Interview with Kalte Traurigkeit

I had the chance to interview Eric Labrie, founder and mastermind of a remarkable darkwave neoclassical outfit called KALTE TRAURIGKEIT from Quebec, Canada.

It's a project that caught my attention as their sound and atmosphere evokes memories of Dreamlike Horror (my own project) with its obscure soundscapes characterized by heavy strings sections and  melancholic, mournful sensations. Here is what Eric had to say.

Kalte Traurigkeit: Eric and Genevieve

1) Hello Eric, how did the concept of KALTE TRAURIGKEIT come about and develop from its inception to your first album?

Hi Hayam. The concept came after I first listened to bands such as Autumn tears, Dargaard, DVKE. etc. I liked the style so much and it was so inspiring to me that I began to write some parts. I was 16 or 17 at the time. It was in 2000 or 2001, don't remember. But I never really push the project further until 2007. I decided it was time to seriously build up that project, with the intention of creating the most horror like, depressive, sorrowful music possible. So I wrote Equilibrium in that way, a conceptual album introducing a whole trilogy.  

 2) How come  did you chose a German name to represent your project,  which in English could be translated as “Cold Sadness”?

Cold sadness represents very well the feeling we want to reproduce in our music, but we thought that this sentence didn't sound really punchy in English, so we translated it to German, which is Kalte Traurigkeit.

 

3) Are you a sad person?  What are you like in your daily life? Are you a full time musician or do you have another job?

No I'm not a sad person. In my daily life, I'm a father, a boyfriend, like to be with my friends, as probably everybody haha. Music isn't my full time business yet, but I work hard to make it  possible, with my recording studio and all other projects I've in mind.

 

4) Your album has a very dark, classy and melancholic sound.  Can you tell us something about the lyrical content  of “Equilibrium” and what kind of message you want to convey with your music?

Equilibrium tells about a man who cannot face his demons, his memories. He has to make a choice between the hard way of facing them and live or let them kill him. So it's a complete introspection which will last during the entire 3 albums. The message behind this is really simple: you always have choices in life. You can live and face some shit, confront it and get stronger, or abandoned yourself in a depressive and really dark way, which I think isn't a really nice option.

 

5) “Equilibrium” is the first album of a trilogy. Have you already written material for two more albums or  is it only an idea waiting to be put into music?

I'm working on the mix, and plan to release it this year. It's taking longer than expected due to some line-up trouble and my other projects that took a lot of time. But the result is simply outstanding. A new more complex sound and really more classically oriented.

 

 

6) Do you compose everything yourself in this project or has any other member contributed in the creation of  the material?

I compose everything, except some vocal parts I preferred to leave to Mireille at the time and to Genevieve  now. I write all lyrics, too. But I'm always open to listen to suggestions, ideas, etc.

 7) I have seen you had some line- up changes. How come and how did this influence the life of the band? Have you ever considered collaborating with some other musician or adding more members to your project?

Yeah, the line-up changed a lot. I tried to make the band a real Quintet, with 2 violins, a viola, a cello and a bass. I found a cello and a bass player but they eventually left the band. And a couple of months later Mireille left too for some personal reasons. So I searched for a new singer, found one who finally declined the offer, approached several others, and finally found Genevieve, a really talented soprano.

 

 

Kalte Traurigkeit's soprano Genevieve Roussel

 

8) Is there anyone in the music scene that you would dream to work with?

Yes, but with the new sound of Kalte, I would need a whole orchestra, including a choirs section. So, for the moment, I'm not looking for other musicians. Maybe some guest singers, or maybe I'll plan to get some musicians for all the solo parts. Let's see in the future.

 

9) What are your plans for the future? Do you plan on supporting your music with an official video?

I plan to make the project a lot bigger than it is. I would like to make it a reference in the genre haha. Who knows, dreams are free :)  But yes, an official video would be a nice idea. We are considering that option.

 

 

10)  If someone wants to see you live, buy your cd or book you for a gig, where can they contact you?

