Jean-Christophe : Hello Marcela, how are you?
Marcela : Hello! I'm doing great, thanks for asking!
Jean-Christophe : The last few years have not been easy for you, on a personal and health level, are you getting better now?
Marcela : Yes, I've had some troubling times in the past couple of years... But I'm very happy to say I'm fully recovered and feeling great!
Jean-Christophe : After Stream of Passion, you embarked on two acoustic beautiful solo albums. You are coming back to metal with your new project Dark Horse White Horse, is it partly due to your withdrawal from VUUR with Anneke ?
Marcela : I guess it triggered in a way! Jord initially invited me to work with him and Ruben after we had been chatting about me leaving VUUR and what my plans were in the future... I'd never thought about it that way, but I guess it did influence the decision a bit.
Jean-Christophe : You're an amazing singer but, we find you with Ayreon, Maryan, Epica but never as a frontwoman, is that one of the reasons that makes you to launch Dark Horse White Horse?
Marcela : Not really. I don't have this need for all the lights to be focussed on me :) I just like to sing! But I do like to write music and be able to explore all the capabilities of my voice, and that is something that I can very well do at Dark Horse White Horse.
Jean-Christophe : The band's first EP is coming soon, on April the 16, how would you describe these five tracks? What are they talking about ?
Marcela : This EP is heavy, both in the music and in the lyrical content. When I was writing these tracks I was going through a pretty dark period in my life, so the lyrics are also quite dark: about giving up on life, giving in to the void. The music is pretty wild; very progressive, technical, but also rather symphonic; I'm a big fan of haunting melodies so there's a lot of that as well :)
Jean-Christophe : Can you introduce us to the musicians who are by your side, Jord Otto and Ruben Wijga ?
Marcela : Well Jord (guitars) and Ruben (keyboards) are two fine Dutch musicians who've been working together for quite a few years now; they were also together in the band ReVamp. Jord you might also know from VUUR and My Propane, and Ruben currently also plays keyboards with Blackbriar. Great guys, we can really understand each other when it comes to music and nerding out about gear and gaming :D
Jean-Christophe : Where does the name of the band come from?
Marcela : We wanted a name that showed the contrast between the very methodical, technical music and the more organic, passionate vocals. So we ended up with Dark Horse White Horse, a name I came up with inspired by the Chariot Allegory from Plato. He explains the human soul as a metaphor of a man riding a chariot that's being pulled by two horses: one white, that represents rational and moral impulse, and a dark horse, that represents the more impulsive, irrational passions.
Jean-Christophe : Is this EP a trial run to see if you find your audience (which I don't doubt because the EP is amazing) or is an album already in the works?
Marcela : We wanted to first do an EP to see what the reactions were, yes. We have some more material but are still not working towards a full album; we'll see how things go!
Jean-Christophe : How has COVID-19 affected your personal life and as an artist?
Marcela : I think I'm lucky because I haven't been affected much by it. Aside from being bored often and missing out on a couple of shows that were cancelled I feel my life hasn't been changed much. Of course I miss my family and my friends, who I haven't seen in a while, but I hope that can change soon.
Jean-Christophe : Is there any chance we'll see you on stage as soon as it will be possible?
Marcela : I sure hope so! Really looking forward to going back on stage as soon as covid-19 allows :)
Jean-Christophe : What are the other projects you are working on at the moment, new collaborations?
Marcela : Quite a few things that I unfortunately can't talk about yet! But hopefully more news on that soon :)
Rédigé par Jean-Christophe le 23/03/2021