Within Temptation
Music Is My Nutrition

26.06.2015

Архив интервью | Русская версия

Once upon a time Within Temptation were one of the many bands treading the path of sympho metal and using a combination of growling and high female vocals, the so-called “beauty and the beast” mix. Their career has been on a steady rise since then, the band is now packing sizeable venues around the globe, and the scale of their anniversary shows can make an impression even on a frequent visitor of grandiose shows. This year Within Temptation are coming back to Russia, but now they are doing not just two shows, but a full tour. We managed to contact the beautiful singer Sharon den Adel to discuss musical styles, freedom of expression and many other relevant topics.

Within Temptation have visited Russia a few times, but so far you have only played concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg. This year you are doing a full tour of seven concerts in different Russian cites. How did it become possible?

I think it’s because people are very enthusiastic about us, it’s time to extend our territory in Russia and go to different cities as well, in addition to the two where we have been so far.

Within Temptation is becoming more and more popular all over the globe in the past few  years. In your opinion, what helped you gain this momentum?

People enjoy our live shows. If you have a good show and people enjoy it, they tell their friends, of course, and that’s the best way to spread your music and get your music out there. When people tell their friends how much they like music and the show, it’s the best advertising you can have. I think that’s probably the reason why we have played different places than we did before.

You are currently touring in support of the latest album “Hydra”. This record is something special, it has more duets than ever before, but some are quite controversial. How did you decide to invite rapper Xzibit for a collaboration?

Well, that was the challenge we felt like taking. I always had a saying, “Don’t worry, we’ll never do rap”. (laughs) Eventually I was like, “Oh God, I would like to write a song where there is a rapper instead of our own voices”. I will never do rap myself. (laughs) However I do like the music, I do like the energy, the emotion that comes from it, the rhythm, and how they have magic with words. We’ve always been big fans of Xzibit from the time he was performing with Eminem. We have many different kinds of friends, and some of them like rap music – the idea came from them. Xzibit is really oldschool, he’s also our own age, and we felt like ‘if we are going to do it with anyone, we wanna ask Xzibit because he has a deep voice, and I have a higher voice, so it’s a nice contrast. I think we stick close to our own kind of music, we just added the rapper to the song, that is typical Within Temptation, in my opinion.

One of the album’s most beautiful songs, “Whole World is Watching” exists in two versions with different guest singers? How did it happen?

Initially we wanted to have David Pirner (singer of U.S. alternative rock band Soul Asylum – ed.) on it, but we couldn’t find him on social media. We tried to get contact with the management, but there was no management. (laughs) I felt like, “I only want to make a song with Dave Pirner; if this song is gonna be on the album, I want to work with Dave Pirner, because I don’t believe in any other singer”. We did try, but we couldn’t find him, and in the end our German manager came up with the other guy (Piotr Rogucki, singer of Polish band Coma – ed.) that we felt like, “OK, this guy can sing as well, he’s amazing!” In the same time we found David Pirner, so we asked them both to sing on the song. Both are cute in a different way. I never thought it would happen, because I was always hearing Dave Pirner’s voice on it. In the end they both turned great, and we enjoyed very much.    

It’s also the first time in many years that fans can hear Robert (Westerhold, the band’s studio guitarist and Sharon’s husband – ed.) growing on an album. Why did you decide to revive this element of your music?

For many years it felt like a gimmick, so many people were doing it and are still doing it in combination with a high female voice. That’s what we did when we started, and as time passed it felt really, really old-fashioned, because the singing didn’t really grow the same kind of way as making music. We felt like it sounds still very much the same. It’s very difficult to make that kind of music feel new, and we felt like we needed to make a step forward every time. But I think using it now again on a few songs in a different way with more up-tempo songs fells really refreshing actually and cool to do it again. I enjoyed it very much, that was fun.

“Hydra” is a very versatile record. Did it come out accidentally, or was this the plan to make such a diverse album with a broad range of sounds?

No, when we start writing an album, we don’t have anything in mind, we are free to write anything we like, and it’s the best way to go about it, in our opinion. All the stuff comes that you might not have written if you had a certain plan that might influence what you’re writing. What we found out is that it’s the heaviest album we have ever written, it’s different kind of album, of course, with different influences, with also some old stuff coming back, like the growling voice of Robert in certain songs. It’s a combination of old and new, and I think it was something we were really looking for. We needed it, we always write what we need in our own personal life, and I think it was the album we needed to write at that time. I’m not sure what will be next, I think it’s going to be totally different again from what we have done with “Hyrdra” (laughs), but I still love “Hydra” – it’s one of the best albums we have written. I’m really proud of that one, especially because the songs are catchy and at the same time very up-tempo, and that’s the combination that’s always very difficult for us to write. But we did it this time, and I’m still very proud of that.