The easiest way to contact us is via our Facebook. We have a shop on it and all links to our other pages and other shops such as Bandcamp are there, too. Here are our principal links:

 

www.facebook.com/kaltetraurigkeit

www.reverbnation.com/kaltetraurigkeit

http://kaltetraurigkeit.bandcamp.com/

https://soundcloud.com/#kalte-traurigkeit

 

Officially on IMDB!

Yayyy! It is time to celebrate! Thanks to BRASH YOUNG TURKS I am now officially listed as actress on IMDB! I am very happy about it and inshAllah I will be adding many more credits in the near future. Things workwise seem to go very well at the moment, I am auditioning every week and have several projects waiting to be confirmed.
I also officially got the role of "Habiba" in "3 Illegal", a comedy for TV and honestly I can't wait to start filming! But it seems we are going to be filming in about 6 months time or so.
In the meanwhile I have had several other offers but I can't announce anything until it becomes official. Sometimes it is better not to say anything, some people tend to give the "evil eye", which I want to stay away from! I am not superstitious, it is a matter of fact!

This is a video I made today, trying to look pretty for the camera LOL!!!

I just bought myself an amazing black dress that I am going to be wearing at the Gala for the Young Muslim Writers Awards, to which Khaleel and I have been invited but I just can't find a pair of shoes that I can bear to wear for hours. I lost count of how many shops I went to, trying on all kinds of shoes, it seems that all of them are so uncomfortable or too large!
It is very strange because I am used to wear heels and in Italy I have no problems finding shoes that have high heels but still are comfortable...while here it seems I have to go through the flames of hell each time I walk in a pair of high heels! This is becoming a problem because I never know what to wear on my feet in the summer with these posh dresses that require heels. Yikes!
On Monday I am going to an acting class by Junior Paul Chiedozie, lead actor in Brash Young Turks!  I am very excited about that! It is going to be fun!
It is also going to be a great chance to network with other people in the business, I love meeting new people and enlarging my network!
I was also very pleased when I came back from the film shoot in Swanwick to see that I became friends on Fb with most of the actors on the yacht scene, that was unexpected and it made me happy to link up with more people who have similar interest and life style to mine.
Here is another couple of photos from behind the scenes of Brash Young Turks by MX Ugoh

The amazing yacht used for the film shoot (Brash Young Turks - behind the scenes)

you can actually see me laughing on this one

Well wish everyone a great weekend!

Brilliant time with BRASH YOUNG TURKS yesterday!!

Yesterday I went down to Swanwick Marina, close to Southampton to film a scene for BRASH YOUNG TURKS, an awesome feature film! It was an hell of a trip, but it was all worth it!
I am very proud to be part of this production, even if unfortunately it was just a little role, but still the film seems to be top quality and it is going to give me credits on IMDB, which is awesome.
Plus they had a good catering, which is always appreciated!
I really LOVED every second of it, Naeem Mahmood the director, was very nice and professional. I loved the fact that he is a perfectionist and worked hard to get the perfect shot.
I hope to work with him again in the future inshAllah.

Swanick Marina, the weather was scary

Me getting ready in my posh dress



Princess Yacht...wow luxury!

Me on the yacht during the break

all in line waiting to get up on the boat

I met many enthusiastic people, it was truly a great day!
The weather was nor brilliant as it was very cloudy, cold and very windy. At this point I am grateful I didn't go to the hairdresser as my hair would have been messed up anyway.
Check out the trailer:

 

It should be released at the end of this year, inshAllah! Can't wait to watch it at the cinema!

After Earth and The Great Gatsby (careful contains spoilers)

I just saw "After Earth" and "The Great Gatsby". I must say that I was really looking forward to see these two films and although I enjoyed them, they were not at all what I expected.
I found both of them beautiful when it comes to effects, picture, angles and landscapes...but I was expecting much more from them than just being "eye-candies", a bit more of "content".
What has become of Hollywood? Do they always need to steal ideas from Asian movies and do re-makes in order to make good films? If you take away the CGI nowadays Hollywood films are just so poor. No really good stories it seems, no imagination at all. A whole lot of recycled ideas.
Let's start with After Earth.

