Thank you, thank you! I just came back from America, and it was really amazing! I was very happy.
We are sure it’s not the first such award in your career. But are there any awards or prizes that are of special importance to you?
Yes, there is one. I was voted “The Best International Singer” 14 times by the readers of a Spanish magazine. Each time I went there and I got this award, it was so great! And it was for 14 years, even when I hadn’t been in Spain for a long time, like in the 1990s, when my albums didn’t get released there and I couldn’t go on tour. It was so great that they were still thinking of me and supporting me. That was really awesome! And then I must say that my very first gold record was also fantastic! Nobody believed that we would ever get a gold record, and then in 1987 it happened, and it was really cool. (laughs)
You have said many times that the fans is the best part of your job. But does it matter to you what the critics and the press say about your music? When you read a good or a bad review, does it change anything?
I must say that a good review always makes me happy. And a bad review is sometimes hard, when you love the record and the songs so much. When they put down a song to which your heart is so attached, it really hurts. Sometimes I can’t sleep at night, because I’m really like, “Oh shit!” But I do music for the fans and when I feel that they like the song and really get its meaning, that outweighs everything. The fans are absolutely the most important thing. If one fan says, “I love it!” and ten critics say, “Hey, it’s bad”, it doesn’t matter. I really learned that you can’t make everybody happy, because everybody has a different taste and a different outlook on life, and not everybody wants to hear the music, so I do it for the people who love the music, for the fans.
What are your sources of inspiration? What inspires you to write music and lyrics?
Every song is different, every song comes out different and develops in a different way. The most important songs are written really fast, they are like shooting out of your heart and soul, and I feel like, “God, I gotta write it down, I gotta record it on paper.” Some songs are from really deep inside, and these are the songs I love the most. On the new record “Warrior Soul” (2006) such songs are “Above The Ashes”, “In Liebe und Freundschaft” and “You’re My Family”. The latter was written for and inspired by the fans, they are the most important for me. “In Liebe Und Freundschaft” is a German song was inspired by dad. He died a couple of years ago, and I went to his grave on his birthday. When I was standing at the graveyard, I was thinking of him – he was my best friend, and I loved him so much. And suddenly I got the melody in my head and the idea to call the song “In Liebe Und Freundschaft”, which means “For Love And Friendship”. It was spinning in my head all the time, I sang it on my little cell phone, then I went home and I finished the song at night. I wrote the words with tears, and they were so emotional that I thought, “Wow, this song definitel
y should be on the record!” The songs that have a high emotional power are probably the best. But there have been many different ways of songwriting. Sometimes I’m writing alone, sometimes with one person or with the whole band. It depends, every song is different.Does songwriting get easier for you over the years? What was more difficult to write – the first album or the last album?
Over these years I changed, because when I started the lyrics weren’t important, I did them because a song is supposed to have lyrics, and that’s it. But in the past couple of years the lyrics have become more and more important, because the power of words is so strong that you really have to watch what you’re saying. And you can say very important things in the lyrics – political things, emotional things, so now I care much more for using the right words in every song. Sometimes there’s a rock song which has a good groove, that rocks, but usually the lyrics have a deep meaning, and I really take care of them. With every album you want to make it great, you want to make fans happy, so there hasn’t been a single album that has been easy. When we did the first album (“Burning The Witches”, 1984), there was no pressure on us. Nobody knew that such a band existed, we were just a band that had done some demos in the studio, so the record was very easy to make in that sense. When the album came out, everybody seemed to like it, and for the second one (“Hellbound”, 1985), there was already a big record company behind it, there was a producer involved, discussions started and stuff like that. Starting from that record, every album has been a big fight, it’s been real work, real sweat and tears. The last album was a joy to make, but it wasn’t easy. Once again I wanted to do my best, to please the fans. At the same time, in September I shot the movie called “Anuk – Path Of The Warrior”, it was the first movie I ever did, and we also did the title song for the movie called “Warrior Soul”. When we were filming this movie, I got a big inspiration out of it, and after the movie was done, the record changed a little bit. I wrote more songs for it, I had more energy, and that was a huge influence on the record.
OK, how did you like your debut in acting? Whose idea was to get you in the movie?
