“Black is the color is a bit heavier and the lyrics more serious as on “Music of Light”. The new songs are telling from problems and how you can work them out.
Before we start I’d like to welcome you and congratulate you for ‘Black is the colour’, which I think it is a very good symphonic metal album.
Lisa: Thank you very much. We like it a lot and we are very proud!
Can you give us a short walk through the band’s history?
Lisa: Anastasia is the found Arven back in 2007. Before that she played in different bands, but she was always the only female member. That’s why she wanted to start an all-girl band. The girls for guitars, vocals and bass were found rapidly, but a female drummer was hard to find. That’s why we have Till on the drums and we are very happy with him. In 2011 we signed with Massacre Records and in September in 2011 we released our Debut Album “Music of Light”. The following two years we had many concerts and we worked on the following album “Black is the colour”, which we released in August in 2013.
One thing that really caught my attention was that you are a girls band with just one man, when in general it is the other way.
Lisa: Haha, it’s like I said before, we just didn’t find a female drummer, who fitted into the band. It is different to have one male member, but our line-up didn’t change since 2009 and we are working really good together, that’s why we don’t want to change anything.
How was the reception of ‘Black is the colour’ in Germany and all over the world?
Lisa: It was really good! We got so many compliments via mail and facebook! In the first week we entered the German Album charts on #65. It was unbelievable. All over the world fans bought the album and like it a lot. Of course there are always some people who don’t like it. But all in all, the reception was overwhelming.
How were the composition and recording processes?
Lisa: Anastasia wrote most of the songs together with a friend of us: Benjamin Reiter. He is also singing the second vocals on the bonustrack “Black is the colour”. Then often Anastasia is doing the lyrics together with singer Carina. While we are practising the songs, we often change some things, that’s why the songs are influenced by the whole band. On “Black is the colour” also Ines and Elena wrote two songs.
Which differences can we find between ‘Music of light’ and ‘Black is the colour’?
Lisa: On “Music of Light” you can find more folk and classical elements as on “Black is the colour”. The new songs are a bit heavier and the lyrics more serious as on “Music of Light”. They are telling from problems and how you can work them out. The development from “Music of Light” to “Black is the colour” was fluent, it just happened. But we are happy with it.
Here comes the obvious question: as you come from a very prolific and promising scene as the German, how do you see your country’s situation?
Lisa: Yes, Germany has a huge music scene, especially metal. But that makes it harder for small bands who want to play on big stages. On the other hand there are many helping hands.
What are your future plans with Arwen?
Lisa: At first: We keep going. We are going to play some great festivals next year, plus we will play some concerts together with Van Canto. We would love to go on tour, but there is nothing planned yet. Beside that we will start writing new songs pretty soon, we already have some great ideas.
Could you send a message to our Spanish and South American readers?
Lisa: To all of you out there: We would love to come to your country and rock with you and we hope to do soon. Thank you very much for your support – it is so important for us!! Muchas gracias 🙂 And if you don’t know us: Have a look on www.arvenmusic.com or www.facebook.com/arvenmusic
Thanks for your time!! It was a great pleasure to talk to you, I wish you luck!
Lisa: Thank you!
Translation: Gabriel Ivorra (http://givorra.com)