It is not easy at all to make a movie interesting when you only have two main characters for nearly the whole length of a film. The acting was good, but the story could have been a bit more exciting.
Will Smith and his son did a great job, I think they are a great combo. I was very impressed by the acting skills of Jaden, he really is gifted and I am sure he will become a great actor.
Basically the story is about this Spaceship crashing on Planet Earth, which is now populated only by animals and some kind of giant insect after being abandoned by human beings. The only survivors are Will Smith and his son and since Will broke both his legs in the crash, his son goes on a mission on his own trying to find a beacon left in the tail of the ship like a 100 km away.
His father through some advanced gadget guides his son on this journey.
The idea behind the story is quite interesting, but it becomes tedious when there are not so many dangers and not so much happens. Oh wow the boy is getting chased by baboons, then picked up by a huge eagle, then bitten by a poisonous bug...come on, give us something more exciting that just that!!
 I actually risked to fall asleep more than once in the first half of the film. It took quite a while before things started to happen.



The Spaceship from the outside looked like a Swan or something

The interior of the Spaceship was lame beyond words. Honestly...not even Star Trek back in the 60's looked so poor! Are you telling me that with all this big advanced technology the comfort of the passengers was limited to a plastic chair and a safety belt? These people are travelling through space like that?? Not even beds, comfy seats, fancy screens? I wouldn't pay 10 dollars for a trip like that! LOL

 

I must say the trailer of After Earth was probably more exciting than the film itself. I was expecting something more "grand".

Now, THE GREAT GATSBY.

You guys have no idea how much I was looking forward to this film. Those of you who know me in person or have followed my blog for a while sure must know that I am a big Leonardo Di Caprio fan. Together with Al Pacino, he is my favourite actor, so I go see all his films. I was totally amazed by the trailer of The Great Gatsby and had heard that it was a very beautiful movie. My high expectations were unfortunately not met. I honestly hated the first half of the film.
It was just a big show off  of glamour and wonderful costumes, grand palaces, beautiful women...very colourful, very posh, beautiful images...in fact spectacular images...but the story?
For an hour and half I asked myself what the purpose of the movie was, as it didn't seem to have any solid story. Ok, a guy (Gatsby) from poor becomes very rich, builds this castle, gives incredibly fancy parties all to impress this washed out shallow girl called Daisy, who by the way is married to a man just for his money and has a daughter. How shallow is that??

Leonardo Di Caprio as The great Gatsby

Things in the film start to happen like after two hours, which kind of rescue the film at the very end.
It could have been such a masterpiece if only the plot had been thicker, more dramatic and with more pathos. I didn't feel ANYTHING for any of the characters. They were all tremendously superficial and materialistic (apart from the narrator, who seems to be the only decent character in the whole movie) and I couldn't really sympathize with any of them. I didn't feel sorry, nor angry, nor sad nor happy for any of them. I just watched the whole thing like a mere detached spectator with a hint of frustration inside me, because I was expecting this film to be somewhat moving, or heart breaking or emotional in a way...but I didn't feel anything!
What a let down. I would like to watch it again just to see if maybe after a second viewing I would manage to see it in a different light, but at the moment I must say that I was not impressed.
The cinematics, the costumes and the grandeur of the parties in the film were spectacular...but the story could have been so much better. Had they shown for instance the journey that Gatsby had to go through in order to become rich, it would have been much more interesting. But they didn't, the character even appeared very late in the movie, so one didn't even have time to develop any attachment to him in order to sympathize with him a little, despite Leonardo's charm and brilliant acting. At least the end of the film was tragic, that was a plus.
At this point I really want to read the novel, I am sure it is going to be much better than the film!
It is almost always the case, when it comes to books getting transformed into films.

