Am stat de vorba cu Morgan Lander, vocea feminina din spatele formatiei Kittie, care a acceptat sa ne raspunda la cateva intrebari privind ultimul album lansat de trupa si generalitati legate de cariera si viata personala a fetelor.
Mai multe puteti afla din discutia de mai jos:
In primul rand, multumesc pentru timpul acordat iar in al doilea, as vrea sa te intreb de ce ai ales sa fi intr-un grup compus numai din fete? Probabil auzi asta des, scuze pentru asta.
Sincer, sa fim o formatie compusa numai din femei nu a fost niciodata centrul nostru de interes sau intentia noastra cand am fondat formatia in 1996. Eram doar niste prietene care vroiau sa cante si sa invete impreuna. Nu am stat niciodata sa planificam lucrurile, este oarecum felul in care s-au intamplat lucrurile.
Idea de a infiinta o formatie compusa numai din fete a fost ceva planuit atunci cand ai inceput si ce te-a influentat sa alegi asta?
Absolut deloc. Sincer, vroiam doar ca cantam muzica si nu aveam influente feminine.
A fost dificil pentru Kittie sa fie recunoscuta ca o formatie de metal din cauza ca in componenta erau numai femei?
Da si nu. Simt ca ademeneste multi curiosi sa asculte dar ii si face pe oameni sa refuze sa asculte doar din cauza sexului nostru. Este oarecum o situatie stranie in care sa te afli. De obicei daca avem sceptici si vad un concert, isi schimba parerea despre trupa.
Cum este sa fiti printre cele mai sexy femei din [scena] metal?
Cred ca este destul de flatant si tare.
Care este opinia ta despre alte soliste si pe care le consideri cele mai bune in top 5?
Pai sunt destul de mult influentata de multe stiluri diferite si sincera sa fiu, opinia mea privind o cantareata buna se poate sa fie diferita.
In [materie de] metal cred ca Angela de la Arch Enemy este uimitoare. Si Anneke de la The Gathering este extraordinara. Dar de asemenea cred ca in materie de mari cantareti, clasici ca Whitney Houston si Celine Dion sunt super...Si eu sunt de asemenea destul de buna.
Ati crescut de-a lungul anilor, v-ati imbunatatit abilitatile ca muzicieni, concertele voastre live se imbunatatesc cu fiecare show ce trece, dar cum ramane cu eforturile pe care le-ati depus? Multe formatii sacrifica viata personala. A fost asta cazul vostru?
Toate am facut sacrificii personale ca sa fim in aceasta trupa si sa facem muzica. Vietile noastre sociale sunt destul de diferite de normalitate si viata noastra amoroasa poate de asemenea sa aiba de suferit uneori.
Ati trecut prin situatii neplacute sau ciudate cu fanii vostri? In afara de asta, TREBUIE sa te intreb asta: sa fi intr-o formatie compusa din fete atrage atentie - v-ati lovit vreodata de situatia unui "stalker"?
Exista mereu oameni stranii care vin la concertele noastre si deseori asta poate conduce la situatii ciudate dar in general genul asta de oameni sunt inofensivi. Pe de alta parte am avut cativa oameni care si-au dus prea departe obsesia cu trupa. A trebuit sa implicam politia de cateva ori. Este foarte infricosator cand cineva devine fixat pe tine in modul ala dar nu ne afecteaza niciodata vietile de zi cu zi. Nu putem trai cu frica.
Vorbeste-mi despre albumul "In The Black", lansat anul trecut. Se spune ca este cel mai bun material lansat de Kittie pana acum.
Cred ca "In The Black" este fundatia a ceva nou si reprezinta o schimbare in abilitatile si stilul nostru. Dar reprezinta de asemenea o abordare "back to basics" in muzica si metal. Cred ca este o culme a tot ce am invatat si am experimentat pana in acest punct si este cea mai buna realizare a noastra de pana acum.
Daca ar fi sa compari "In The Black" cu un album precedent, sa luam "Oracle" ca exemplu, care ai zice ca sunt principalele diferente?
De fapt cred ca daca exista doua albume cu similaritati acelea ar fi ITB [In the Black] si Oracle. Din punct de vedere al sunetului si a atitudinii, mi se pare ca aceste albume au o radacina comuna. Cu toate astea am parcurs un drum lung ca muzicieni si compozitori de atunci. ITB este oarecum ca si fratele mai mare al [albumului] Oracle. In afara de asta nu prea exista multe similaritati intre albumele noastre. Toate sunt metal si reprezinta o parte din acelasi sine, dar fiecare album este diferit si mai evoluat decat precedentul.
