Interview By Erwin Van Dijk

 

On June 1st the compilation double cd  Demonic and Divine is released by Femme Metal. The cd is to support the Macmillan Cancer support and Cancer research UK. Morning appears with the song "Death of Hearts" on this album.

For full tracklisting checkout Femme Metal Store.

Morning is a metal band from the Netherlands. And they have a female singer. But do not worry: this is not another Within Temptation or Delain clone!

The band was formed in the year 2000 and has released two albums, Hour of Joy and last year Moments of Truth.

This interview is with Saskia van Heugten, the singer of Morning.

 

About you:

 

Did you always wanted to become a singer?

Actually I’ve been singing since I was a little girl, I always dreamt of being a singer in a band!

Together with my dad I could sit for hours and hours beside a small taperecorder, holding a microphone, recording all sorts of stuff haha.

Who are your favourite singers and musicians?

My favourite female singers are Anneke van Giersbergen, Anouk, Beth Hart and Tori Amos.

They all rock in their own way, that’s what I love about them.

My favourite male singers are Bjorn Strid from Soilwork, and Zoli Téglás from Ignite. Really powerful voices, both grunts and clean they sound great!

And to what kind of music do you listen yourself?

Most of the time I listen to all kinds of rock and metal bands (with and without female singers;-), but I also like popular music, techno, classical, hiphop, soul, funk and reggae!

It really depends on my mood (and the weather!).

Did you sing in any other bands before Morning and do you any other bands right now?

Nope! I did sing along on some tracks from other bands, but no other ‘real’ bands.

Did you follow any singing lessons and do you have any advice for other singers on how to keep your voice in shape?  Because live gigs are not exactly the best thing for your voice

I’ve had singing lessons a few years ago, but I quit them when I moved to another city.

I would really like to pick it up once again, there’s still a lot to learn, but I still have to find a nice teacher around here.

My advice to other singers would be: drink lot’s of tea with honey and warm up your voice really well before you get on stage  And just be yourself, sing straight from the heart, that’s what I like best in music.

 

 

 

 

 

About Morning

What is the idea behind the band name?

There isn’t…;-) At first we called ourselves Mourning, but another group of satanic people already had this name, so we changed it into Morning without the U. Haha!

How would you describe Morning’s music?

As a mixture of female fronted, catchy, atmospheric, bombastic, emotional and pounding rock-metal with a progressive edge and stunning breakdowns.

And what makes Morning different compared to all the other female fronted bands in the Holland? Most people will assume Morning is just another Within Temptation or Epica because all female fronted bands from Holland are supposed to sound like that. (But we in Holland know better of course!)

What’s most notable is my voice I guess. We don’t use choirs and I sing with a rough edge, no soprano. And the music is more rock orientated, it’s not just heavy gothic metal, but it’s a mix of different styles. The inspiration came from all the different kinds of music we all listen to in the band.

 

 

Why did Morning choose the song “Death of Hearts” for the Demonic and Divine album?

We wanted to feature with a kick-ass song that represents the new Morning style and sound. "Death of Hearts" combines the aspects we think that the Morning sound creates 

And how did you (the band) got in touch with Femme Metal?

With Moments of Truth released in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg by Snakebite Records and South- and North-America by Renaissance Records we started looking for other countries to release our album. Via MySpace I found Femme Metal and the 5th of May Moments of Truth was released in the UK as well, thanks to Femme Metal Records.

Is song writing teamwork in Morning or is there a mastermind behind the music?

It’s most definitely teamwork! We don’t have one mastermind who writes the songs at home.

Most of the time, one of the guitarists comes with a cool idea for a riff. We take a listen to it, and if it’s okay for everyone we start writing a song together, with one or two riffs as a basic.

The lyrics is a different part of the songwriting, I always write them at home when I feel inspired. I take them to the rehearsal room where I try to fit them into the music we are writing at that moment.

And where do you get the inspiration for the music and song texts?

I think we all get the inspiration out of our own lives, and from other bands we listen to a lot.

For example: Soilwork, Killswitch, Ayreon, Queen and so on! That doesn’t mean we copy them, but they inspire us while making music ourselves.

To me, singing is releasing!

My lyrics are often a reflection of my thoughts and emotions and therefore very intimate. Basically there are no subjects I avoid.

And what is your favourite song on this album?

It changes every week ;-) At this moment it’s Black Roses I guess. It’s a really cool song to play live, and it speaks to your imagination.

And what are the differences between Moments of Truth and Hour of Joy, Morning's first album?

I think Moments Of Truth sounds more mature, the production sounds so much better than on our debut album Hour Of Joy. The lyrics are darker, the music heavier and the songs are faster.

Morning has done a lot of gigs. What are the highlights so far and did you have any negative experiences during all those years?

Truly, no negative experiences or whatsoever!

The highlights for me were gigs like the one in the Effenaar in 2008 with Stream of Passion.

Or the gig in Nighttown with Epica and The Old Dead Tree. I just love performing on big stages with a lot of enthusiasm in the audience.

The gigs in Belgium are also always very nice; the people there are very cool!

 

What are Morning’s plans for the future?

We’re planning to write new songs (with our new drummer, Jim) from the beginning of November 2009. Furthermore I hope there will be a lot of cool gigs in the future, and on the long term a new album…!

A bit off topic but why are Morning’s set lists illustrated with photos of playmates?

LOL, it began as a one time joke ha-ha, but we all enjoyed it so much that Stijn kept on putting them on ;-) Although I haven’t seen them for a while….

And the last question: Is there anything the reader should know that I have not asked?

I don’t think so ;-)

 

Thank you for your time

 

Links :

Morning Official MySpace

Morning Official Site

Saskia Official MySpace