The Gathering - The flying Dutchmen and the fairy woman

After a long period of dreams and journeys, our favorite Dutchmen go safely back home for a rich and diversified new album. The Gathering took time to find a new direction and evolve again. We met Anneke (vocals) and Franck (keyboards) in Paris, just before the release of " If then else ", last July. The summer, like this LP, should be very hot.

-Your new lp, " If then else " sees a return to shorter songs than the previous one, " How to measure a planet " : can you tell us about this new change of direction ? Is it a will of perpetual change ? -Anneke : We've always had an evolution going, so it's always new stuff we want to try, and this time we really experimented with sounds, drums technic, vocals technics, stuff like that, and that's really what we wanted, 'cause " How to measure a planet " was really long, and we really loved it, but we said to ourselves : " OK, next time, let's go kick ass " ! -Were you at that time nostalgic from the 70s music, with such bands as Pink Floyd or Yes or... ? -Franck : Yes, we are quite a lot into this kind of music, specially Pink Floyd of course, and also a band called Camel, a very good band, and it's a shame I didn't see them play, all those atmospheric bands... -In this sense, can we consider " Superheat " as marking a step and leaving the door open for something else ? -Anneke : I don't know, but a lot of people say that " Superheat " marks a period, but for us it was nothing like that, it was more because we were asked for a live album, especially from people by mail and E-Mail saying they saw us or couldn't see us and wanted a live album so we made it, not really for ourselves because we get our kicks from live feelings but we made it for people asking for it : it's in between things, just a moment, it was in no way a closing period for us. -What does " If then else " mean ? -Franck : It's a title which was used in computer programming. Actually, it's a song, but it didn't make it to the album. I think the title is nice and it fits the lyrics. It has no special meaning. -Why did you record it in 3 different studios ? -Franck : We wanted to record analog sounds, like in the old days, in the seventies. It sounds better. We also recorded digitally in another studio and used a 3rd studio for mixing. -For this record, apart from basic instruments, you used classical instruments as well as samplers : you seem to enjoy taking risks... -Franck : I don't think it's about risks, for us it was something new to use strings and brass, and we really had no doubts about it. It sounds really good and organic. - Would you like to play with a philharmonic orchestra? - Anneke: Well, it's been done before, by Metallica, etc. In fact, we recorded 2 songs with an orchestra for the TV and it was great, but it's very expensive to hire a good orchestra. Besides, we prefer to use just a few musicians, the sound is more intimate. -I've heard that you took jazz singing lessons too : how did it improve your voice ? -Anneke : I like it because it's a totally different thing from pop music : I used to play jazz and blues and folk, all things totally different from The Gathering : it broadens your horizons, and of course jazz is technically more difficult than rock and so you learn from it a great deal. It's better to listen to all kinds of music and then make your own. Ella Fitzgerald is my favorite ! -Do you think the beginning of a new century is a good time for mankind to make a stop and start to think ? -Anneke : We always do ! It's a very important thing, wondering about what we're doing, is it the right thing, do we like doing it ... -Franck : It's difficult to stop and think. -It is the main topic of this new album, the lack of thinking and the power of the machines and some mens on others ? -Anneke : Yes, a bit : for us, when you see the world is going very fast, the human body, if you think about it simply, can't really hold up, we fly, we drive cars, we go on the internet, we do everything mechanically, and that's very fine because you reach a lot of people and it's in the end very social, but on the other hand if you don't stop sometime and take a break, you will overload and it's not very natural. But we sing about this, we just play, we don't teach you or want to give you a message. We come from the south of Holland which is very easy, a nice part of the country, we like to take a walk and breath the air, that's very important : that's partly because you live : you breathe air ! -So, the last word for it could be : wake up, the dream period is over, and now you have to do something with those dreams ? -Anneke : Yes, I guess we're back on Earth, definitely... -Franck : " How to measure... " was more about travelling in general, and now we have to pull a break... -Anneke : yes indeed ! Very poetic ! It was a choice to do a shorter LP. -Franck : Yes, we had more songs, like seventeen, but they won't fit in one album, also artistically not, so we had to choose some of them. -Anneke : And we also look at the product : this CD had to be short because we wanted it to be sort of kick ass, easy listening album : we really thought about that. On the cover of the Lp, we are moving, moving ,moving, and if you to see the back cover, on the picture, we're taking a break ! -Anneke, it's surely a victory for you to be considered as a real singer instead of a bimbo in a macho world ? -Anneke :  Of course, I like it better ! I'm a singer, not a photo model. I know that picture taking is part of the " thing ", but we're musicians ! When we make music, we really reach people from the inside. But sure, I'm happy to be on the cover of magazines and get attention and, as a woman, I am aware to be the focus of the band, so we use it a little bit. I try to look good, we try too to reach people by our music, which, as you said, lasts longer ! -After ten years, is The Gathering happy of its evolution ? -Franck : Yes. Of course, you're never satisfied with the final product, I'm never satisfied because I always want it to be better. But I'm quite satisfied. -Anneke : Me too ! -Has the transition from the death metal of your beginning to something more atmospheric and sensual been provoked by the coming of Anneke or was it a wish for the band to find another direction ? -Franck : I think it's good to have Anneke singing with us... -Anneke : But they were already moving in another, more melodic direction -How do you see your future ? A huge, wide gathering between you and your audience ? -Anneke : We are very close already, and we're very happy that all those people like us, and we have as many contacts with them as possible. -Franck : A lot on the internet too, it's a very good medium for such a kind of things. We have an internet site, renewed last week so people are more than welcome  (www.gathering.nl) Franck : We have a lot of visitors, thousand per day. -And finally, are you football fans ? -Anneke and Franck : Oh Yes ! We try to follow it : tomorrow, the Dutch team plays, but we can't see it : we'll just talk, and talk, and talk ! ! ! (Interview by Jean Paul Coillard and Mister X, pictures by JP Coillard)

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