The majority of songs are written by you together with Rob or keyboardist Martijn Spirenburg. Do you work together at the same time or do you exchange rough ideas? Could you describe the process?

What happens is we work in two teams actually, the four of us – Robert, me, Martijn and the producer. Sometimes Robert writes on his own, sometimes I write with Martin or Daniel, the producer or Rob writes with Daniel, and then we send each other the ideas that we have written. Rob & I don’t work together any more, we did it until we made “Mother Earth”, but after that we don’t work together because we would get into a fight.(everybody laughs) We send emails to each other when we write lyrics together, and that’s it actually, and as for music, we don’t even go there anymore. When I write with Martijn or Daniel, I send it to Robert, and he forwards to me some things that they have written. We look at what are the best songs, and we are very open and honest to each other, everybody works really hard to make the best songs because everybody wants to have high quality and beautiful songs on the album. That’s the way we work. When I work with Daniel, he’s a more of a guitar-oriented kind of guy, he mostly works on guitar and vocal lines. He starts playing, and I just start singing, I have a certain idea what kind of song I wanna make, and he has a kind of rhythm. With Martijn Spierenburg, the keyboard player, he would play some of his stuff on the piano, so that we can have the rhythm, and then we have an idea about what kind of song we would like more or less to write, something that feels good to write at the moment because it’s the emotion that you have. That’s how it’s getting started for us.

Before “Hydra” you released an album of cover versions, “The Q-Music Sessions” (2013). How did you choose songs for it, “Summertime Sadness” (Lana Del Rey), “Apologize” (OneRepublic) and so on?

Oh, that was a special radio project that we were asked for. When we went into the studio for making the “Hydra” album, we were asked to do cover songs for 15 weeks - to do a cover song every week. We were already in the studio, and we never did a cover songs except for “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush & we felt like, “OK, many bands do it and we have actually done it, there was only one song, and it can be a fun project, we are in studio anyway, so why not?” It turned out very good, and we even released it on an album. To be honest, I really enjoyed that experience, and it also helped to write new songs for “Hydra”. It taught us a lot about rhythm and how it works in music when you’re writing songs. For us it was a really good process to go through.

In the past you didn’t use much of guitar solos, but now many songs have them. What was the reason behind this change?

It just felt perfect for the kind of songs we were writing. I love guitar solos as well, they fit perfectly if they are really really good. These guys can create solos really good, and I felt like we have the talent in our band, Ruud (Jolie) and Stefan (Helleblad) are really good guitar players, both with a totally different sound, and we thought if that exposes them in what they are good, then let them play this kind of heavy songs with fantastic solos on them.

You significantly changed your style of music over the years, and that’s why some fans stopped listening to Within Temptation. Aren’t you afraid of it?

No, I never am, actually, because I think we can only write what we write, we do it as a form of art, it’s what we feel where we should go with our band, we don’t want to repeat ourselves. People come and people go, that’s the way it’s always been. When I look at the last two years, the number of people that come to our shows has only grown. Music sometimes stands for a certain period in your life, in that period there could be certain music that you really liked. And then it changes, but it doesn’t always say something about a band, sometimes it’s also because a person has outgrown it, they have a different situation in their life, and they’re open to other stuff and listen to a different kind of music than they did before. So it’s a combination of us changing constantly, which we’ve always done, and people changing themselves as well, and that’s why people come and go, I think. You can’t stop it anyway. If you are gonna be concerned about that, you don’t have your own music in control, and that’s something we really want to avoid.   

Your singing has changed significantly as well. You used to sing in a very high crystal voice, but now your vocals are more rock-oriented, more powerful. Why did you change the way of singing?  

It’s because I can sing in so many different ways. Sometimes a certain kind of song becomes better if I don’t sing it always with a crystal high voice. I like to be more diverse. When I think a song needs it, I will do it again. Sometimes if you constantly sing in one way, a listener gets tired. Sometimes it’s nice to sing in a different way. Any voice comes out in different ways in a good way.

By the way, how did you start as a professional vocalist? How and at what age did you start singing?

