Nuclear Blast UK went to visit Cellar Darling in the beautiful Swiss mountains… Check out the video interview in 2 parts below.
Cellar Darling, the new band featuring former Eluveitie members Anna Murphy (vocals, hurdy-gurdy), Merlin Sutter (drums) and Ivo Henzi (guitars, bass). Their debut album “This Is The Sound” was released on June 30 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was recorded at New Sound Studio with producer Tommy Vetterli (Coroner/Eluveitie).
When asked about the biggest challenges facing Cellar Darling since the band’s conception, Anna told AAA Backstage: “There haven’t really been many, as everything kind of fell into place and happened naturally. For us, writing the album was actually quite an easy task because we had so many ideas and so much output. But, of course, there were struggles within the realm of real life. Financially, we obviously weren’t having a great time since we lost our main job in Eluveitie and thus didn’t have any money. Merlin‘s living at the rehearsal room at the moment and I’m also forced to leave my apartment, so everything is a bit chaotic. We’re trying to get our real lives back on track, but creative things are so great and that’s more important so I would say we’re facing the challenges we have very well.”
Murphy went on to say that “some” of these struggles are reflected in the lyrics of Cellar Darling‘s debut album. “Everyone’s always subconsciously inspired by what they’re going through, but with Cellar Darling, I don’t really want to convey what I am currently feeling or currently experiencing,” she said. “I want to take those feelings and make stories out of them — completely new stories and abstract poems, so I think it would be pretty hard to tell what is going on in our lives.
“A lot of our songs deal with the end of something, like an apocalypse or a death,” she continued. “It kind of represents what is going on with us because something very important ended and something very new started. You can definitely interpret some of that in our lyrics.
“When I write lyrics, it’s similar to when I’m writing melodies and songs — it all just comes to me. I don’t sit there and have something in mind. It’s really interesting because looking at the album and listening to the songs, it’s only after we realized what was going on in our lives that we started to interpret out own songs.”
“This Is The Sound” track listing:
01. Avalanche
02. Black Moon
03. Challenge
04. Hullaballoo
05. Six Days
06. The Hermit
07. Water
08. Fire, Wind & Earth
09. Rebels
10. Under The Oak Tree…
11. …High Above These Crowns
12. Starcrusher
13. Hedonia
14. Redemption
Bonus tracks, available exclusively on the digibook:
15. The Cold Song
16. Mad World
17. The Prophet’s Song
After their split with Eluveitie, Murphy, Henzi and Sutter quickly realised their musical journey was far from over. What quickly developed was a unique and fresh combination of grand and heavy riffs, powerful drumming and a unique voice along with the signature folky, earthy tones of the hurdy gurdy. This, combined with classical elements as well as inherited folk influences, led to the creation of something entirely new, setting Cellar Darling on the path of musical innovation.
Upcoming Shows:
Jul 08 Konzertfabrik Z7 Pratteln, Switzerland
Jul 13 Montreux Jazz Festival Montreux, Switzerland Free
Jul 14 ParaBôle Festival Bôle, Switzerland
Aug 16 16. – 19. August: Summer Breeze Festival Dinkelsbuhl, Germany
Aug 25 Open Air Gränichen Granichen, Switzerland
Sep 13 Kulturfabrik Kofmehl Solothurn, Switzerland
Sep 14 Dynamo Werk 21 Zürich, Switzerland
Oct 26 Delain Danse Macabre Tour featuring Marco Hietala (Nightwish) Paris, France
Oct 27 Delain Danse Macabre Tour featuring Marco Hietala (Nightwish) Pratteln, Switzerland
Oct 28 Delain Danse Macabre Tour featuring Marco Hietala (Nightwish) Bochum, Germany
Oct 29 Delain Danse Macabre Tour featuring Marco Hietala (Nightwish) Munich, Germany
Oct 31 Delain Danse Macabre Tour featuring Marco Hietala (Nightwish) Utrecht, Netherlands
Nov 01 Delain Danse Macabre Tour featuring Marco Hietala (Nightwish) London, United Kingdom
Weblinks: Facebook / Website / Twitter / Spotify / iTunes
Video for ‘Avalanche’
Video for: ‘Black Moon’