Interview by Miriam Cadoni
Behind the name, NEVARIA is concealed an amazing and super talented German symphonic metal band. Despite all, the band’s members are not newcomers because all the members have previous musical experience. We had the honor to be absolutely the first in interviewing the singer Tanja Schneider who previously started her career in the power metal band Dawn of Destiny. Let’s read together with us this special interview!
Hi Tanja, welcome to Femme Metal Webzine. How are you and how today is treating you?
Hi Miriam, thanks I’m fine. Today is really exciting because this is my very first interview for NEVARIA.
For the readers who still are not familiar with NEVARIA, would you like to properly introduce the band and how did it come together?
We are a symphonic melodic metal band from Bayreuth, Germany. My bandmates are Alexander Dahlen on drums, Kevin Deese on bass, Kim Wölfel on the guitar and Markus Spiethaler on keyboards. Markus and I played together in a former band. Back then, we haven’t able any musical freedom but one thing was sure, we would like to continue working together. Musically speaking, we are a perfect match because we are on the same wavelength. So, we founded NEVARIA and we are deeply grateful that we have found such creative, funny and wonderful people to work with.
It’s recent news that NEVARIA will release its debut album, “Finally Free”, on October 25th via Dr. Music Records. What can you share about its general production and when did you start to collect the material for this release?
We began to collect the material for this album release quite a long time before NEVARIA was actually founded. All participants in a band must have the same goals and they must have the same musical concept about the music they create together, otherwise, the joint working process doesn’t work out. When it became clearer and clearer that we couldn’t realize our ideas and our songs in our former band, we made the decision to go on alone. “Finally Free” was THE song that we’ve written immediately after we’ve parted from our former band – and NEVARIA was born. That was in autumn 2017. Since mid-2018 NEVARIA is in full cast. The studio work was such a creative process with a lot of fun and just a little sleep during the recording time. I consider our working process is unique because we rehearse and we compose in the Soundwerkstatt Studios whose owner is our keyboard player Markus and any new idea can be recorded immediately. Also, sound wise, we were able to experiment a lot on both the album sound and the separate song structures. For example, we challenged ourselves by singing and recording all the choirs and here and there the process, there was always fun and laughter.
As previously stated, “Finally Free” will be released by Dr. Music Records. First of all, when did you meet and how was the first approach with this label?
Everything with a simple email with Miriam from Dr. Music Records where I just asked for some information. Actually, we wanted to figure out how we could get support for efficiently organize our promotion. Along with Miriam, we scheduled a Skype chat and we offered her some audio samples in order to have a general impression of us. We are sincerely surprised by the fact that two mere song snippets of about 1.5 minutes and a conversation helped us to get a record contract. Miriam and Torsten are a great match for us: they both listen enthusiastically to metal , they have a high level of expertise, they just fit humanly to us. It’s simply what NEVARIA needs right now! It is a great honor and pleasure for us to release our first album via Dr. Music Records!
How was working with André Hoffman at the Hofmann Studios and what did you learn from this experience?
André Hofmann has assisted us with the production and mastering sessions at his Hofmann studios. We were really excited about this collaboration with André. In the end, the sound is exactly what we wanted it to be (I might say even better) and we are hoping that we’ll collaborate with André again for the upcoming second NEVARIA album
Furthermore, I still remember when I interviewed you concerning Dawn Of Destiny back in 2009. How that past experience did help you to improve as a person and as a musician?
For me, it was a very valuable experience releasing those three albums both in Europe and in Japan. Dawn of Destiny represents my beginning in my musical career but now I have grown up as a musician. I love to create something new, to improvise, to write lyrics, to play creatively with the vocal lines. I find totally exciting the input I receive from the other instruments and I’m quite enthusiastic about the polyphonic vocal parts. I think that music is as manifold as life itself because you never stop to learn. Also, as a person, I have matured, learned a lot and found myself. Life is an adventure – otherwise, I would find it very, very boring and whoever is coming on the journey with me, it will find many of these adventures in my lyrics.
Taking inspiration from your album, what are you finally free from?
From the idea that there’s one only right way for everything. Every day I try to free myself from the expectations of others and my own, to aloow mistakes, to be curious about other lives’ stories, to ask questions, to be enthusiastic, to have confidence in other people, to be HUMAN.
For what I’ve grasped, the cover album was created by Darkgrove Design’s Jan Yrlund. Personally speaking, what does it represent for you and which is your personal interpretation of it?
For me, the picture expresses everything that makes up the album and our lyrics: the change of perspective. If we have lost the ability to change perspective then the humanity dies. The gate on the album cover is wide open to thousands of possibilities, ideas, ways of life, stories, feelings, dramas, and happy ends. Each person is unique in his/her self, in his/her history, in his/her experiences. Just as infinite as the universe that Jan has portrayed.
Before concluding our interview, which are the next band’s plans in terms of touring Europe and in particular, The Netherlands?
We are highly motivated and our goal is to visit and play many, many live stages, cities and countries as possible. We are just releasing our debut album and so we mostly organize the gigs by ourselves. It’s hard for a new band, but we are looking to tour support of a bigger band. Actually, this is the next step and we will do whatever it takes to make it happen.
Our next live dates are:
- 26.10.2019 DE-Taufkirchen, Next Level w/ Aeneas & Saphenous
- 02.11.2019 DE-Burgkunstadt, Lost Souls w/ Tezaura & Dream Ocean (Release Show)
- 01.02.2020 NL-Gouda, Studio Gonz w/ Manora
- 08.02.2020 DE-Regensburg, Alte Mälzerei w/ Dawn Of Sorrow & Diversity Of Darkness
- 13.03.2020 DE-Olching, Legends Lounge w/ Manora & Art Of Delusion
- 25.03.2020 DE-Königsbrunn, Matrix w/ Inner Core
- 17.10.2020 DE-Regensburg, Alte Mälzerei
Of course, we gonna extend that list and we are looking forward to release new live dates soon for Europe and probably for the Netherlands as well. For any updates check our homepage www.nevaria-band.com for news and all tour dates.
So, Tanja, now it’s your space to say hi to our readers and your fans. Thank you again for taking the time to reply to my questions!
Hello! I can’t even describe how much NEVARIA is looking forward to meeting YOU! We look forward to playing for you and partying with you, chatting with you after the gig, toasting with a beer and discussing music. We are curious about your stories (because they make up our lyrics!). We hope you are as curious about us as we are about you!
Dear Miriam, thanks to you! It was a joy and honor for me. Thank you very much for the great conversation.