My Birthday :)

Yesterday it was my birthday!!
I was so happy to receive hundreds of birthday wishes on FB including some really sweet videos from friends and fans! It was awesome!
I didn't have a party this year but I plan on having a huge celebration next year, with live bands and lots of friends and family members hopefully! Yes because it will a milestone next year (very scary just to think about it!)....but I don't feel a day older than 25! That's what keeps me young inside and out.
Here is a photo of me when I was a chubby baby girl :)


baby Hayam DK

 

I think I actually do remember why I was crying here...I remember we were at a photographer's studio and they sat me down on the chair, I was sleepy and they had all those big lights and each time they were taking photos of me a big flash would come on and was blinding me. I didn't understand what they were doing, I just remember those big flashes and that they were hurting my eyes. You can even see the flash in my eyes on that pic.
It is incredible that I have such early memories...I even have one single, but powerful memory of myself in the cradle!

And here is a photo of me yesterdat, Hayam DK your 39 year old birthday girl!!

 

 

Khaleel bought me a super delicious cake!! I loved it very very much!! I only had one slice and felt so guilty I had to go immediately to the gym to burn it off!

 

 

The audition for the telefilm the other day went really well! We will start filming later on this summer...Khaleel and I had lots of fun auditioning and rehearsing with the other actors and extras. My fictional husband in the telefilm was really great and super fun to work with! He has also done a lot of acting and was featured in major international films, so I am very pleased to work with him!
It's going to be really fun!

The grim reaper strikes again

I am in an awful mood. I just heard that in my home town two people I know have just committed suicide. Both of them hanged themselves. An old friend of my brother two days ago and an old friend of mine the day after. I don't  know what to say except for the fact that I kind of saw it coming as far as my friend goes, because she has always been very depressed and she had attempted it several times already like 20 years ago. What devastates me the most is that even if I have no responsibility whatsoever in this, I kind of feel guilty, I keep thinking, maybe if they had had a good friend like me on their side they wouldn't have done that.

Then again some people are just tormented souls, they are born with this kind of disease in their heart which prevents them from being happy. I am just so so sad. I will never see them again. What I worry about the most is their souls. According to my religion people who commit suicide are going to hell. I dont want to think this for a second. I keep asking God to spare them, to have mercy on them. They surely must have been in agony for many years to reach the point of taking their own lives.

Me I am always so full of life and joy for living in abundance...I could even give it away for free. I always try to make people smile, to be kind to others, I wish I had this power to wipe away depression from all those people who suffer from it. I have been depressed myself when I was younger, but mine was not truly depression, was more of a melancholic sadness, I knew I was going to get out from.

But certain people never manage to get out of it. Surely when they take their lives they think that they are going to end their suffering...they probably don't think of hell or of making things worse for themselves...I wonder if the thought of eternal damnation ever crossed their mind...

all I can do is to pray for them. I am sad, very sad.

On a brighter note today we have a new baby in the family, baby Esa!! So Khaleel is going to be a great uncle and I am going to be a great auntie!! I cant wait to see this little sweetheart!! I am sure he is very beautiful.

I cannot wait to become a mother myself, but it never seems to be the right time... sigh...well whatever it is meant to be will be.

Took some pics yesterday with a different look

Trying out different things

Aerobics, new FB page and new opportunities

My muscles hurt so bad again! Yesterday I tried the 80's Aerobics class at the gym and OMG I truly loved it! No rest for the wicked...it was a very intense work-out, my heart was pumping as fast as that of a racing horse! Good I didn't pass out LOL. I really loved this class, it was fast paced and the music was great...some old tunes and some more recent dance tunes blasting out from the speakers, lights were low to create a club atmosphere...and in fact disco lights were on! I don't miss clubbing at all when I can go to such great classes at my local gym!
I wanted to do some Zumba today, but I preferred not to as I took a very long walk and I am still mashed up from yesterday. Look in what conditions I came home last night!
I was red as a tomato.


Exausted and sweaty just back from the gym....needless to say I slept like a baby all night!


 

I just made a new official page on Facebook called HAYAM DK. My old one, the Deadly Kristin/Hayam one is so outdated as it mostly has old stuff that I have done with my band, which I am no longer in, so I hardly use it.
So from now on if you want to follow me on Facebook you can go to my HAYAM DK page at this address: https://www.facebook.com/hayamdkofficial
I am launching some kind of competition for my birthday, 10th June, where people can submit a video singing me "Happy birthday". I don't know how many people will take part of it, but I thought it would be a cute idea. Then I will pick my favourite video and will make a personal video response which I will also upload on a celebs website for video messaging.
 I have many singers in my network, it would be very nice if someone would surprise me with a nice video on my birthday.