I started very early. When I was young, I was always singing - I was talking or singing. (laughs) As far as I can remember, I was always singing along with songs. My parents always promoted music to me in a very positive way, I have had always music on in my house, when I was growing up. My parents are great music lovers, they love all kinds of music. Anything they like, they’d play, so it could be Deep Purple or Pink Floyd, but also The Eagles or Queen – everything from pop to metal and rock music in between. That’s the kind of thing I do as well. So I got a very broad taste in music. I was always singing with music, e.g. in a car - as long as I can remember. I got introduced to rock music or heavier staff at a very early age, but when I really got interested was when I heard Nirvana. This is a band that’s not just heavy, but it shows so much emotion and also melody, and I like that combination of heaviness and melody, a totally intense kind of music, that’s s what I was always looking for – intense expression, that’s what I needed when I was growing up.  

Apart from your main activity in Within Temptation, you do a lot of session work, e.g. for Timo Tolkki, Avantasia, and even DJ Armin Van Buren, etc. How do you decide if you are going to participate or not? E.g. if a Russian group asks you to sing something, do they have any chances?

In the past when people would approach me with music, “Would you like to sing on this?”, I was like, “If I like the music and I have the time for it, I would do it”. And it’s still the same - If I like the music, if it appeals to me, not only the vocals, but also the lyrics, if it gives me a certain kind of good feeling, I will most definitely do it, yes.

As a rule, a Within Temptation show is more than just six people playing. On the “Elements” DVD one can see an orchestra, choirs, fireworks and dynamic decorations. What does the visual aspect of the show mean personally for you?

It’s more like you want to bring something spectacular visually. Sometimes we come to a country where we can’t bring everything, but I think that music is the most important thing – 90%, and 10% is an extra for the visual part that we like to do because it’s a creative way of getting yourself out there,  it’s a different creative process. I think it really adds something to the show. When I go to see bands like Marylyn Manson or Iron Maiden, they bring the hell of a show – that’s what we like, this visual kind of stuff, and that’s what we also do.    

At the present time Rob doesn’t participate in concerts outside The Netherlands because of your kids. Is he supposed to participate in concerts again in the future?

Only when he is needed. Most of the time he’s not even needed, because we have a new band member to be on stage also in the Netherlands, Rob doesn’t perform in the Netherlands either any more. He has a bad back, one time he couldn’t get out there because he had injured himself, some muscle or something. But Rob still has a few gigs to play, and that’s OK. When he gets to do the front part, it’s very unexpected for fans to see, they go, “Hey, that’s Rob again”, that’s cool.

How do you manage to combine the role of mother and a music career?  

Like any person who is a parent, you have to combine two worlds, of course. Because of Robert staying here, it’s a combination I can make. You need a good back-up, of course, and he’s the best dad – I know that the kids are in good hands. I can go and do our thing, and he stays at home. I’m not worried one second. I’ve got the best situation ever. (laughs)

What musicians would you like to work with in the future?

The thing is that we always look at the music, we first write the music, and then if a certain name pops up and fits the song, that’s the way we go about it. We never do it in other way round like, “OK, we’d love to work with this person and that person, and then we’re gonna write the songs”. It’s always the other way round: first we write the songs, and then we look at if it’s just for me or we’re gonna ask someone else to do it. Of course we have a list that is as long as the moon, there are so many good musicians and good bands out there. It’s all about their availability, about whether people like the song, whether they can actually sing it or play it…. There are a lot of reasons why we ask or don’t ask certain people to participate. Maybe there won’t be any collaborations on the next album – it always depends on the songs.

What do you like most of all in the life of musician?

I like so many things… For me it’s a way to express myself, that’s what music means to me – expressing myself, it feel it’s an art form in a way. It’s also the way to be myself, the way to do with life, it’s a very important part of my life like for everyone who is a musician. Everybody has the way to express themselves through their work or hobby. For me music is my nutrition like food and drinks, it’s very necessary.

Finally, we cannot but ask you how you feel about the upcoming Russian tour?

I’m really looking forward for it, and I’m also really curious because I’ve never been further than Moscow and St. Petersburg, I’m really looking forward to see other cities. It’s like one big mystery for a lot of people who live in Europe – what the rest of Russia looks like and feels like, what’s the energy from people, what the venues, audiences and music are like, and we are really looking forward to experience it. So I’m really glad we are able to do so.

Within Temptation on the Internet: http://www.within-temptation.com

Vyacheslav “Slash” Kupriyanov, Digital Skin
June 17, 2015.
(с) HeadBanger.ru