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DELAIN – (English version) Martijn Westerholt

We met at the Artefact Festival in Strasbourg Martijn Westerholt , keyboard player and mastermind of Delain.

Tell me about the genesis of the project Delain.

It started little by little, I didn’t think I have to do this this and this, it was like a process… I was sick and tired but I really wanted to write not only for fun. Some time later I needed some musicians to help me out because for example I can write for guitar and I can play guitar but I think some other people can play better :->>

At the very beginning which kind of project you had in your mind: a solo project with guests or already a band?

No, I didn’t want to make a band because at that time I didn’t know if I’d ever have got better and with my physical condition I was not able to do live gigs so it made no sense to make a band; the other reason I choose for a solo project was that I had access to a lot of good guest musicians so the logical choice for me was to make something beautiful and ask this guest musicians to add some stuff. That was the idea around the project but then I started to feel better and I started to feel so good that I thought “Hey, it would be really cool to make live gigs again” and when I saw other bands play I thought “I want to do that as well” and beside that the record company asked if I could play live to promote my album… so there were all these things that made me change the project to a band

Had you already signed a contract with roadrunner when you started?

No, I was already recording before I had the contract but I had such confidence that a contract would be signed anyway because of the guest musicians, because of my past and I knew a lot of people and of course the most important thing because I had confidence in my music, so I thought “It’s gonna be ok” and I just wanted to start and not wait for this kind of stuff because then you can wait till 2020.. so I simply started and then came the contract with Roadrunner



Which song was the first you composed?

It was Daylight Lucidity, the oldest one….

…that’s why was the album called Lucidity?

Yes! and also because the lyrics fits the whole album, let’s say…. I’m not the specialist of the lyrics, that’s Charlotte’s department; I just write the music and she writes the lyrics and I simply write some small stuff but it’s more like “I’d make like this, like that” and change a little bit but the main things comes from Charlotte

About Charlotte: when she became a part of the project? She was a neighbour of your parents, isn’t it?

Yes, it’s true!! I really was searching for a vocalist who was not famous or even came from another band; the risk of a project is that you get pieces and pieces but I wanted our own identity, our own sound and I wanted someone who was not only able to sing but that could also participate at the creative process, writing lyrics and also melodies lines; and such a singer is very hard to find; so I was searching for a very long time and finally I found her; and when she stepped in things became very clear and the project carried on very fluently.
I think I started around 2002 and in 2004 Charlotte stepped in.

How many songs you had already written when she stepped in?

I think I had already written seven songs when I met her…. But a lot of stuffs changed a little bit when she started to participate, just to shape things on her.
Just to have an example a song composed after Charlotte…

See Me In Shadows…. In this song the vocal lines have been completely written by Charlotte and the music and the instrumental part completely written by me so it’s really like a 50-50 kind of cooperation.

In the album there are a lot of guests: how you chose which artist in which song?

I purpose them the project and they tell me which song they’d like to be a part of and after I say ok or I don’t like that because I don’t think it fits; that’s how it works: we communicate and then we decide together; I think is fun for a musician to have input but in the end I know exactly what I want so I give them space to do their things but I also control the direction a little bit because I have the correct vision of the whole project. For example with Marco, he was first only doing the bass guitar but he had a kind of affection on his finger, so at a certain point he could not play anymore and he had to go to the hospital and then we planned to… well I really like his voice so I was already hoping that he could have time to do some vocals and see how it worked; and it was so great that in the end he sang like 5 songs but it wasn’t planned at all !! So sometimes it’s quite funny how the process goes: you have to know exactly what you want but in the same time be opened to additional inputs so you get a bigger result.

In the end the result was very good and the guests play a big musical role in it: have you ever thought “My God, how will I play this live without them?”

You know, I’m not really a compromise-kind of person about music; I could have thought while I wrote the project “oh, there could be the chance to do something live… how the hell I’m gonna do that!?!?!” but then I thought “I want the song to be as good as they are, I don’t care how it’s gonna be live.. We see when we’ll be there”; at that time of course I was sick so I wasn’t thinking about a band and the project grew in that way; actually I think we’re doing remarkably well, of course live versions are different from the album ones but we can play the entire set with the actual band members. For sure I already talked with Sharon, Marco, Liv: if we’re at the same festival it would be nice if they join the band, but for example Sharon was supposed to sing with us tonight but there was not time to rehearse cause she’s quite busy with WT stuff but we’re gonna do it for sure in October: we’re gonna tour in Germany together and I’m gonna ask her; and next year there’s a concert in Nederland and I already asked Marco and also Sharon to sing No Compliance together…

..hey, that’s a piece of news!!!!!!…..

… yes is gonna happen, it’s gonna be a nice surprise! But of course is really difficult to arrange… the one is in Finland… the one is in Germany…

In October we met at your 5th concert and you told me that the band just started together and you had to improve a lot to reach the level you had in your mind. Now after seven months have you got that level?

No, not yet but I think we really grew to be a band seven months old, very young…. and yesterday we were playing at a 25 hundred people venue with bands like In Extremo and Within Temptation; indeed a big challenge and we were not afraid of doing that; so I really think we took a giant leap and I’m very satisfied but of course we want to grow more.. It’s just a matter of playing and playing together

Now your album has been released in France and Germany: other countries in the future?

It’s like the domino effect… one country steps in and we see how it goes; we released in France with very good results; Germany (Roadrunner Germany n.d.a.) saw the result in France and also that we’re going in tour with Within Temptation that is a very good opening to release the album; now also Spain is looking at the situation in France… so a lot of countries are lining up now and that’s really great… is not a clear situation but there are things moving here and there.
Shall we see it published in Italy? I assure you that Delain are not that unknown here…

Do you know what we need? We need that the Italian guys of Roadrunner go to the main office which is in Holland and ask “What about the band Delain?” That’s how it works: every country should come for itself



That’s a good piece of news!! Means that fans can do something…

Yes!! If you Italian people go to the Italian RR and email them that you’d like to buy Delain but it’s not available and ask why is not yet been released, I’m pretty sure is gonna be released… that’s how it works!!

You released the first single “Frozen” in Holland… I suppose also in France and Germany together with the album…

No, not yet, only in Holland. France is such a different market , more difficult for us because a big percentage of french radio airplay must be in French; on top of that we’re not a mainstream kind of band so that makes it difficult to release a single

… so, after Frozen in Holland, have you planned a second single?

Yes, we’re already busy with it.. we’ve already chosen it and next week we shoot the video so everything will be ready for this summer

Can you tell us the title?

Well… I’m not sure if I can already tell it or Roadrunner is gonna punish me :->> It’s See Me In Shadows, the ballad

Finally, want you tell something to Italian fans and Heavyworlds readers?

I really hope that Italian people gonna listen to our music and the most important thing that they enjoy it: that’s the biggest compliment I can get. I hope they can support us and give Roadrunner Italy a call to release us there: that would be great!


If you want to know more about Delain, you can read the interview made to Martijn and Charlotte the previous day by Aurélie and Olivia www.afterfloorever.com : we tried to make some different question to share as much material as possible.

Delain’s websites

www.delain.nl
http://www.myspace.com/delainmusic