It was actually the idea of the producer, his name is Luke Gasser. He’s the person who wrote the script, produced the movie and played the main part. He came to our concert in Switzerland a year ago, we met and talked a bit, and we immediately liked each other, I could feel that he has good ideas and good intentions. He had the script with him and he told me, “Check it out! I would love you to be part of it and to write a song for the movie soundtrack.” I read the script and it was so wonderful that I called him up right after that. We talked on the phone, then he came down to Germany, we met again, and I said, “OK, let’s do it!” He said, “What kind of part would you play?” I chose the part of a woman named Miha who is a hunter but then becomes a warrior. Oh, it was so cool, it was the first time I was without the make-up, there was just dirt on my face, and it was really rough, real hard work. The shooting was in the middle of the mountains, and it was ice-cold, so I felt like I was in a survival camp, but i
t was a great adventure. I have seen some footage – they are cutting it as we speak, and it will be ready in the next couple of weeks – but what I saw looks great. It comes across really good, really honest, I love it. We did the video for the song “Warrior Soul” in which we use many scenes from the movie, so that the fans could get the first taste of it. The video is actually on the limited edition of the album, and a trailer of the movie is both on the regular and limited editions. The limited edition also contains two bonus songs and a hidden track, so I think this is a really great package. For the fans who want to get the album, I would recommend buying this edition.How was it like getting back to heavy metal on “Warrior Soul” after recording and touring so much with a classical orchestra?
While working with a classical orchestra, you get great inspiration and stuff, but when I wrote new songs, it was very easy to get back, because I thought, “I wanna do great anthems, great rock songs, headbanger songs!” It was not difficult at all, it was like getting back on track after doing something different. Working with an orchestra was a great experience, but I never thought I would continue playing with orchestras only. Some songs on the new record feature an orchestra, for instance, the song “Warrior Soul” has some violins and cellos, but in general, it was not a problem to switch back at all.
You used to have a lot of guests on the past few records - people like Lemmy, Peter Steele, Udo Dirkschneider. What musicians worked with you on “Warrior Soul”?
In the video for “Warrior Soul”, Marc Storace from Krokus plays a part. We also sang one song together, but it will not be on my album, it will be on the soundtrack album, which will come out in October or November. I have many other players who were great, but they don’t have such a big name. I was so inspired by the movie, it was a different thing, so this time I didn’t have many guests on the record. The album is really strong, it doesn’t need a big name to make people talk about it. It can stand on it. But maybe next time, I love working together with different musicians, this time I just didn’t feel like I was up to it.
By the way, why did you choose this title, “Warrior Soul”, for the new album?
It was inspired by the movie. And I have always said that you need a warrior soul to survive. Life is hard, the music industry is really hard, it’s always a fight, every day, with every record. And the song “Warrior Soul” tells the story of the movie. In the song I sing, “Show me a warrior soul”, and in the movie a guy teaches me how to fight with an axe and other weapons, and I wrote lyrics about it. I really became a warrior soul, because I had to fight for so many years, I know now that it’s an ongoing fight, and I accepted it. I always try to make the best out of it.
The first single from the album is called “In Liebe und Freundschaft”, and once again, you did it in two versions, in German and in English. How do you decide what song should be sung in English, what in German, and what should be done in several versions?
Most of my songs are originally written in English, but sometimes I write in German, and if such a song has a lot of magic
and power, sometimes the English translation of it is not as good. But when it comes to this particular single, I thought, “Oh shit, not everybody understands German!”, and I wanted to make another version in English so that people can understand what it’s about. But I think the original version of the song is always the most powerful. And I always go by instinct, I always follow what comes out of the heart and soul.You have sung lyrics in English, German, French and even Spanish. What language is the easiest for you to sing, and which one is the most difficult?
It depends on a song. I think the most difficult language for me to sing in is German. German is a very harsh language, so you really have to carefully choose the words. For example, when you have a ballad, you have to be very careful, so that it doesn’t sound corny or strange. English is the easiest language, everything you say sounds cool, and this is not the case with German, when people understand every word, and the words are usually very long. In English you have short words, so you can sing them easier, and the rhythm flows a bit better. So I would say English is the easiest and German is the most difficult. I love to sing in other languages, I have always wanted to do a Russian version, but I don’t have anybody to show me how to do it and to help me with it. As to the French version (of the song “Let Love Rain On Me” from a 2004 single – ed.), my drum roadie wrote it, because he’s French. The Spanish version was done by a friend of mine, who is from Spain. We tried it, and I thought, “Oh, it’s awesome, it sounds good?”
