hunter X hunter

[KK] You first came into contact with Arjen Lucassen through a competition he ran to find singers for 'The Human Equation' project – were you an Ayreon fan before the competition and what was it like working with him 'The Human Equation'?

I of course new Ayreon from way back, the first thing I heard was “Into the Electric Castle”, I think; I really liked it! Although my favourite was “The Dream Sequencer”, I really love the mood that album has. So it was definitely great to be chosen to work with Arjen. It was a great experience; he's a very nice and sweet person, loves to experiment and try out new things while recording. He gave me the opportunity to contribute some of my ideas, which was fantastic for me! He's also a perfectionist like me, I really appreciated that.

[KK] You are also in the band Elfonía – could you tell us a bit about them?

Well, we've been together for about 4 years now. Alejandro Millán (keyboards), Roberto Quintanilla (guitars) and I knew each other from a previous band we were all in, and later on we invited Pablo González Sarre (bass) and Javier Garagarza (drums) to join us. We released our self-titled debut album in 2003, the music is very dark and atmospheric, mostly slow-paced experimental rock. And we're just about to release our second album, “This sonic landscape”, which has a lot more progressive and jazz influences but still has that dense atmosphere to it. We're really proud of it!



[KK] Do you see yourself continuing to be in both Elfonía and Stream of Passion in the long term? Is it hard to focus on both, particularly as both of the band's albums are being released fairly close together?

It was hard, yes. There was a point where I was working on both albums at once, and that was very demanding. But I really enjoy both bands; they're sort of my two children, each has something unique from me! So I will continue to work with both for as long as it is humanly possible for me to do so J

[KK] Is Stream of Passion intended to be a long term project or is Embrace the Storm just a one off?

The option of doing more albums is there. I guess time will tell...

[KK] What is Arjen Lucassen like to work with? Were you pleased to be working with him again?

Yes, it was a real treat! The work we did together for Stream of Passion was very different from how we worked on The Human Equation; this time I had a lot to do with the song writing, I wrote all the vocal melodies and lyrics. So we started with Arjen sending me very rough song sketches on acoustic guitar; I would add my melodies and send them back to him, and then he'd work on the instrumentation and sent it to everyone else in the band for them to add their ideas. It was all done through the Internet, which was both interesting and challenging.

[KK] When Arjen first proposed the idea of the Stream of Passion project to you, did you expect it to get as much attention as it seems to be receiving? Getting signed to major labels, a European tour, does it feel like it's all happening very fast?

Sometimes! But it's all very exciting, you know; I'm getting the chance to do things that would've probably taken me years and years to achieve. I'm really grateful to be a part of it.

[KK] Why the name Stream of Passion? Is there a particular reason behind it and was it a title that was in place from the start of the project?

We came up with this name after a zillion suggestions from everyone! We couldn't find a suiting band name, so we decided to go with “Stream of Passion”, a fraction of the lyrics of the song “Passion”. It already meant something to us in the song, but it also reflects a lot of what the music is about: raw, intense emotion. You can also relate it to the fact that we worked on the album mostly over the Internet, which is fun.



[KK] How are the song writing duties in Stream of Passion divided? Do all the band members play a part or are there particular people who guide the process?

In Arjen's projects it's common for him to pretty much do everything on his own; but this time we all had a say when it came to performing our parts in the songs. Arjen of course wrote all the music and I did all the melodies and lyrics, but there was also input from the rest of the band in the arrangements. I like that a lot, because you get a very wide range of influences in the tracks.



[KK] With the current popularity of Female fronted rock and metal, what do you think Stream of Passion can offer that sets it apart from the current pack?

I think there's great musicianship behind the voice; it's not just about the lady in the front. I'm privileged to be working with great musicians, who have very distinctive personalities and musical backgrounds. That contributes a lot to the final result.

[KK] The upcoming Stream of Passion tour will include some Ayreon songs – do you know what they will be and do you have any favourites you'd particularly like to perform?

Ah, that's a big secret! I can't tell just yet :). I know I'm having a great time rehearsing them and re-arranging the vocal parts; you can expect them to sound very different from the original versions. These will be sort of Stream of Passion covers of Ayreon songs, hehe.

[KK] The tour is limited to Europe at the moment, do you intend to take it further abroad? To your home country of Mexico for example or America or even further afield?

There are no plans as of yet, but I would certainly love to perform on this side of the ocean as well. So far everything's been done in Europe; I'd love to have the guys over to America and show them a good time in Mexico!

[KK] Your fellow band member in Elfonía, Alejandro Millán, is also involved in Stream of Passion – how did this come about?

He was with me the first time I went to Holland to record with Arjen. So they met and had the chance to talk about music and stuff, they got along very well; also, Arjen had already heard Alejandro's work on the first Ayreon album, and he wanted that kind of sound and influences for the new project.

[KK] Was the decision to include some English songs on the new Elfonía album influenced by your work with Arjen? Do you think it will help bring Elfonía to a wider audience?

We had given it some thought for a while, precisely to make the music more accessible to people who don't speak Spanish. I was a bit reluctant at first, but when we were writing the album it sort of “clicked”, you know; the words came out and it made sense to do so, so we went for it. I know it's harder to connect with words that you don't understand, so we hope this will help more people get in touch with the band.

[KK] Arjen has contributed to a track on 'This Sonic Landscape' the new Elfonía album – has he influenced the album in any other way?

Definitely, but maybe not in a very direct way. The way he works, recording everything on his studio, exploring and experimenting with sounds, that was a huge influence. We took that approach from him, and recorded most of the stuff of the album in our own studio; it gave us a higher level of control and much more time to experiment and change the songs until we were very satisfied.

[KK] Do you prefer singing in Spanish or English? Do you think the different languages give a song a different feel?

Both languages have something special. To me, Spanish is more frank and open; it maybe more musical and easier to sing because all the vowels are big and open. But English can be more soft and subtle, which is also nice.

[KK] Have you noticed Elfonía's profile being raised at all since your work with Ayreon & Stream of Passion?

Yes. It's been wonderful to have all these people from all parts of the globe discover our music and enjoy it, even though it's quite different from Ayreon or Stream of Passion.

[KK] What music or musicians influence you personally?

I like to keep an open mind and hear a bit of everything: rock, metal, prog, jazz, post-rock, world music. Currently in my CD player I have stuff from Porcupine Tree, Anja Garbarek, Dave Holland and Mogwai.



[KK] You interact well with your fans in an open and friendly way - should SoP or Elfonía ever become stellar-huge like Nightwish, can you ever see yourself becoming a Diva that locks herself away in her dressing room, or is that interaction an important part of the whole band experience for you?

Haha! :) Well I can imagine if you're really huge and successful you have less time to interact. But it's definitely something very important to me; I think the better you know the musicians the easier it is for you to understand the music and make it your own, and I'd like people to have that feeling about the music I'm part of. Plus it's great to keep in touch with the people that support you, read their comments and get feedback.



[KK] Finally, with the UK being quite cut off from hearing about South American bands, are their any that you would recommend to Metal Monk UK readers to check out?

If you're into progressive rock I can recommend Gigur and Cabezas de Cera, both very experimental and innovate bands; Cruz de Hierro is a very nice prog metal band; Anabantha is a gothic band with very nice songs and great vocals. Hope I could contribute more, but I don't think I know half of all the great things done in the continent!