“Moonlight Waltz”, the new album of Theatres des Vampires, will be released soon. The Italian band offers, as a preview, the video they made for the song “Carmilla”, inspired by the novel of Joseph Sheridan LeFanu. With this occasion, Sonya Scarlet, the leader of the “vampires' clan”, offered us an interview about their new CD and video.
- David Bracci cooperated with Dario Argento at several movies, was this one of the reasons to choose him as a director of your videos „Lilith Mater Inferorum” and, now, „Carmilla”?
- David Bracci is the perfect director for our videos. He’s got a long experience with horror movies, he loves the dark realm of the night and he understand deeply our gothic atmospheres. He’s a close friend of us since the beginning of our career and he followed us step by step. With Carmilla video he gave his personal point of view of the story and music, the sets are surely amazing and also the idea of singing in an ancient coffin and filming me so close… always without showing too much… the bloody moment is not shown as other things that people suppose to see... that’s great... We wanted to keep the mysterious atmosphere of this beautiful, old novel.
- How did you choose the male actor, Abraam Fontana? He also cooperated with David Bracci, did he recommend it to you or it was your choice?
- David decided having him as my hunter after several collaborations he had with him. And he was right! Abraam is an excellent actor, I love his style and he’s perfect for us. “ He is so involved with these roles that interprets That I often think he lives in the wrong century!“ as David confessed one day to me during the video making... “Abraam is great in the roles that go back in the past.”
- Abraam had a part in „Passion of Christ”, how was it for him to switch from Christ’s story to a vampire-related video?
- I suppose you should ask him... I think that an actor as good as him has no problems to interpret different roles during his career, especially if these roles are so interesting as these. Anyway I think he’s like a cursed poet of the image... may be a vampire as well...
- Why did you choose Joseph Sheridan LeFanu’s novella, „Carmilla”, as a subject for your song? Although LeFanu wrote it before Stoker’s „Dracula”, this story is less familiar to the general audience.
- Because I felt in love for this novel some years ago… there’s a castle, a wood, an old cemetery, a coach, an hidden past... everything is not said totally, everything is not clear at the beginning, there’s an enchanted love between two young ladies, a strange friendship, an old secret lost in the memories of the family... and everything is sealed with blood... I cannot ask more.
- Where did you shoot the video? In which city?
- We shot Carmilla in Ceccano, a small, old city close to Rome using two different sets for the making of the video. The municipality of Ceccano has let us do the shooting within two castles around it. In the first one we shot the part where we play. In the second we did the exterior filming, the wood, the hunting and the crypt. I love the last part cause that castle is completely ruined and overgrown and surrounded by a forest... I would like to buy it... one day...
- You are well known for your passion for fashion design. Did you contribute to the design of the dresses you wear in this video?
- My clothes are made by Dictator Fashion Lab and the designer, Kathia, is a friend of mine so it’s really great and funny working together, having the chance to talk about every single detail and listening to suggestions and the ideas she has got...
We talked about the video before shooting it, talked about the story and what was the best way to interpret it with my attitude, focusing the Carmilla’s character in our mind. We decided for two different options: the first one for the singing live part with an High couture black dress, elegant, fetish, sexy and eclectic at the same time... it’s really amazing... and the second one partially taken out from old paints of past centuries... without a precise age but lost in memories... as an icon of the classic vampire’s movie... as a ghost... white as the purest flower and red as blood…it’s the innocence of evil...
- What can you tell us about the shooting of this video? Were there any strange or funny memories?
- We enjoyed lot of shooting the video so we had lot of great moments... you’ll see some in “the making of“ part that will be included in the DVD of Moonlight Waltz.
- Who wrote the lyrics for „Carmilla”? And for the rest of the album?
- Starting from "Pleasure and pain" I personally write all the lyrics, included Carmilla... but in its last part the words are by Le Fanu… taken out from the novel.
About "Fly away" instead the lyrics are by Luca Bellanova.
- „Carmilla” is the first song from „Moonlight Waltz” to be featured in a video. Will you create more videos for other songs of this album?
- Yes, We’re thinking about another video for next year…
- „Moonlight Waltz” will be released in the following months. How would you describe it?
- Moonlight Waltz is the result of an hard and long work started almost two years ago. It’s the perfect evolution of our sound well balanced between gothic melodies and a strongest attitude.. it’s full of melancholy and well structured orchestrations directed by an evil soul... spotted by some flash of light and drops of blood... It’s a descent to hell... sometimes painful, sometimes sweet but inexorable... accompanied by the amazing sound of a sad violin. In some parts there’s the reprise of old TDV atmospheres but in the new contest and with the new interpretation. It’s certainly the most complete, mature and reflective album of our career and we’re really satisfied about our work.
- You co-operated with Cadaveria, Snowy Shaw, Eva Breznikar, but also with Luca Bellanova and Classical Music Academy of Rome. How did they influenced the sound of the album, and not only the sound?
- Most of them are close friend of us in everydaylife so it was surely great living this experience together letting them giving their interpretation of our songs.
Bellanova is the black shadow behind Moonlight Waltz, he followed its realising giving his contribution to all the album orchestrations and bringing the musicians of The Classical Music Academy to execute it. He’s an artist, a professional musician with an amazing deep voice... he made the backing vocals of Moonlight Waltz and Anima Noir. Snowy Shaw as I always say, it’s an important name in the gothic metal music. Snowy worked hard with all his projects during these years and he did great albums with different bands. He’s a real artist and I loved his interpretation on Keeper of Secret, the opening song of Moonlight Waltz. All the musicians collaborated with us did a professional and interesting work and it was a pleasure working with all of them.
- This month, Beto Vasquez released „Existence”, an album which features Sonya, on „Council of My Dreams” (according to the video on YouTube, Sonya also co-operated for the lyrics of the song). How was it to co-operate with Beto Vasquez and his band?
- It was a great experience working together and being so far away at the same time. I like his project cause it keeps the metal music alive spreading it all around and working together with excellent artists from all the world. I was surely happy to be part of it. Council of my Dreams is an “epic” song and I enjoyed to sing it in a different way giving my interpretation, using my opera voice as the backing vocals and following this melody. Our fans really appreciated it and this is the most important thing.
- According to the opening scenes of the video "Carmilla", the carriage is heading towards Transylvania. Why did you choose it as the destination?
- Because we love the ancient legends and folklore about vampires that come from Transylvania so old and so beautiful. Our video is a tribute to the old classical image of the vampire for excellence... coffin, white dress, blood, wood, castles... Timeless icons of evil and fear... none modern vampire can be so amazing and seductive.
- As far as I know, you never visited Transylvania. May we see this video as a premonition for the near future? I mean, will you visit Transylvania soon, for a concert or as tourists?
- I would like to visit Transylvania as soon as possible staying there for a while to have the chance to play for our fans and to visit the woods and the castles ruins... and the cities... We’re planning our tour in east Europe so let’s see if this time we’ll be there. Vampires call vampires... we’ll let you know!
- You mentioned a tour in Europe and South America, as a part of the promotion of this album. You already scheduled a show in Turkey, which other countries will you include in this tour?
- We’ll be in Spain in few days, Portugal on January, Istanbul on February and we’re planning the Moonlight east European tour on May that probably will include also Germany. We’re planning also a tour in south America, probably after summertime, and some gigs in Russia... and festivals… Just have a look to our my space, facebook and our amazing fans sites to read more about it, next days…
Thank you for the interview and
Bloody bites
Sonya Scarlet
