PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Stream of Passion recently released their latest album “Darker days” on Napalm records. Planetmosh spoke to Stream of Passion’s lead singer, Marcela Bovio and asked her about the album and more…
Planetmosh: You’ve recently released your new album, Darker Days. Can you tell us a bit about the album and the songs on it?
Marcela: It’s our most adventurous album to date, I think. Our mission was to explore more different genres and styles and incorporate all these influences into our music. So we have some modern metal in there, some alternative rock, some prog rock and even some Latin influences, which is something I’m very proud of. The music is still 100% Stream of Passion, but with a whole other level of depth.
Planetmosh: How would you compare the new album to your previous albums?
Marcela: Besides being more ambitious in terms of music ideas, I think this new album also has more contrasts. On our previous CD “The Flame Within” we worked with lots of layers: rhythm guitars, themes, thick keyboard parts and string arrangements. On this album we’ve worked towards a more organic sound, we tried to give every instrument its own spot on the songs; so we pushed the guitars way forward on the guitar riff parts, and kept the sound very intimate on the keyboard, string parts. We’re very happy with how everything came out!
Planetmosh: Who writes the songs – is it a group effort or are there one or two main songwriters?
Marcela: The initial ideas for the songs usually come from me. I record a chord progression on the piano or the guitar, along with some vocal melodies; then I sat with Johan (our bass player) and Joost (our producer) and we worked on the ideas further. Then we take them to the rest of the band and assemble them together and fine tune the details.
Planetmosh: How did a Dutch band end up with a Mexican singer?
Marcela: A few years ago I had the wonderful opportunity to record on one of Arjen Lucassen’s Ayreon rock operas. He made a contest through his website to give an unknown singer the chance to sing a role on the album, besides great singers like James LaBrie from Dream Theater. Back then I was living in Mexico, and I sent a CD of my band back then all the way to Holland; Arjen really liked my voice and picked me for the project. He flew me over to Holland, and working together went so well that he invited me to write an album together. That eventually turned out to be the first Stream of Passion album; back then a project of the two of us, nowadays a full time band.
Planetmosh: How would you describe your music?
Marcela: Very emotional, dramatic, symphonic metal with progressive influences.
Planetmosh: You are due to play the Metal Female Voices festival in Belgium in October, which I believe is your second time there. What can the fans expect from your show? Plenty of songs from the new album or a mix of old and new songs?
Marcela: I think it will be a balance between new and old. What’s for sure is that we will be giving everything we have on stage!
Planetmosh: I don’t think you have ever played a show in the UK. Have you got any plans to visit the UK – either one show or a tour?
Marcela: We’ve played twice in the UK back in 2006, with the initial band line-up. We haven’t been back ever since, so even though we don’t have plans for it at the moment I sure hope we can schedule some dates there in the near future.
Planetmosh: What is your favourite type of live show and why – festival, large venue or small venue?
Marcela: They’re all great! Festivals are nice, because you can reach a bunch of people at once. But small club shows have something special; I like being able to feel that connection with the audience, see them up close and watch them enjoy the show.
Planetmosh: What bands did you listen to when growing up?
Marcela: When I was very young I listened to mostly classical music, due to my music lessons. On my teens I started listening to rock and metal, first Spanish speaking bands like Heroes del Silencio and Soda Stereo. Then I moved on to metal and listened to bands like Amorphis, My Dying Bride, Moonspell; then discovered progressive rock and metal and listened to stuff like King Crimson, Rush and Pink Floyd.
Planetmosh: What bands do you like to listen to these days?
Marcela: Currently I’ve been listening to Dredg, Radaid, Foo Fighters, In Flames, Kate Bush, St. Vincent.
Planetmosh: Thank you for your time.
