Meteoor: Wishblaster (Age Of Sinfonia)

It has been undoubtedly a productive year for local symphonic goth metal band Age Of Sinfonia as the year 2010 kicks off with a change of personnel, constant gig appearances and most importantly, adding the final touches to their upcoming EP album Capriccio. In an interview conducted by Metal Horde Singapore, I had the opportunity to interview Age Of Sinfonia days after their performance at the Singapore Street Festival and present the questions that local listeners wanted to know about via email and social networking sites with the band eagerly giving their responses in return
Age Of Sinfonia

(From Left: Elfie, Dr Jackyll Hyde, JC, Savvia Lenore, Andy Swift & Rasen John)
Metal Horde Singpapore (MH): Congratulations on your recent performance at *Scape (as part of the Singapore Street Festival) What were the emotions that were running through your mind before going onstage?
Elfie: It was an emotional roller coaster ride. Though every gig makes us more confident and more prepared, I guess all of us have an added responsibility of not wanting to disappoint. For me personally, it’s more of getting all the co ordinations right. To ensure that all the parts we play and the delivery of the songs is right. Most of us are perfectionist and we do want to give our best with minimal mistakes on stage. All the co ordinations and running through the whole image with showmanship and interactions, it’s a daunting task. But when the whole set is over, I guess all of us were glad that we gave 100%. Playing at an open air event, its comfortable performing in front of friends and families, but its the task of performing in front of unknown people is where we find most challenging. It’s how we deliver to the audience and getting them feels our music that is difficult.

MH: It is heartening to note that fellow symphonic metal band Abyssal had the chance to perform at the Victoria Concert Hall and Meltingsnow slated to perform at this year's Baybeats festival. Is it time for Singaporeans to sit up and notice their local talents?
Andy: Definitely! Our local musicians have the potential to go further but the fact is that our country is small and resources are limited. It would have been different if we were all in Europe and America. Most bands would have made a living playing music. But there’s a remarkable support now as compared to a decade ago and Singaporeans are beginning to appreciate local talent. There are more gigs and enthusiast like yourself and Metal Horde trying to do things for local music. That itself is very forthcoming.

MH: Going back to basics: What is the history behind Age of Sinfonia?
Rasen/Jack: Jack and I were very into symphonic metal/power metal bands like Nightwish, Epica, Dragonland, Adagio and etc. We decided to form a band, play music that we like and write our own originals. Things weren’t smooth sailing as we had a lot of line up changes due to direction and commitment issues and that was until we found the best candidate for drums (Elfie). Andy (Bass) was the next addition when Elfie strongly recommended his brother to us. Jack had the idea of having a violinist so as to enhance our music. That’s where we roped in JC (Violins). We had Savvia as the latest addition with her stunning sopranos. That made us complete. The current line up has been playing together for four months.


MH: Savvia, did you have any experience performing onstage prior to joining Age of Sinfonia?
Savvia: I have been performing since I was young, throughout my schooling and non school-related life. I’ve been on stage as an emcee, an actor, a singer and a musician. It’s been quite while since I’ve stepped foot on stage though, so I must admit I’m quite rusty.

MH: Something that I have highlighted in my recent review of the band was the fact that the band only has one guitarist as opposed to two that is being employed by most bands to handle lead and rhythm duties respectively. How does guitarist Rasen John cope with doing both parts?
Rasen: When recording, I had the solo played over my rhythm layers. When playing live, some of the solos I had to improvise a little because I have to play the rhythm right after the solos. I have few patches on my effect to change between lead, rhythm, clean sounds and definitely as the only guitarist I would have to do more switching between my pickups and zoom effects pedals. Thank zoom for the fast switching between patches so I can conveniently handle the rhythm and lead.


MH: How does violinist JC bring her talents into the foray and at the same time bring balance between symphony and metal for Age of Sinfonia?
JC: The beauty of the Violin is that it can be either a support or lead instrument. In symphonic metal, we tend to hear a lot of strings in the background which can be created with the keyboards. Imagine an Orchestra - the violin creates a fuller sound to complement the layers of strings from the keyboards during verses, and adds to the build up at the chorus. Sometimes, Jack composes more structured classical styles, and other times we go crazy improvising with distortion effects using “Metal Zone” guitar pedals! I guess it really is up to us to create a sound befitting for Symphonic Metal.


MH: Tell us about your upcoming EP that was being played in its entirety at *Scape on Friday
JC: I won’t reveal too much for now but we hope it’s something different for local music in general.

MH: Is there a story or a subliminal message that runs through the upcoming EP?
Savvia: Well, the lyrics I write are inspired by things around and within me. Every song I write either tells a story or has a message behind them, but I wouldn’t consider them subliminal, that sounds too sneaky, haha. But I don’t think I want to reveal too much about what my message or stories are before the EP is out as that may alter the perspective of a first person listener. You guys enjoy it for yourself first and perceive it your own way. Besides, every song holds different meanings for different people. =)

MH: How do you deal with criticism, especially with the inevitable comparisons that are being made with your Western counterparts?
Jack: It’s nice to be compared to other Western bands but we do prefer to have our own identity and originality. Though we have influences from symphonic metal bands, we do hope that we don’t sound like any one of them. It’s for the audience to relate and appreciate. We will always do our best to improve on our shortcomings. I’m also glad that the boys and girls from AOS are one dedicated and disciplined bunch. We do practice hard to improve ourselves constantly.

MH: Juggling a day job and a passion is an uphill task, how do you guys find the time to play together as a band?
Savvia: Our sessions are usually at night to accommodate to our work and schooling schedules. But, I guess for us music is our sanctuary and so juggling the band is not really an “uphill task”. It’s more of a joy and a wonderful stress reliever; it’s what all of us look forward to at the end of our work and schooling day.
Elfie: Definitely stress relievers for all of us, because it’s escapism from the real world.

MH: What plans does Age of Sinfonia have in store for the future?
Elfie: For now, to release our EP, entitled Capriccio. We’re in the production process and we are working towards releasing it in July/August. Then maybe play a couple of promo gigs. Tentatively we have received an offer from Malaysia and Greece to release the EP, but we are keeping our options open. If things go well, we might do a short tour to Malaysia as well. Then it’s back to the drawing board, write new stuff and head back to the studios by the end of the year to complete our LP.

MH: Before wrapping things up, when is the next Age of Sinfonia performance going to take place?
Jack: Our next performance to date will the Youth Olympic Games at *Scape on August 21. Will keep everyone posted our on Facebook and Myspace accounts.
AOS: We would like to take this opportunity to thank you and the people from Metal Horde for interviewing us. It’s such a pleasure.

Much Love
Age of Sinfonia
Savvia-JC-Jack-Rasen-Andy-Elfie

Their upcoming performance will be at *Scape on 21 August 2010 as part of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) celebration which will begin at 4.30pm. Their upcoming EP Capriccio will be released on the same month and vocalist Savvia Lenore will be performing at the Stand Up And Shout Dio tribute gig on 24 July 2010 held in Blackhole 212. To find out more about Age Of Sinfonia, visit them at http://www.myspace.com/ageofsymphony