Probably you should ask Udo Dirkschneider to help you with the Russian lyrics, he is now very good at it! Speaking about Udo, on your previous CD “Classic Diamonds” (2004) you and him sing the song “Breaking The Law” together. Who came up with such an unusual arrangement for this song?
It was a collective work of a few people. I’m a big Judas Priest fan, and they were the headliners of my first bit tour in 1986. It was so wonderful for the whole our band, it was a great tour, and I always wanted to say thank you to Judas Priest by covering their song. When we were doing the previous record, I thought, “Why don’t we do it with an orchestra? It might be extra special!” Then I was at a video shoot with Udo, we were recording the material for the “Classic Diamonds” DVD, and I said, “Hey Udo, do you wanna stop by?” I have been a guest at your record, maybe you wanna be a guest on this new record of mine? It’s different, it’s special, it’s with an orchestra.” And he said, “Yes, let’s check it out!” Then he came down to the studio, I played him the version of “Breaking The Law”, and he said, “Oh, this is so cool!” Me and Udo are great friends, we have toured together, and it was so much fun to work together. The arrangement developed like this because we wanted to make it different, we didn’t want to re-record it exactly like the original. That’s why we integrated the orchestra, we started it really slow, and then turning full-speed on. I think it came out really good, it’s one of my favorite songs on that record.
The “Classic Diamonds” DVD features another great duet – with Blaze Bayley. How did you come up with the idea to play Iron Maiden songs at Wacken, and how did it happen that Blaze is singing Iron Maiden songs from the Bruce Dickinson era, not the stuff that he did with Maiden?
He was our support band, when we did the “Classic Diamonds” tour. And he did some stuff with me on previous tours many times. So I asked him if he wants to do something on this tour again, and I suggested trying “Fear Of The Dark”, because it’s my favorite Maiden song. He said, “Yeah, let’s try it,” we wrote an orchestral arrangement for it, and I thought, “Oh, it sounds beautiful!” So we did it, because it’s my favorite song, and he didn’t mind at all. He’s a great guy and a great friend.
You and Blaze do a lot of stuff together – last year you and him played with the Czech band Arakain in Prague, this year the two of you will go to Italy to perform with an Iron Maiden cover band, and you even share the guitar player – Oliver Palotai. How did you and Blaze first get to know each other? Do the two of you have any plans to do something together in the studio?
We’ve known each other for many years. We met on tour, and then we kept on meeting at some festivals. We often talked, then we became friends, and we started playing together. It developed naturally, I don’t even remember when I first saw him, but it was many years ago. We get along really good, he’s a great guy, and I always think he’s a great singer and he deserves chances like this. We always help each other out – I help him, he helps me, we have fun together. My keyboard and guitar player Olli is now playing with him, and that’s good because when I do different stuff, when I’m on promotion tour, and the band is not there, they have something else to do. They can get some money from touring, and it’s nothing but good, I like when they’re busy. And they always learn and get new experience.
You have been a singer, an actress, a boxer, a TV host, and an animal rights activist. What other occupations would you like to try? How about writing a book about your time in the music business?
Oh, that would be great. I would love to write a book and put everything in it - good moments, funny moments, highlights in life - but after many many years, probably not yet. I would also love to do a movie, to write a script for a movie. But so far I’m totally busy with music, recording in the studio, going on tour, etc. I’m always giving my 120 percent to music. But during the shooting of my first movie I had so much fun, we got along so good, and I told them that I would do the next movie together with those people. We have become good friends, so maybe there will be another movie in the future.
And finally, when can we expect to see you in Russia again? It’s been more than three years since you played here last time…
(surprised) Is it already three years?! With UDO – really three years?
Yes, indeed.
Oh, time flies! Sometimes I recall doing my first record, and it was 20 years ago, it’s unbelievable! And it’s not even 20, but 23 years ago – God! We plan to come to Russia in May or in the summer time, our agencies are talking about it, and we’re definitely coming. I don’t have any confirmed dates yet, but we are coming in the summertime!
Oh, that would be great! We’re looking forward to see you in Russia!
(excited) And I’m looking forward to see the Russian fans! I had such a good time in Russia, it was awesome! We were treated so good, and there was so much fun – it was wonderful, wonderful!
Special thanks to Irina Ivanova (CD-Maximum) for arranging this interview
Interview by Natalie “Lynx” Khorina, Ksenia “Wolfin” Khorina
Questions also provided by Roman “Maniac” Patrashov
February 28, 2006
7 àïð 2006
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