Silene

The band was formed in the fall of 2004 to bring their own personal touch into the dark scene of Finnish gothic music. SILENE derives their musical influences from the traditional Gothic Rock, but dont be afraid to spice their music up with the elements of punk, pop, classical music, or any other genre that suits their tastes.

Tell us a bit about the genesis of the band, whose idea was it to get things together? Had any of you previous experience in playing with any other acts before this?
The story of SILENE started in the fall of 2004 when our drummer Pawel and an ex-bass player Harry asked Nauku and Toby to play guitar and keyboards into a Siouxsie and The Banshees cover band, music loved by them all. Soon after getting together, we found Katinka for vocals, and the line-up was set. It didn't take long before we decided to widen up our act and started to make songs of our own. "107 Raven Road" was our first own song, introduced by Harry, and it has stayed in the live set ever since, along with some Siouxsie songs. Our debut EP “107 Raven Road” saw the light in 2006 and the second EP “In The Middle” in 2008. In the summer of 2010, Harry decided to pursue his own musical ambitions as a guitarist and left the band. After a while, Antti joined the band to replace Harry as the bass player, and so the story continues...
SILENE has not been the first band of the members. Toby and Nauku spent several memorable years in another Finnish gothic rock band, Two Witches, and Toby has also played guitar as a tour musician with a German based gothic band Love Like Blood. In his early days, Toby played in Finnish punk bands like Kuolleet Kukat, Fucking Finland and Marionetti. Currently Toby is also a guitarist in The Damned cover band, Curtain Call. Before SILENE, Pawel has played drums in Two Witches, and has also played with other gothic bands like Dancing Golem and Fury Raven. Antti has on his turn played with a Finnish post-punk band called Suruaika and currently also plays bass in Curtain Call and in a gothic influenced band Wreckdance. Katinka has performed and song live since her childhood, so she actually has the longest history of live performances, albeit not gothic :). So there’s a lot of experience behind this group.

Which is the current line up?
Current line-up is: Antti - bass, Katinka - vocals, Nauku - keyboards, Pawel - drums and Toby - guitar.

What would you consider the music of Silene  to be classified as if you had to be placed into a genre?
SILENE gets their musical inspiration from traditional gothic rock but perhaps with a lighter twist. This is not the whole truth, however, since in the songs one can also hear elements of Katinka's classical education, Toby's punk background and Harry's more poppish touch. Gothic rock being the main driver, the repertoire is still quite a mix up of different sounds, yet all distinctively 'Silene'. This is something that is valued, not only by us, but also by our fans.

In 2008 you release your second Ep  "In The Middle" Give me some more details and what was the source of inspiration behind the creation of it?
There was no real driver behind making the EP, it was just time to put something out again. We already had new songs in our pockets and decided to get them out for fans and friends, too. The interesting part in our recordings is that usually each song is written by a different member of the band. It actually is the richness for the band that all members are capable of making songs because it brings more versatility to the music.

Which are the main themes of your songs? Who writes your lyrics?
Music-wise, the themes and musical nuances vary depending on who writes the songs but lyrics are mostly written by Katinka and earlier also by Harry and tell melancholic stories of life, love, pain and suffering.

Are there any plans for a new release in the near Future?
Absolutely! We already have new material which we perform live, and the next step is to make a full length album. But as we all know, recording and pressing CDs is not cheap without a publisher, so it is yet to be seen when the new album sees the light. If the stars are benevolent this should happen during 2011.

What emotions do you hope to bring across through your music?
We hope to play music which people can enjoy, regardless of their musical preferences. This does not mean that we'd like to woo everyone - the fan base is after all mostly gothic - but make music that touches the souls of people. And most importantly, to make people have fun with us. We don't take things too seriously - be goth and weep by the candle light (perhaps excluding our new bassist outside the moment of being on stage :) - and hope that our listeners also get the same feeling through our music and live shows.

How would you describe the musical chemistry between the band members?
At the moment, the members live quite far apart, in different cities, which makes the gettings together always happy occasions, music and personality wise. All of us are fairly easy going people, so big clashes within the band are not even tend to happen. We all enjoy the music we make and actually all songs introduced by any member have been taken in without dispute, even though we are not too homogeneous in regard of our favorite musical preferences.

What are the best and worst things about being in a band?
Haha, are there bad things too? Well, seriously, the positive side in being in a band is without a doubt the possibility to express yourself and your musical ambitions, and to show this enthusiasm to our fans, too. It's not the money (what money? :) that drives us but the passion for music. And to spend time and have a great time together!
The negative part of being in a somewhat unknown band within a marginal genre is the lack of recognition of all the hard work and soul we give to this thing. We do not make many gigs, so the boringness of touring and sitting day after day in a minibus is yet to be experienced together.

How important is the band for your lifes?
As cliché as it may sound, SILENE gives us all the possibility to do something we all believe in and love, music! It is also a damn good excuse to look good, haha.

What is your view on Social Media sites (myspace,facebook,twitter), how do you think they impact the music industry?
Silene is not part of any other social media than MySpace, and we must admit that for a small band like us, it is one of the rare opportunities to get our music heard around the world. You found us too, right? ;) For bands like ours, who are not part of any big musical enterprise or within the music industry, these social medias provide a channel to get closer to people we would not be able to reach otherwise. As a music distribution channel, it is important to us.Having said all that, there's also a downside in this so called social media. We love to have the actual physical CD/LP/whatever product of the band we like, instead of some less personal internet-based download, so in that sense, a good old-fashioned publications from bands will always beat the social media offerings :).

How would you describe one of your shows for someone who hasn’t seen you live?
We are definitely on our best on live! We sound a great deal better and are more in our element, because being on the stage really gives us the spark that cannot be achieved in a studio surroundings. Studio recordings can never capture the spirit and the enthusiasm we have about what we do, so you better come and see us live to really experience the 'Silene sound'.

What  has been the greatest challenge the band has faced up until today?
To tell the truth, we haven’t faced any real, earth-moving challenges yet. One challenge yet to overcome is to get our songs in air. In these days of pre-set, record company controlled, playlists, our songs are only played on the marginal and independent radio stations. To reach a wider audience is very difficult.

Would you like to add anything?
We'd all like to wish the readers of Subexistance and the crew all the best! And thank you, Kostas, for this interview, it really means a lot to us! And do visit our sites to learn more about SILENE:
http://www.silene.in
http://www.myspace.com/sileneband
Greetings, SILENE!

Kostas Sotiriou