RoD header

Translate

autumn2004boerderij023.jpgInterview with:

Nienke de Jong


One of the bands who became famous in the Dutch Goth metal scene is Autumn, a band that rose at the time After Forever released their debut album. Together they were a strong combination and proved that there is more than just Within Temptation. After that the scene exploded, but was just the beginning. After two years of silence the band is back with a second album called ‘Summers End’.  The band will perform in Atak (Enschede) and before their gig there’s a chance to talk with Nienke, vocalist of the band. She had to hurry because she was in the studio to record the first single.


New record

When I note that the second record is very different from their debut “When Lust Evokes the Curse” Nienke totally agrees.

“I hoped that people would notice that the sound was much better, because the first record had a very bad sound quality. Now we learned what works out best. We’ve grown a lot due to the live shows, because you get a better control of the instruments. When the record is sent to the media it’s very scary, because you hope that people will notice that the sound is better. With the first record the production was very bad and a fast process because of the low budget.

People said that we sounded better on stage than on the record. That’s the reason I’ve never listened to the album again. It’s a good lesson about how you want to sound. We listen more to our own gut feeling now. When you take little steps in the good direction you get more self confidence. This afternoon I had to go to the studio to record the first single and that was a bit scary, but when all goes fine I remember that and take that feeling with me.”

autumn2004effenaar036.jpgautumn2004effenaar014.jpgautumn2004effenaar046.jpg

It was  the first time she wrote lyrics: “The first record was almost finished when I joined Autumn. I was too shy to ask if I could write some lyrics, but they guys were very enthusiastic, so I choose a song and wrote ‘Solar Wake’. It’s really different from the rest I noticed during the recording: I started to cry. It’s so emotional to sing your own words.  You can hear it in my voice, but well; that’s the emotion. I had plans to change it, but when I heard it again I cried, so I decided to keep it that way. I believe you try to catch a brief moment full of emotion, because that’s music”.

The lyrics of the first album were about witchcraft. On the new record the same metaphoric theme comes back. Nienke tells about it: “All those old stories were made to express something which is reality. You can say things, without using the direct way. It makes a good combination with the feeling we have with our music”.  On the second record there’s even a part 2 and 3 of ‘The Witch in me’, the successful catchy song, but it wasn’t the idea to create a new hit song: “It was more to evolve on the lyrics and the music is not the same as well; more a cryptic. When you make a record you try to find out what’s good at which moment. We wanted to give power in the beginning, than bring them in perplexity and the end had to be a killer and this became ‘Solar Wake’”.

autumn2004boerderij050.jpgautumn2004boerderij043.jpgautumn2004boerderij051.jpg

Evolution

With the new record the songs are more on their own, because there were more band members involved by the writing process: “Earlier it was the ex-guitarist and the keyboard player who wrote the songs, so most of them were kind of similar. Now there were more people, with a different taste, who had some ideas, so the final result was a surprise! We learned how to write a better song. With the first record there were some songs which had a wrong structure. My voice also changed because I learned new things and we did a lot of gigs, but it all came very naturally. Now I use my strength more and not the melody lines of the former singer.”

It seems as though the band came out of nothing. Suddenly they were there together with After Forever, but I am wrong. Nienke tells me that the band worked very hard for the breakthrough. “The band started in 1995, so it didn’t come out of the blue. Sometimes everything just comes together. It was the right period for these kinds of bands. It was great that we did the tour with After Forever, because that was a huge step forward. Now we have planned a tour in Germany together with Within Temptation. That’s also why we recorded the single, because it’ll be a good combination. So now I am very busy preparing the tour: less days at work and more sports to get the necessary energy. You really need that to perform night after night. Coffee always works very well too!”

autumn2004boerderij031.jpgautumn2004boerderij041.jpgautumn2004boerderij029.jpg

Studio work

During the recording process Nienke was confronted with her strengths and weaknesses: “I discovered a lot before already, but still you get to know more about yourself. It’s a very confronting process. You never see those details on stage where it’s hectic and energetic.”

Emotions

Nienke has a lot of respect for Anneke from The Gathering: “It’s very strange to see that people are touched by what you’re doing. Of course you have these feelings too, but it’s strange to see someone cry because of your music. I just realised that it’s the same with The Gathering and it’s really strange to look at yourself in that way.”
Nienke is very realistic about her success: “The band used the slogan ‘just act normal’ and that doesn’t mean that you can’t do weird, but in the end of the day everything is very relative. We do things, because our feeling says so and we like to do that. It’s great that people like it, so we have found each other. I think this can look magical, but it’s more like sharing a beautiful moment.”

“Music is kind of an escape for me. When I was sad I used to sing myself to sleep, so it was always very deep. I never wanted to be an idol or famous, but I have this feeling inside which I have to shout out. With Autumn it was more like making music together and well then you get to places, and it changed. We then took the opportunity with both hands and worked very hard to get to know everything. The magic is the most important thing and we hope to develop that also in the future.”

autumn2004boerderij009.jpgautumn2004boerderij014.jpgautumn2004boerderij010.jpg

We would like to thank Nienke, the other band members and the crew.

The Dutch version of the interview you can find on: www.muzikantenweb.nl

See also (all categories):

Comments powered by CComment