Elysion – 27-01-2010

Interview with: Christianna (Elysion)
By: Lara Cappelli

Greek Rock band Elysion recently released their album “Silent Scream” and we had the chance to have a nice chat with the singer of the band, Christianna.

– Are you satisfied with the album’s outcome? It was received well, doesn’t it?
Christianna: “First of all, on behalf of all Elysion a big thanks for having us! We couldn’t be any happier about “Silent Scr3am”! We are absolutely grateful that the album came out to sound exactly as we had dreamt it would. Our producer, Mark Adrian, is to receive a great deal of credit for it, as well as Ted Jensen who mastered “Silent Scr3am”.Having someone of Jensen’s talent and reputation to master our very first album was a definite guarantee for a high quality sound. We needed the production to be very sharp and balanced so the listener can focus on the beauty of the songs and we were thrilled to achieve that. As for the feedback, although the album has only been out for a month, we are more than thankful for all support we enjoy both in our country and abroad, it means the world to Elysion! ”

– How was the recording process?
Christianna: “It was definitely a most creative period for Elysion and a very fascinating time, too, to see our feelings being put down to notes every day! Luckily we had perfect chemistry with our producer, who has the great skill of bringing out the best in musicians so we know we all gave our 100% for the album!”

– Did you have the songs ready before going into the studio or did you finished the songs there?
Christianna: “Well, all songs were ready before going into the studio, we usually come up with a pre-production at Johnny’s studio to have an overall idea of how everything sounds and then work on enriching our material with new ideas and improvements. It surely was a magical procedure to see our songs forming their final shape day by day, by the time the album was mixed we all knew the sound would overcome all our expectations!”

– You joined the band right during the registration of the album, did your voice change the conception of the songs?
Christianna: “I don’t think that it did…I was carried away by the original atmosphere of the songs and tried to sink into the mood of the album and put my entire vocal personality into my singing. I felt completely free to express myself and my character as a singer and hoped that the outcome would justify Elysion’s faith in me.”

– The songs of Silent Scream are all very different each other but still there’s a romanticatmosphere to be found in all of them, is there a kind of connection between those?
Christianna: “Well, although there is no strict concept behind “Silent Scr3am”, all songs are connected by the same emotional platform, they are all pieces of anyone’s private thoughts and feelings. We consider “Silent Scr3am” to be a celebration of the human soul, in all its times of weakness or grace, it is all you might ever want to whisper or cry out to life itself, hoping to be heard.”

– You recently shared the stage with Draconian in Athens, how was that like?
Christianna: “It was pure magic! We have been waiting for years to see Draconian in Athens and having the chance to share the stage with them was awesome! The crowd was overwhelmingly warm ,the energy was absolutely amazing. I think it was a night to remember, for all of us who were lucky to be there! ”

– Are you planning on a tour to promote the album?
Christianna: “Touring is Elysion’s top priority at this point, and a very good reason for us to feel overly excited for what’s about to begin! We are now at the terms of planning all details of our touring and trying to make it possible to visit as many countries as possible, starting from Europe and hopefully America right after. This all is probably not going to start before the second half of 2010, as in these first months we have planned to tour Greece and thereby honor our homeland for all the great support before we make our moves outside the boarders. We expect our full schedule to be announced soon, and hope we are able to see you all in a show the soonest possible!”

– What image do you think your music conveys?
Christianna: “Actually, the beauty of Elysion is that we don’t label our sound or our atmosphere, but let the listener hear whatever he wants in our music and relate to our lyrics in the way that they reach his own heart and mind. We wish anyone can see a part of himself in us, his own image reflected upon our songs. That would be a great reward for us.”

– What’s the experience that has made you musically grow up the most so far?
Christianna: “I guess it hasn’t been one solid experience, what has made me musically grow the most is the constant process of being open minded and listening to as many different types of music as possible, trying to absorb as many good elements as possible and find a way to blend them with my personality as a musician.”

– How does music affect you and the world around you?
Christianna: “I truly believe that music is the greatest accomplishment of humanity. I dread to think of a world without it, I’d rather be dead. I definitely feel that however great this world’s cruelness is people will always turn to music for comfort, not to mention it is our deepest way of communication with each other but also with ourselves, our souls and emotions. Having said this, I believe music can change the world…”

– What do you think are the main obstacles that a female-fronted band has to overcome nowadays?
Christianna: “The obstacles are many, especially since the female-fronted scene is getting very crowdy lately! It’s quite tough for women to make it to the metal scene, anyway…They are usually judged more strictly than male singers are and a whole more is expected of them to justify their place. And considering female vocals have become such a mainstream approach for this industry, competition is getting bigger and bigger…Another main difficulty is that this whole ’’female-fronted’’ label is often misinterpreted and people don’t decide whether they truly like a band based on the music it plays but on the gender of the singer, thinking all female fronted bands sound somewhat the same. This all is a great challenge for us, trying to establish our unique music identity and be embraced for who we are!”

– If you could collaborate with one other non-rock musician/band who would it be?
Christianna: “This answer could go on forever…Considering we have been admiring so many colossal artists for so many years we would sound stupid not to say that it would be an honour and a hell lot of a great luck to collaborate with them all. An example of a non-rock artist we would love to collaborate with one day is Michael Cretu(Enigma),a favourite for all Elysion. We have great respect towards his work and think the outcome of such a collaboration could be extremely interesting!”

Thank you to Christianna and all Elysion for the availability and kindness.

Links:
Elysion MySpace