Italian female fronted Symphonic Metal band Sleeping Romance released their debut album “Enlighten” on November 15th. in Europe and in North America tomorrow December 3rd. Last month the band supported American power metal band Theocracy on a tour through Europe. Below an interview with the band, they speak about the album, the tour and much much more.
TMR: Hey guys how are things going there in Italy ?
Federica: We are a bit melancholy, we miss every single person we met on tour… but we have a lot of things to do here so, we feel ready and powerful
TMR:Tell us the brief history of ‘Sleeping Romance’.
Lorenzo: Sleeping Romance project born in 2009 from Federico’s idea of combining orchestral and symphonic music to rock and metal; so the name of the band was Hybrid Resolution. Federico came here in Carpi from Rome and he started playing with me and Francesco. There was a different singer of course, then she leaves. Federica came into the band two years ago when we were working on our first album. We worked really hard and during almost a year of recording everyone of us gave his personal contribution to the cause. We looked for a valiant label and we decided to sign with Ulterium Records which supported us so much….so after our first european tour here we are!
TMR: Will you Introduce yourself and the line-up please [name and instrument]
Federico: I’m Federico and i’m the guitar player and composer of Sleeping Romance
Federica: Hi everyone, I’m Federica, the singer of Sleeping Romance
Lorenzo: I’m Lorenzo, the bass player
Nicholas: I’m Nicholas, everyone called me Bouna, and i’m the second guitar player of S.R.
Francesco: Hi, i’m Francesco, the drummer of S.R
TMR: Are you guys full time musicians ? If not what kind of job or school do you do beside the band ? [for everyone personal]
Federica: I work as a waitress to earn the money for my music… a waitress who wants to be a singer, : )
Lorenzo: I study as cataloger of cultural heritage so, at the moment, my main occupation is about culture but also about music because I play every day as much as possible lonely and with my bands.
Federico: I’m a music composer for Tv, movie, theatre and media and studio recording owner, so I’m a full time musician.
Nicholas: I work with children who have family problems or handicap…i like my job..not as much as play music, but i like
Francesco: No. I’m not a full time musicians. I’m a swimming instructor and, only one day at week, I give a drum lessons.
TMR: What is your musical background ? [for everyone personal]
Lorenzo: I was born as pianist of classical music, so my first interest was about this kind of music, then at the age of 13 I started to listen to rock and metal music (Ac-Dc, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Rhapsody, Symphony X etc etc) and through the years my interest has gone up more extreme musical genres (black metal and death metal for example), but also electronic music and funky.
Federica: I grew up listening to my father’s cds: Enya, Enigma, Pink Floyd, Mike Oldfield… I love populair and classical music too but my favourite band is Within Temptation: I think Sharon is the best singer in this kind of music.
Federico: I start playing guitar when I was 14 and I never stop to do this, I have studies Sound Engineer at Tor Vergata university in Rome and Orchestration at Berklee College of Music. I love any kind of music from classical and orchestral music to grind core or death metal music.
Nicholas: I really love the “aggressive ” side of the metal scene…I grew up listening to thrash and melodeath! i really like In flames or At the gates, and bands Like Metallica or Trivium, Pantera…but i also like ALL the music…i listen To classical,to electronic Whatever i like!
Francesco: Jazz, Hard-rock, Progressive-rock and Metal
TMR: Why the name ‘Sleeping Romance’ ? Is there a story behind it ?
Federico: we called Hybrid Resolution. We decided the new name with the label because they thought it wasn’t the right one. Sleeping Romance was evocative, dark and romantic, so it was our final choice.
TMR: Who writes the music/lyrics in ‘Sleeping Romance’ ? … how do you get in the mood for writing music? And which bands/situations have influences you for writing music and lyrics ?
Federico: I’m the music composer and I wrote few lyrics of this album. Usually when I write music, I try to understand what I have to say.. I work with images, pictures and maybe movie trying to get the right mood. My influences are form classical music and few melodic metal bands, but I’m trying to not listening to them to much when I’m starting to write: is important to find a personal way to make music.
TMR: How do you describe the music of ‘Sleeping Romance’ the best ?
Federico: A sort of cinematic symphonic metal : ) Our goal is to make metal songs that can fits to a soundtrack for a movie, so I think that cinematic symphonic metal can be good for us.
TMR: How does ‘Sleeping Romance’ stands in life till events in the world, religion and politics and in which proportion stands that till your music and lyrics ?