A fost "In The Black" primit de critici si de fani asa cum te-ai asteptat?
De fapt ITB a fost chiar primit foarte bine de critici si de fani deopotriva. Consider ca am schimbat chiar opiniile catorva critici cu acest album nou. A fost de fapt o surpriza foarte placuta.
Ar trebui sa asteptam Kittie in Romania in viitorul apropiat?
Nu sunt inca planuri de concerte in Romania dar ne-ar place foarte mult ca cantam acolo! Speram sa facem asta curand!
Ai ceva de adaugat pentru fanii vostri romani?
Va multumim foarte mult pentru dragostea si pentru sprijinul vostru. Apreciem. Speram sa vizitam Romania in curand :)
ENGLISH VERSION:
First of all, I'd like to say thank you for your time and second, I'd like to ask you why did you chose to be an all-female group? You probably must hear that a lot, sorry about that.
Quite honestly being an all female band was never our focus or was never an intention when we formed the band in 1996. We were just a bunch of friends who wanted to play and learn together. We never sat down and planned things out, its sort of just the way things happened.
The idea of making an all-girl band was something you had in mind when you first started off and what influenced you to do so?
Absolutely not. We honestly just wanted to play music and didn't have any female influences.
Was it difficult for Kittie to be acknowledged as a metal band becausethe lineup consisted in females?
Yes and no. I feel as though it does entice alot of curiosity seekers to take a listen, abut it also drives people away from taking a listen, based on our gender alone. It is sort of a strange situation to be in. Usually if we have sceptics and they see a show, they change their opinions of the band.
How is it like to be among the sexiest women in metal?
I guess its pretty flattering and cool.
What's your opinion about other female singers and who do you consider to be the best in your top 5?
Well I am pretty heavily influenced by alot of different styles and quite honestly my opinion of a good singer might be different.
For metal I think Angela of Arch Enemy is amazing. Anneke from The Gathering is awesome too. But I also really think that as far as great singing goes greats like Whitney Houston and Celine Dion are super...And I am pretty good too.
You've gotten older over the years, you enhaced your skills as musicians, your live performances get better by each show passing, but what about the efforts you made? Many bands sacrifice their personal lifes. Was that your case?
We have all made personal sacrifices to be in this band and make music our lives. Our social lives are quite different than normal, and our love lives can suffer at times too. Sometimes we don't have as much money as we'd like. But we are willing to give up alot to be able to do this.
Did you experienced any unpleasant or awkward situations with your fans? Besides that, I simply HAVE to ask you this: being in an all-girl band draws attention - have you ladies confronted with the situation of a stalker?
There are always strange people who come to our shows and often that can lead to awkward situations, But most of the time these types of people are harmless. On the other hand we have had some people who have taken their obsession with the band a little too far. We have had to have the police involved in a few instances. Its very scary when someone becomes fixated on you like that, but it never effects our everyday lives. We can't live in fear.
Tell me about the "In The Black" album, released last year. It is said that it's the best metarial Kittie released so far.
I think In The Black is the foundations of something new and represents a shift in our abilities and style. But it also represents a back to basics approach to music and metal. I feel it is a culmination of everything we have learned and experienced up until this point, and it is our best work to date.
If you were to compare "In The Black" with a past album, let's say "Oracle" for instance, what would you say the main differences are?
Actually I think if there are any two albums that have similarities it would be ITB and Oracle. Sonically an attitude wise I feel these albums are kindred spirits of sorts. However we have come a long way as
musicians and songwriters since then. ITB is sort of like the big brother of Oracle. Otherwise there aren't really many similarities between our albums. They are all metal and consist of some of the same personell, but each album is different and more evolved than the last.
Was "In The Black" received by critics and fans as you expected?
Actually ITB was received very well indeed by critics and fans alike. I believe we actually changed a few of our critics minds with this new album. It was actually a very nice surprise.
Should we expect Kittie in Romania anytime in the future?
No plans to play in Romania yet, but we would absolutely love to play a show there! We hope to soon!
Any last words for your romanian fans?
Thank you so much for all your love and support. We appreciate it. We hope to visit Romania soon :)
Astaroth Priestess Vs. Kittie