Apart from that, I keep getting calls from Starnow, different filming job opportunities coming up one after the other! I am very happy about this, but I really need to get my priorities straight and of course prioritize paid work...but the fact is that I am such a passionate and enthusiastic person that I would like to do everything! I just don't say no to opportunities, you never know what doors they may open!
I believe that everything happens for a reason and the opportunities are all out there waiting for someone to go grab them!
Today I was offered a role in a Feature British Film, Brash Young Turks, filming next weekend. I was very happy to hear that, also because it is not one of those for which I auditioned (still waiting to hear back from those ones), so it came like a nice surprise.
Too bad that the scene will be filmed far away, so it is a long trip, it would be great if I could share a car with another actor from London or around my area.
Anyway the film is almost complete and they already made a trailer for it...check it out...it looks really cool! I am excited about this one!

Cozy evening with my baby

Oh wow we had such a lovely evening...went to eat some appetizers at Giraffe, I always loved that place, so colourful and cozy...we ordered some middle eastern food, hummous, tabbouleh, cous-cous.. etc and two lovely pineapple juices...ohhh man it was the BOMB!! Look at that!!!

healthy, superdelicious, middle eastern veggie food

My honey and I having a really great time together!

We devoured this delicious starter in a nano second!! Super good! Giraffe is my fave café in MK!
I am going to be back there very soon I hope :D
I love these long days, summer is definitely coming and today it was actually the first day this year that I went out in summer clothes without a jacket! Yeaaah let the toes breathe for a change!!

I need some nail polish on my toe nails!!
 

I heard from my parents that they have been very unlucky with the weather...rain every day and they only managed to go to the beach 2 afternoons only in 10 days...hope they will get soon some nice weather! Personally I am not bothered about going on vacation any time soon...I'd rather go on vacation in winter next year to some warm countries...like my lovely JAMAICA, that would be nice.
There is so much going right now over here so I have been busy busy busy...and if one of those auditions I have done turns out positive I may be busy with work in the summer.
I really want to do some serious acting!!!
I have another audition for a telefilm the day before my birthday...that means next sunday. I am excited about that one :)
Here is a photo of me I took today, nice headshot, I may use it for the CV.

What a fabulous day at the UK Unsigned Event in Neasden!

Wowww! I had so much FUN yesterday! Went to this Open Day Event in Neasden, Brent, to audition as presenter and didn't really know what to expect...I must say that I had an amazing time, met lot's of cool people and had the chance to see some young, fresh, top talent performing live on stage!
There was a great, fun vibe! I am so happy I could be part of this.
First we had a workshop, where they gave us some great tips about radio broadcasting...it was very interesting!

Radio presenter workshop

Then each one of us was given an artist to interview as an audition, which was filmed and recorded.
I had the pleasure to interview this very talented and beautiful artist, Nikisha, from Trinidad and Tobago, who is a singer and model! I really loved her performance on stage, great vibes and happy party music!

Nikisha, a lovely lady!

Nikisha and I right after our interview. We had a great time!

She told me she is making a video now in June, make sure you check her out! I definitely want to have her on an episode of "It's Groovy!" but it will have to be later on this year as I still need to edit the first two episodes and have a few artists waiting to be interviewed which I already booked a while ago.

Check out Nikisha's song SUPERNOVA.

 

 

3 cool girls I met at the event

An act that really impressed me yesterday was The Fabsisters!
They were totally amazing! I couldn't believe they were only 13 and 15! Incredible voices...I think these girls will go far...they have a great potential.

The Fabsisters

Check them out! I really believe we are going to see them a lot on TV in the future, they truly deserve it!

Some of the people at the event

Eating and filming at the same time...gwaaaan!! Too cool :D

DJ Steppa from Majestic radio was also there

What can I say, the event was really cool and it was awesome to be part of it yesterday!
Hope there will be more things like this coming up soon :)