Interviews: HARTLIGHT

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Metal band, HARTLIGHT from Switzerland. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

Noémie (vocalist, composer, and lyricist): We had first of all the values like courage and the search for truth, as well as our desire to help others with our lyrics and music. We compiled our different keywords to make a mix between Hart, which means hard in German, and of course its English heart sound. Light in English sounds like Leicht, which means light. We liked the combination of meaning and interpretation of the word and the fact that the name sounded good for a power metal band.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Noémie: Celine Dion! She has been my idol since I was a child and her voice is powerful and similar in technique to Bruce Dickinson. I wanted to use my voice in the same way as the great pop voices, offering softer colors and real performance moments. The other reason is that I am a big fan of the band Battle Beast, and those catchy melodies reminiscent of disco hits really get to me. I do however like symphonic orchestras and more prog music like Devin Townsend, so I find power metal a perfect canvas to paint the inspiration I want.

Adrien (Multi-instrumentist and arranger): I started listening to metal in my teenage years and, like most metalheads, when you start, you never stop. As I am also a classically trained musician, doing music was a need from the beginning. But only metal can bring me the power I love from this music. Playing, singing, and writing metal music was evidence (even if it’s not me that writes the music for Harlight but Noémie !).

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Adrien: We’re actually a couple! We met at an opera singing school where we had some classes in common and we fell in love with each other right away! Being a couple of musicians is wonderful as we can create music together and share our passion. Hartlight was born of this desire! And it’s a great pleasure for me as Noémie compose what I feel to be wonderful music and melodies!

Noémie: Exactly! We really had the desire to create music together! As a couple, it’s a wonderful experience!

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Adrien: My favorite bands, or at least those that come to my mind right now, are Iron Maiden, Dir en Grey, Cradle of Filth, Nightwish, Dream Theater, Battle Beast, Phoebus the Knight, Rhapsody of Fire, Whispered, Rammstein, Fairyland and countless others that don’t come back to me right now!

Noémie: To complete what I said before, I would say Fairyland and Epica.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Noémie: Japanese anime and video games are the stories I want to engrave in my memory and draw strength from in my everyday life. I think of Berserk, Ranking of Kings, and the list goes on! Bloodborne, the game from From Software, is a cornerstone. In the future, I plan to write more personal, esoteric texts, or even create a concept album. I leave all the doors open to me, because what matters to me is to sing my emotions.

6. Where was your last gig?

Adrien: For now, Hartlight is a studio band because we’re gonna move from where we live at the end of the year and we plan to find other members to play live afterward cause we would like to have everyone living near the same location to be able to work regularly together.

7. Where would you like to act?

Adrien: Everywhere where people would want to hear us live! But the end goal would be large places and big metal festivals of course!

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Adrien: Doing a feature is not an idea that has occurred to us yet, but we could be open to propositions!

9. Whom not?

Adrien: Well, honestly, we don’t know.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

Noémie: Of course! It's normal to have stage fright before going on stage, it's adrenaline-like at the end of a Bloodborne boss. I can advise having a solid technique, that is to say, to have discarded superstitious exercises and smoky warm-ups from your routine. Knowing your voice well, knowing what to do depending on how you feel on the day, and having that certainty that you will do the job, no matter what. For the lyrics, I advise you to dissect them in several parts, to read the text, and to sing it little by little to the point that you have completely absorbed the text and that you no longer think about what comes next.

Adrien: On my side, I’m currently doing an opera singing beginning career so, of course, I’ve experienced stage fright during my training. My best advice would be to really analyze how you see the act of going on stage and doing music in itself. I believe a lot of people see music and art as something sacred, something to be worthy of, and that it is yourself you’re gonna expose, your deep self while going on stage. It is true that we put our heart into our music but we also must remember that we’re not doing something sacred and divine. In reality, if you see things as they are, we’re craftsmen, like a carpenter, with the difference that we craft something that is ephemeral. When a note has been played or sung, we cannot hear it anymore. We’ll have to craft it again to hear it again. Seeing things like this helped me a lot because your craft is not yours. This vision helps you to take a distance from your art and not feel judged when people don’t like what you do. If you make a mistake. it’s the craft that you made in this precise instant that people will judge, not you. And if people don’t like your music, well... it’s their problem, you first crafted it for yourself right? Those who are not willing to share your gift will find something that suits more their taste, but it’s not you that is at stake.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Noémie: Maybe Rammstein who have spent decades together and who have collaborated all this time, welded.

Adrien: For me, it’s Dream Theater, Nightwish, Rammstein, Cradle Of Filth, Iron Maiden, and Rhapsody. All my teenage years' favorite bands!

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Adrien: We are a starting band, so we have not encountered weird demands for now! Just demands signed photos of the band and that seems pretty common to me!

13. What do you think of your fans?

Noémie: The few we have are fantastic!

Adrien: For now, those we have are really awesome and nice people!

14. What do you think of our site?

Noémie: There are a lot of great bands that stay unknown and it’s great that there are people like you to speak about them!

Adrien: Sites like yours that support underground metal are capital! So thank you for what you’re doing!

15. Something to add?

Noémie: The world of music is huge and there are so many proposals. We hope people who come across our music will find it pleasant and maybe some stories to cling to. Thank you for dreaming with us!

Adrien: Thank you very much for receiving us for this interview and thanks to all the people that like our music and support us, you’re all awesome!