njord" (producer: my husband Alexander Krull) has a power to it that even is more intense than any previous production I've been part of. Technically, we constantly have new ideas and aims. We have our own studio and therefore we have the opurtunity to specialize in technical tasks concerning album and DVD productions. "Njord" has even a more bombastic but delicate sound that "Vinland Saga", because techniques allows it. We recorded the classical parts in Minsk (Lingua Mortis, supervised by Victor Smolski), we had a complete local choir (Al Dente) singing the choir parts, moreover, a special artist playing solos on special instruments like the uillian pipe and the whistle. The lyrics mainly deal with characters from northern mythology (e.g. Njord, Fröya'sTheme, Nine Wave Maidens, Ragnarok), or with places and historical happenings (e.g. Scarborough Fair, The Battle of Maldon, Emerald Island, Irish Rain, Les Champs de Lavande). This is why I found it necesary to deal with all these different anguages. "Vinland Saga" is based on Leif Eirikssons discovery of America, even the EP, Legend Land, which followed soon thereafter. "Njord" has a much broader concept, travelling through history, and into Nordic mythology. It has always been important to me that our sound and art is authentic, and that our audience really get the feeling of being on a wonderful journey. I feel that our music needs a special well-written and interesting concept, and I want to travel through time and space. For me history has always been extremely interesting, and even when I left my homecountry Norway and moved to Germany 12 years ago, I had more books about the Vikings with me than clothes and shoes. The lyrics are written in 8 languages (english, middle-high german, old-english, gaelic, norwegian, icelandic, french and one "self-made" linguistic fictional phonetic sequence)...I even sat down to study a bit French to be able to write one French lyric. I did study Old-English and Middle-high German, so it was really nice to be able to use this knowledge. Gaelic is completely new to me, though, but fortunately I found a wonderful person who helped me. "Njord" is an album that demands an expansion in linguistic terms. The songs also inspired me to use my knowledge in classical singing to a greater extend than on earlier albums. I have learned a lot and developed as a singer and an artist. All this makes this album a multilayered and highly interesting experience for our listeners, for your ears, hearts and minds. If I should describe "Njord" in three words I would say bombastic, emotional, contrastive, and pure.
I rate the album very highly. Do you have any fave songs on the album?
Liv: "Froya's Theme" the my favorite among the 18 tracks written for "Njord". Froya is the goddess of sex, and, later, also of war and death - a curious juxtaposition of responsibilities. One of the Vanir, she came to Asgard as a hostage accompanied by her father Njord and her brother Frey. She married the god Od, who deserted her, and here's when our story begins. Froya could nort accept that her husband had "eyes for other women", and went after him. It is said that she was crying tears like stones of gold, crashing down onto the earth. Finally, she finds him and there's a reunion between the two. As I heard Thorsten's (guitars) demo version of this song, I instinctly thought that this is going to be an epic, longer, musical piece.
Was the recording process simple or did it bring major headaches on occasion?
Liv: We started to compose in 2007, and we had planned to release the album in 2008, however we just built a complete new studio from the ground as we had to leave the one we had rented before. Moreover, we were forced to renew the complete studio equipment and recording system after moving into the new studio. This took about at least a year. In the middle of all this, we had to produce our DVD, which is a "monster" project of six hours playing time. Of course we had troubles finding a new bass player and drummer, as our two former members decided to concentrate on their other jobs. Nick Barker, who was our drummer for a while, unfortunately had to step back from metal and music business during a difficult period of time in his life. We suddenly had a phone call from England, in which he was terribly sorry to tell us about some serious personal problems he had. It is quite difficult to find a new drummer, especially because he or she has to be able to play the songs by Leaves' Eyes, Atrocity and my solo project. However, we needed to get through these extremely busy and hard times to get a new perspective on things, and to settle down. Since the first demo recordings for "Njord" we have been able to achieve goals that we thought back in 2007 would be quite impossible. The first thing I did after the final mix was completed, was to go for a long run through the forest. Afterwards I opened a bottle of red-wine and spent the evening with my husband and a good movie. We haven't done that for ages, to be honest. We've had hundreds of sleep-less nights, however they were worth it.
I cannot imagine this being a problem now, as you are such an awesome singer in an awesome band, but in the early days, was being a lass fronting a rock/metal band ever a problem?, bearing in mind that some people used to (and still do in some quarters) view metal music as a male domain.
Liv: Back in 1995 some people thought it was absurd to have a female soprano voice in a doom-goth metal band, however, today, I've got a number of female friends in the scene, like Tarja, Sandra (Elis) Christina (Lacuna Coil) and Sharon (Within Temptation), and of course my sister, Carmen (Midnattsol). True, most people I deal with are males, but my band members, for instance, are gentle-men like, they accept my rules on the road and all of them belong to my family.
Musically, what/who do you listen to when you are chilling out or relaxing?
Liv: Soundtracks ("Pirates of the Caribbean", "Chocolate", Amelie"), Edvard Grieg, Wagner, Cafe del Mar, Röyksopp, Black Sabbath, Lamb of God, Madonna, Scarlet Johanson, Depeche Mode, Tori Amos.
And do you have any hobbies/projects when not making music?
Liv: When my son is asleep, I am spending my "off-time" with long-distance-running, heading at good marathon-results. Last week-end I joined a run in the Alps in Austria with Napalm Records' boss "Max". My battery was empty as we crossed the finish line, however, it felt absolutely amazing. Is there a sign-up spot in the guiness book for female singers' running results??? ;-)
Are there any plans to tour in the UK once 'Njord' is released?
Liv: We will tour Europe in November, and the US in December. For 2010 we have planned two extended tours, and probably a South-American one. Please check out our tour-dates' news on our homepage - they are confirmed now. Hope to see you there!
And what are your expectations of the rock scene as a whole in mainland Europe, the USA and indeed the UK? My personal view is the UK should open up to this type of music a little bit more.
Liv: I have the feeling that the audience is growing incredibly fast. We played amazing, unforgettible gigs in England, Scotland and Ireland 2005 and 2007.
Finally, a question for Liv and Alex. We are all human and we all have our ups and downs in life. Being married and in the same band...can it sometimes cause 'problems'?
Liv. Professionally, Alex has ears and a hearing that is tuned in such a fine and explicit way which I have never experienced with anyone before. Having Alex as our producer is "luxury". Moreover, he is a perfectionist. He is, to tell the truth, exceptional. I would never want another producer. Personally, he we are fantastic together, we fulfill each other, although we both are persons with very strong and often quite different views and opinions. Having band meetings, is sometimes quite difficult though. The thing is to stay professional in such situations and talk in a constructive way, and not irritate each other in a personal way. Moreover, we do often discuss band matters in our private time off from the studio, but I am really trying to avoid this. Work is work, and private is private. I am trying to become better at not mixing the two.
Well, thank you for your time and good luck in all your future endeavours. We at Ravenheart Music UK wish you all the best with the new release. I am sure it will do well. Finally is there anything that you would like to say to anybody across the world via this website?
Liv: The feedback of the album "Njord" has been absolutely amazing. Many journalists and fans have already pointed out that they believe and hope that 2009 will be the beginning of a wonderful journey for Leaves' Eyes. I hope the universe hears this!
Dave Smith (Sep 8, 2009)