Lorenzo: Everyone of us has many interests about politics, religion and everything that happens in the World, but in our music we try to create something different, something wich mainly takes the postive part from everything that surrounds us and and transforms it into music and lyrics.
TMR: For a lot of bands the lyrics are just a accidental circumstance, but for some bands they use them to communicate ! ..can you tell us how that is for ‘Sleeping Romance’?
Federica: we give a lot of importance to our lyrics. Talking about me i love reading and writing since i was a child so for me each word is important. I think that one of the best feeling that a song can communicate is strenght, in spite of all. The album speaks about universal feelings as loss, fear, defeat, but also the need to keep holdin, on to learn from our mistakes, to find our freedom… it’s an album full of streght and power.
TMR: Is there a highlight you will always remember, since the beginning of ‘Sleeping Romance’
Federica: every single moment of our tour is a highlight and a reward for our hard work
TMR: And the worst thing were ? [if there is one]
Lorenzo: maybe the tiredness, we always worked hard: during the album recording, before the tour, during the tour so… but these are the rules of the game, and we are so happy to do what we love most!
TMR: What is the last album you bought ?[for everyone personal]
Federica: Mirror of souls by Theocracy
Lorenzo: Dark Wings of Steel by Rhapsody of Fire
Federico: As the world bleeds by Theocracy and Weather System by Anathema
Francesco: Herbie Hancock – The complete Columbia Album Collection
TMR: What makes you laugh? [for everyone personal]
Federica (talking about the Sleeping Romance guys): they make me laugh even if sometimes they are so rough ahaha
Nicholas: Uh, i think that Francesco’s Grumbling make me laugh really hard!
Lorenzo: Leslie Nielsen’s and Woody Allen’s movies
Federico: The same of Lorenzo for movies : ) I love doing stupid things with my brother and my friends : )
Francesco: Italian politicians
TMR: How do you promote your band and shows ?
Lorenzo: Our main medium is Facebook, but internet in general is critical: when there’s a show, we always send tens of email to webzine, portals dedicated to music, in short, to everyone who might be interested to our music. Another means to promote us could be certainly a videoclip.We strive so much to promote the band, but on the other hand there must be people willing to give us attention.
TMR: How do you prepare for a show? [for everyone personal]
Federica: I put my dress on, i do my warm-up exercise with my little good luck rite… but i can t tell you what it is, it’s a secret
Federico: usually I’m stressed and nervous.. I would like that everything goes in the best way as possibile, so I check everything from guitar, clothes, backing track, etc… And I warm up on guitar with few exercises : )
Nicholas: uh, really a lot of warm up! Shredding Time before Shredding time!
Francesco: I play all songs every day one week before the specific show. But i play a lot of style of music and my goal is a daily workout that makes me ready for every gig with my different bands.
Lorenzo: I usually do a lot of exercises to warm up, I mentally review tracks then I find an happy thought to play in the best way!
TMR: Describe your show, visual and musically ? And tell us about your next shows and why we should be there
Lorenzo: Each concert is prepared in the rehearsal room in the best way possible, so live we manage quite well … As for the purely aesthetic and visual, everything is a bit ‘more difficult because we don’t want to look tacky and ridiculous, so our look is sober and controlled, nothing too extravagant. Our intention is to be recognized, however, not only for the music, but also with regard to image and choreography: our next shows will be certainly more accurate from a visual standpoint, our experience live is growing so also the quality of show will increase, which is why you need to come and listen.
TMR: Name some of your favorite bands to play with live [past and future] and tell us why ?
Nicholas: Maybe with Nightwish? Or Kamelot! They’re two of our Biggest influences! But I also have to say that we really enjoyed our tour with Theocracy. So, personally, if i had To choose one band I’ll choose them.
TMR: What is the dumbest question you have ever been asked? [for everyone personal]
Bouna: I think that i can answer for all of us and say that fortunately we had no dumbest questions
TMR: Do you have a life philosophy / favorite quote ? [for everyone personal]
Federica: Carpe Diem, it makes me feel brave!
Lorenzo: Ad maiora!
Federico: It is not a life philosophy but it is my favore quote.. It is a thought from Arvo Part : “I want my music to be worthy of the silence that precedes it”
Nicholas: May the force be with you?
TMR: Are you visiting many gigs and what do you listen to these days? [for everyone personal]
Federica: One of my biggest wishes is to see Within Temptation live on stage. One day i’ll be there. During these days i’m listening Theocracy music. First of all because i love their music, they are so talented and then because it reminds me the wonderful time we spent together.
