Page 10 - Black Velvet Issue 87

BV87 pg10,11,12,13:BV87 pg10 19/12/2015 01:10 Page 1

BlackVelvetMagazine.Com -10

The A-Z Of DELAIN
The A-Z Of DELAIN

n 2016 Delain will celebrate the ten-year anniversary of ‘Lucidity’, their debut album. Since
Ithen the Dutch band has released three more albums plus a compilation album. They’ve
toured all over the world and their music’s been the soundtrack to many rock fans’ lives. But what
if you’re a new fan? Well fear not, you can catch up here. We caught up with vocalist Charlotte Wes-
sels for an A-Z of Delain. We chat about difficulties, growth, emotions and knowledge.

‘ pril Rain’. ‘April Rain’ was your second that think “All the women in these kind of ory so the fact that we were performing on
Aalbum, released in 2009. How do you bands are like princesses” but aside from the Sophie Lancaster Stage which we re-
think that album holds up today? What the fact that I know that most of them are quested because they wanted to put us on
would you say are its strong points? not, I’m definitely not one of them. I’m most the main stage first. The fact that we got to
CW: I think the strong points are definitely comfortable when I know that I can con- play there was very special but also the fact
the variation on the album. If I look back at tribute to everything including the carrying that, for some reason, and probably be-
it it had both the very uptempo tracks which of boxes. Sometimes if we are on long tours cause we were both very busy, I hadn’t met
I really like like ‘Invidia’ and ‘April Rain’ it- I get a bit grumpy because I don’t sleep well Sylvia, Sophie’s mom, before that and she
self. It had a few ballads on there like I think on tourbuses but other than that I hope I’m was at the festival and I got to meet her 15
‘Come Closer’ was a really symphonic bal- not as horrible as I initially stated! minutes before the show. Sometimes it is a
lad but then it also had these strange tracks very upbeat song and sometimes during
like ‘Start Swimming’ with the mandolin and ifficult. What’s the most difficult thing the performance of the song I really focus
‘On The Other Side’ with some cellos in Dyou’ve had to do while being in the on that, the positive message rather than
there which is also kind of a song that is band? where it comes from because it makes me
harder to categorize. If I look back on that CW: I think the hardest thing to do is when too emotional, but I think that day, also with
album I think that that variety of songs is as a band you have certain setbacks and Sylvia there, that was a very emotional mo-
one of the things that I like most about it. you have to get to a point where you have ment and I think I cried during the first
to share that with your audience. When we verse. I think people understand. I noticed
rainwaves. Who has the most brain- went through the label problems that pre- just from the response when we were an-
Bwaves, or amazing ideas in the band – ceeded the release of ‘We Are The Others’ nouncing the song that the response was
and what was the last amazing brainwave and we had to tell people, it didn’t go as different than usual and a lot of people in
you had? planned. “We switched labels, it wasn’t our the audience knew what it was about even
CW: Me of course! (Jokes) No, I think all of choice and now we’ve invested a lot in this before we told them so…
us, when you’re working as a team you’re album and it might not see the light of day”.
looking for people who… I think we all have This was quite horrible, and I also noticed I ans. Which of your fans have most in-
the brainwaves on different territories. was addicted to Twitter at that point. Before Fspired you?
Everybody has their own island where they that happened I was sharing everything and CW: Sometimes you meet people that are
have the most input and where they get to at one point I just stopped saying things al- on their own endeavours, whatever that is.
realize most of those ideas and I think that together because it feels so bad to pretend I’ve had fans giving me books or drawings
with the team it works best when everybody that everything is ok while it’s obviously or paintings. I love books and I love draw-
can actually make those brainwaves into not. And on the other hand, I’m also not one ings and I love paintings – and some of that
something productive or else they just to complain about other people or other was inspired by our music. To see that what
keep on being things. It used to be my businesses on social media because I think you do can do that to someone and also to
favourite thing when, I always used to think it’s highly unprofessional. That, I think, was see how people put their passion into
that the fact that I got distracted so much a very hard time for the entire band, be- something like that, it always makes me
was like a bad thing but once you’re into a cause… I mean, in the end it all worked out want to do more. When I see other people
creative field it’s nice to see that your dis- and the album came out and we found a doing stuff like that I want to do it too. I re-
tractions can become something physical construction that worked, but if that album ally like that. And then there are also the
and something that people like. Recently I would have been released a few months fans that… We’ve got people in our fan
thought about writing a story and the basis later I think that would have meant bank- clubs and street teams that just do the
is in economics. My partner is an econo- ruptcy for us because we invested so much wildest things for us, they help us out with
mist so he actually give me some books to and we couldn’t play to earn back some of transportation, or help us out promoting
read on tour. It was just a “Oh this would be those bucks. That was difficult. It was diffi- shows. Sometimes I even feel guilty about
a nice story” and now I’m trying to read my- cult for ourselves, but like I said, to share this. They say that they’re happy to, and it’s
self into it to see if it would actually hold up. that with the audience I think that was hard- very special.
est.
harlotte. Tell me something about your- rowth. Do you see yourselves stretch-
Cself as a person. How are you to be in a motional. What makes you emotional? Ging the band, maybe expanding to in-
band with? EHave you had any shows that were clude other sounds or genres? You started
CW: Horrible! The poor, poor guys, I feel for emotional, or do you have any particular learning to grunt. Can you see Delain get-
them! It’s hard to speak about yourself… I songs that bring out your emotion? ting heavier – or alternatively, poppier?
don’t know what to say about myself. I like CW: Very recently we played at Bloodstock CW: The funniest thing is, the heavier ver-
to think I’m creative, I respond to encour- Open Air. We played on the Sophie Lan- sus poppier, with every release we’re trying
agement in a horrible way. I respond to caster Stage and of course we have a big to do both. We want to be heavier but then
compliments very good. To be on tour with history because back in 2012 we wrote the again we do want all the choruses to be
me I really don’t know. I get a lot of people song ‘We Are The Others’ in Sophie’s mem- memorable. Maybe poppy is not the right

DELAIN