Interview с Sirenia : DARKSIDE.ru

Let’s start with Sirenia’s next tour in November. How is the preparation going (your personal and / or the band’s one)?

Rehearsals are going well. It’s been a while since our last tour so we’re all very excited to be performing again. We’re changing the set list slightly so I’ve been learning some of the older songs which I have to say, I absolutely love.

Have you already got used to leaving home for such a long time and being surrounded by people almost all the time? Do you usually feel okay being in tour conditions?

I love touring. It’s what being a drummer is all about for me. Performing live! We’re very lucky that we have comfortable touring conditions and I feel very blessed to have the opportunities to tour this way.

I’ve played tours before when I started out, where there have been 10 people in a small van. No showers, not much food, sleeping in the van using each other’s shoulder as a pillow. Even sleeping on the street sometimes!

So I do feel very lucky to be where I am now.

Moving closer to the band itself, what is the story behind your joining it?

A few years ago I was playing on a tour supporting Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody. Nils (Nils Courbaron, guitars - the interviewer’s note) was performing with one of the other support bands and we became good friends. When Sirenia were looking for a drummer, Nils recommended me to the rest of the band. I recorded an audition video then, Morten and I spent a few days in a studio playing around 20 songs. I was then asked if I would like to play the rest of the shows in 2018 which I happily accepted.
In the new year, the guys had a meeting and asked me if I would like to join the band as the permanent drummer. I was absolutely delighted!

You said that you became really good friends with other members of Sirenia. Has that deep connection appeared inside the band you play with for the first time (considering all your musical experience) or it happens every time you work with musicians / the whole band?

I’ve played in many bands before and of course, each musician has their own personality and each band as a whole has their own personality.
With Sirenia we all have a great sense of humour and friendship. It’s definitely the tightest unity of friends and musicians that I’ve experienced in a band. We all have the same work ethic and everyone’s focused on the same goal. It really is like a family.

Talking about you personally, where and when has your way as a mus

ician started?

Playing drums started in 1995 but I was inspired to play drums in 1993 when I saw my first rock concert. It was Status Quo on the “Just for the Record” tour. Jeff Rich was their drummer back then and he was the first drummer that inspired me. At the end of the concert I was given one of his drumsticks that he’d played and broken at the show. So that was a moment in my musical journey that started the fire burning.

Whom would you call “the example” for yourself (among musicians and not musicians)?

My main influences are;

Jeff Rich (Status Quo)
Dani Löble (Helloween)
Mikkey Dee (King Diamond, Motörhead, Scorpions)
Martin Škaroupka (Cradle of Filth)
Aquiles Priester (Angra, Hangar)
Nigel Glockler (Saxon)
Nick Barker (Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir)
Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree, Pineapple Thief)
Adrian Erlandsson (Cradle of Filth, At the Gates)
Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden)
Cozy Powell (Black Sabbath, Rainbow)

As I know, you’ve been taking part in some other projects too. What are your recent ones?

Magic Kingdom from Belgium. The new album “MetAlmighty” will be released on 22nd November via AFM Records.

Holy Tide and an international band but are based in Italy. The debut album “Aquila” was released in the summer via My Kingdom Music.

Do you remember your first project or band? How did it look like and what kind of music did you play?

My very first band was in high school where I was actually playing guitar and singing. We were called Haematoma.
I’d had a bad accident which meant that I couldn’t play drums for a few years so I started playing guitar.

The first proper band I joined as a drummer was a local band called mesch: in 2002. We played music that sounded a bit like Foo Fighters but with our own sound mixed in. I played with them until 2010 when I started touring.

Are you devoted to playing metal only or you’re open to experience in other genres?

Metal is my first love as both a listener and a performer. It’s a genre that I’ve concentrated on playing since I started learning drums.
I think it’s a good thing to learn other styles of drumming because it’s something that I can incorporate into metal. It makes it more interesting for me as a player and it can add different colours to the music.

With Sirenia I’ve added a few colou

rs to the songs by putting my personality into the drum performance. I’ve taken influence from some samba and progressive styles, even black metal and added them to the live show. Most people probably wouldn’t notice too much but, for me it’s adding a little spice to the live performance.

What kind of music do you yourself listen? Do you manage to percept music you listen to as a listener only (emotionally) and not as a musician?

At the moment I’m listening to black metal, movie soundtracks, dungeon synth, and a great band from USA called Them. They used to be a King Diamond tribute band but they started writing original material. The two albums they have released so far are excellent.

I listen as both a listener and a musician. As a musician I listen to relax and as a musician to gain inspiration.

How do you think, is it important for a musician to have education?

There’s two ways too look at it in my opinion. I’m not a trained musician, I’m self taught and I tend to play by what I feel. So I play with a natural reaction to the music. But, sometimes I think that if I had had some training, for example reading music, then this would have aided me better in how I compose drum parts.

I’m very much used to the way I come up with drum parts and fills, but I do think that education is important. I’m always learning by watching and listening to other drummers.

What would you advise to those who only think of starting their way as musicians (and creative person in general)? What can be the very first step considering fears, doubts and other factors that usually stop people from trying?

Doubts and fears are normal feelings to have. It’s not a bad thing to feel those. Once you overcome one doubt then it becomes easier to keep going forward.

For example, I always doubted my ability to play double bass drums. I always wanted to give up because that was the easy option. But, I kept practicing and as time went on I got better and better at it. I’m still learning today but the doubts have disappeared.

Keep that fire burning and stay inspired. Being a musician is not an easy journey but it’s very rewarding when things are going in the right direction.

Surround yourself with driven and focused musicians. It’s a big team effort and supporting each other is the most important thing.

Keep learning new things, listen to as much music as possible and try not to be a “bedroom” musician. Get out and play as many gigs as possible. Start at the bottom and work your way up the ladder.
Always be polite and flexible, people will remember you for this and will recommend you to other musicians.

But most importantly, have fun. Music is freedom.

Interviewed by Zhanna Sadovskaya.
19 дек 2019 the End