Lorenzo: I’d like to see an opera in theatre because I love this kind of music and I need it at the moment. During these days I’m listening to very little music, expecially Sting and Daft Punk.
Federico: I love music and I love music in live version : ) As Lorenzo, I love to listen classical music in theater but I also love the emotions from a rock/metal show! Now I’m listening to Wheater System from Anathema and Emerald forest and the blackbird from Swallow the Sun.. I really enjoy their sound!
Nicholas: I’m learning all the theocracy’s songs! And working a lot, so, no gigs…So sad
Francesco: I’ve only listen many style of music every day!
TMR: Tell us about the hardrock/metal scene in your area please?
Francesco: We would like to have more chances here in Italy, but in general it’s hard to find place where you can play original music here, metal in particular. Cover band’s have a better chances because the owners of clubs and so on, thought that people like them most. They don’t invest in new music and in new band and it’s quite humbling.
TMR: What’s your outlook on the record industry today?
Federico: This is an hard questions… I know that today it is really hard to sell records and many labels have closed about that, many bands can’t do their job well because there is not much money to work well. But I think that internet can help everyone to spread their music and their message and everyone can listen to your music. There are advantages and disadvantages but I think that, if we could find the right way to use internet, there we’ll find in it our future to spread music.
TMR: Recently you’ve been on tour through Europe, as support for ‘Theocracy’, what can you tell us about that ? (maybe a nice/funny story to tell ?)
Bouna: We have an Italian temperament so at the very beginning we would like to make friends with everyone: Nordic Missions staff, Theocracy and so on! So after few days we loved everyone and everyone was in love with us. Everyone was great, and we would like to thank Theocracy for being great musicians and companions. And we would like to thank also Theocracy audience: they received and supported us so warmly; we won’t forget it!
TMR: The first show was at ‘Brainstorm Fest’ in the Netherlands (Nov. 2). Tell us what that experience was like?
Francesco: The first one is always a bit frightful, we were so excited. But everything was great. The audience and the staff too, everyone was so professional! Unforgettable!
TMR: What can you tell us about your debut-album “Enlighten” [the recording proces, the songs, who did the artwork etc ?]
Federico: I had the original idea about this project in the 2009 during a short period of my life in Rome. So the writing session started in 2009 and it ended at begin of 2012 when Federica has become the official singer of the band. Truly the songs were not completed till we decided to start recording the album: we started recording the album in April 2012 in my personal studio, so we had all time to decide and to chose the right parts of our instruments. After recorded and mixed the album we worked with Roberto Priori for mastering “Enlighten”.
When we had signed with Ulterium records we talked about the cover art and they told us to think about Felipe Machado Franco: he is a really important artist and he know how to work with metal bands. Toghter we had decided to concept of the cover art: every song is like a character that come out from the book and it comes to life.
TMR: The album is released in Europe on Nov. 1st. via ‘Ulterium Records’ How did you get signed by them ?
Federico: We have sent “Enlighten” to many metal labels. We have found many kind of labels but Ulterium show us to be really interested in our music: they asked the lyrics of our songs (this was a great input for us), and they want to know what we wanted to say with our music. So, we talked about the name of the band and the cover art to have the best product as possible. They were really interested in us, and today we can say to be really glad to work with them.
TMR: What are your plans for the near future ?
Lorenzo: We are thinking about a topic that we will discuss in the next album, perhaps it could be a concept or something similar, so our main plan is to write something new. Then we are talking about a video and a great show to present the best possible way “Enlighten” to the Italian audience.
TMR: What advice would you give to fellow bands?
Nicholas: Work, Play ,And Work again on your dreams!
TMR: Guys thanks for your time and the interview, we wish ‘Sleeping Romance’ all the best for the rest of the year and already for 2014 … Is there anything you wanna say at last ? [any final statement ?]
Everyone: yes, of course, IL METALLO!
Band members:
Federico Truzzi – guitar/orchestra
Federica Lanna – Voice
Lorenzo Costi – Bass
Francesco Zanarelli – Drum
Nichola Bonavoglia – Guitar
Weblinks: Website / Twitter / Facebook
Discography:
“Enlighten” 2013 [review]
Video below ‘The Promise Inside’
Video below ‘Enlighten’ (live @ Brainstorm Fest. 2013)