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 Olen'k
Interviewer: Jezus C. (Saqrangel)
Answers: Patrice (keyboards&programming)
Olen'k is a talented French grouping, they fuse sounds of different corners of the world, creating a music with dark and brilliant atmospheres and with full celestial songs. They time ago have signed with Cold Meat Industry, and their album 'Silently Noisy' has received flattering comments around the world, with you a new promise of the World Music from France .
To begin, how were the beginnings of the band?
It started on 1999 with Manu and Patrice with some small musical projects. According to our music, we were looking for a female voice. Few months later, we met Elise at the annual street music festival of 1999 in France. We were dazzled by her voice! Cecile joined us soon afterwards, and provided a second female voice.
Why did you choose the name of Olen'k, is a derivation of the female name OLENKA?
It's right name is inspired by this female name. We find that it sounds universal (European,
African …), which reflects our vision of making music, a world music style.
When I listened to your song "Season of tears" from Cd sampler "Flowers Made of Snow" I was satisfied, and with your debut "Silently Noisy" I'm more than satisfied, it is simply a flattering stuff, with positive reviews around the world. Did you wait this answer of the press means?
Thanks. We're happy with it. "Cold meat industry" allowed us to open closed doors out of France. Very pleasant! Our simple wish is to find more and more concerts, to obtain as much as possible positive reviews…
You use several languages in lyrics, but it got my attention that you have written some lyrics in Spanish language in the song " Silencio ", which was the reason?
For "Silencio", the Spanish language seemed to us the best way to emphasize the tragic side of the text. This text deals with a commonplace theme in western culture: love and its close connection to death. It modernises it as, in a underlying manner, it talks about AIDS and refers to the French 90s slogan "Silence = Death". Spanish allows us to interpret the text in a very lyrical way and gives the message a strong tragic resonance.
Is Cécile Gonzales only a session singer? She has a pretty and celestial voice...
Cécile was the second voice of Olen'K, but she left the band for several artistic reasons.
Cold Meat Industry definitively is the appropriate label for you, are you happy of working with them or do you think that something could have been better?
We are very proud to be signed on CMI. Roger Karmanik give us a chance, we really want to thank him. He has made a fabulous work for our promotion.
You are from France and more than half world thinks that your country is the nest of the good art and of the love, do you reaffirm it? What aspects would you redeem of the old French culture? Do you think that France is a good country to live?
It is not easy to judge of the influence, positive or negative, of French culture when one is immersed in it, one lives in it. All the values that France has stood for along the centuries, particularly since the French revolution, lie within us but we are not conscious of it most of the time. Anyway, debate nowadays goes beyond the small country that is France, a country which is still looking for its place in Europe and the world. But those French values must be integrated, our favourite ones being "Liberté Egalité Fraternité" (or Freedom Equality Fraternity), in order to apply them to the wider world.
What situations do it put you melancholic or sad? And what situations do it transport you to the spiritual ecstasy? How would you describe the human's essence? Uhmm which are your points of view or concepts about the life, the sex, the darkness, the love... the death...?
When we stumble upon the news or a documentary showing hunger, poverty and women and children's condition in the world, we feel revolted. How can we remain insensitive to it? Mostly we feel so powerless. On the other hand, we are highly admirative of the extraordinary resources of nature that man however never ceases to destroy. Man is indeed the only living being so full of hatred and selfishness.
Well, what are you listening lately, which are your favorite artists (music, literature, poetry)? Some suggestion?
We love Eighties music. We used to listen to it when we were young, and still do today! We are influenced by bands like Dead Can Dance, the Cure, New Order, Bel Canto … and also PJ Harvey, Peter Murphy, Recoil, Björk, Massive Attack, Peter Gabriel, Archive…
A film or a book can sometimes be a source of inspiration. For example, "Virgin Suicide", "Lost of translation", of Sophia Coppola, or the work of the French writer Barjavel, of Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters or the female writer from the Cameroons Calixthe Beyala. There are also lyrics by English speaking song writers, often female, such as Beth Gibbons and Patti Smith.
For those that didn't still listen to OLEN'K, describe us musical and lyrically your work.
We love to mix and blend musical styles. Music is not fixed. Most styles can be married. Our way of thinking is to combine electronic and traditional instruments. For the lyrics of Silently Noisy, Elise and Cecile were inspired mostly by their own personal experiences. Thus themes are universal: love, death, anguish, dreams, travels..
Thank you, last words...
When could we come in Peru for concerts ?
Band Site: www.olenk.com
Band Contact: contact@olenk.com
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