Interview by Si Smith
On a cold wintry evening there is nothing better than relaxing to a musical opus that echoes the peace of nature from the warmth of your own living room. And that is what we can expect from Whispers of Fate, who do not hide their fascination with all things cold and wintry. Yet at the heart of the music is a warmth which somehow hints at that warm firelight that defies the cold, and offers succour and a place to relax and feel at home. I put my feet up and spoke to Betty about the band and its natural connections.
First, thank you Betty for speaking to us at Femme Metal and a warm welcome from us all. Betty, the band began with yourself and Kaos getting together and composing. How did you two find each other in the first place?
Actually we have been engaged to each other for many years and since the very early times we shared the same love for music so the first musical attempts took place very soon.
I believe you had a number of attempts to form a band. Why did it take you so long to become what you are now?
In the beginning this project was supposed to be a very personal view of our feelings transposed into music; later the will to perform live shows and to spread our music to a major audience brought us to seek for live members that later got step by step into our music until they showed us they shared the same feelings; so, with time, they are getting into the music writing process too.
This is your debut album, were there any hopes or expectations you guys had about this album when it was released last year?
We are very satisfied with our debut release since we worked hard on it but we didn't expect more than what we are actualling getting, even if we had some really good feedback from 'zines and promotion agencies.
The front cover certainly brings up a wintry feel. As you are half responsible for the compositions (along with Kaos), what were your feelings when writing the lyrics to some of these tracks?
The lyrics I write are inspired by the complex relation between Man and Nature: they focus on Man's dependancy on Nature that now-a-days brings an abusive behaviour, always turning into a self-destructutive fate for humanity itself.
Your bio speaks of your strong devotion to music and nature. How is this part of your life expressed (apart from the band that is)?
As soon as I am free from work I like to reach lonely places far from the city where I can feel a ancient boundary with Nature. I like to express this kind of feelings in every way I can, for instance writing, singing, painting, dancing, and so on.
How was your first experience of the recording process? Did the physical realities of recording affect or hinder your "instinctive" natural feel for the music and lyrics?
Since it was my first recording experience I found some difficulties to get the right approach to the music in the studio, so I couldn't express my feelings the way I wanted and I was never satisfied with the recorded vocals so I had to get used to it.
The first main track is "Pain of Earth". What pain were you trying to express here?
This song is about my total disagreement with the destructive approach of humanity to our own Mother Earth: everyday I can hear the scream of an Earth abused by Man, I can feel the pain of the planet crying for its sons, feeding on a dying broken Nature.
"Wasted World" begins with a beautifully evocative classical-sounding piece, before the poetic vocals kick in. Music and vocal seem to be given equal time on this release. You guys are obviously flowing creatively at this point! Have you stopped writing for now or are there already new songs in the making?
We always are in a writing process: even if we are not reharsing or playing our instruments our minds are constantly fed by music, so in every moment we are thinking of what to do in the next rehearsal session. Now we are about to complete our new full length album and we are planning to enter the studio in next autumn.
The musical accompaniment to your voice is very strong, the band are "tight" and seem to provide a perfect accompaniment to the vocals. "Sphere" begins once again in a dramatic way with the drums and keyboards. Has the band any particular dramatic visual identity that you wish to nurture?
We are focused mainly on our music so that we have not implemented a well-defined visual live image yet. As far as the artwork is concerned we tried to describe the wintry feeling heard in the music with an atmospheric and evoking image so that the listener could get the right landscape and imagery which he can get lost into.
Classical music appears to be an influence for you as well as metal. "Prelude d'Inverno" is almost a classical choral sonata, and sounds like it would be just as successful acoustically performed with an orchestra. Are there any composers or writers that inspire you personally?
I can say my favourite composers are Mozart and Chopin, talking about classical music. I listen to modern composers too, such as Z. Preisner and many more.
I imagine that Whispers of Fate will be quite a sight live, with a suitably wintry backdrop! Have you had any live shows yet, or are there any planned?
We had a live show already and another one is planned in the near future. We would like to do just well organized live events, so we will prefer having a few quality shows rather than a large number of poor quality ones.
Vocally your sometimes appear to be holding back with regards to the full possible range of your vocals. Is there a lot more to be heard from you in this respect? Is there more to the band than we have yet seen?
For sure with time our skills are evolving and the next release will be far from our debut one. I hope that I will be able to improve my skills since I'm working hard in a lyrical-singing school and I hope you will hear some new better vocals in our next release. Talking about the band your will hear a more complex work, with refined orchestral arrangements and very dramatic moments.
"Embrace My Winter" is self-released. How have you been actively searching for a label?
Actually we didn't apply so much in searching for a label beacuse we focused mainly on the web promotion, since, being a newly born band, we knew we couldn't hope for a contract for a debut album. For sure we will apply in a better way to search for a label for our next release.
Finally, if there was one message you could convey to the world, through your music or otherwise, what would it be?
As a child is born from his mother's body, so Man is born by Nature itself. And as the child takes care of his mother in her old age, so Man has to take care of his old Mother Earth and devote his life to respect and honour her.
It only leaves me to say thanks very much for talking to us, and we wish the album success as you spread it around the world!!
Thank you so much for talking with us and giving us a chance to share our thoughts. All the best!
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