EMQ’s With WEGFEREND
EMQ’s With WEGFEREND
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with French Dark Folk band, Wegferend. Huge thanks to their vocalist, Alexia, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
I’m Alexia, the lead vocalist of the band and I also play the recorder. Manon is our guitarist and backing vocalist, and Thomas is our percussionist who also plays several flutes (whistles, chalémie…), the mandola and sings from time to time. Manon and I are twin sisters so it was easy for us to start a band together. Originally, as teenagers, we wanted to play symphonic metal but we quickly realised that it was not working and Manon felt more drawn to the acoustic guitar, so folk music came to us naturally. After a few years we met Thomas who joined us and very soon, we were offered great opportunities, such as opening for Solstafir when they came to play in Toulouse in 2017. That definitely was a milestone that helped us grow as a band and many others came after that.
How did you come up with your band name?
We wanted something meaningful but that people would not be able to understand at first sight, at least most people unless they’re very interested in linguistics. Wegferend is old English for “wayfarer” and we thought that it both sounded beautiful and carried the perfect meaning for our music and the feelings we want to convey.
What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
We come from the region of Toulouse in the South of France. We think we are super lucky to have a prolific scene with one of the greatest organisers in the country (Noiser). We have lots of bands with different kinds of popularity and representing more or less all the subgenres of Metal and Rock.
We also have a big Folk scene. We are more than ten active and touring bands.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
We released an album on April 28th. It’s entitled “En Autremonde – Chapitre Second” and it naturally follows our first EP “En Autremonde – Chapitre Premier”, which we released in 2019. It’s made of seven songs that all revolve around similar themes such as freedom or transendence, themes that we hold very dear. However, we never strove to make it a concept album or anything of the sort, the themes just spontaneously flew through us onto the paper and we realised afterwards that all the songs intertwined like seven branches of the same tree. It was all quite instinctive, but to be honest, that is how we work. We are all instinctive people who rely a lot on feelings and emotions. Our writing process is a mirror of that: we never exactly know where we are going but we move step by step and eventually we find the end of the road.
Who have been your greatest influences?
It’s not easy to pick out a few because we have had a lot. We are all metal fans so you can definitely trace some of our influences down there, especially in prog and black metal. We also listen to some neo-folk. Faun, for instance, used to have a big impact on us. There are also some more traditional folk artists such as Loreena McKennit, some pop artists like Eivör, real traditional music, film or video game soundtracks… It’s really a blend of all these diverse influences.
What first got you into music?
Well, as stereotypical as it may sound, I think I have always been into music. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t sing. As a young kid I kept telling my parents that I wanted to become a singer. But in our family no one cared much for music, they just listened to what was on the radio and didn’t really try to discover new things, to go to gigs… The first time I really fell in love with music was with Evanescence’s album “Fallen” in 2003. I was 9 and it blew my mind, and it’s been a big inspiration ever since. I think that’s when I understood that music really had the power to move people and that maybe one day, I could move people too.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
I would love to collaborate with Eivör or Solstafir and I think my bandmates wouldn’t mind that. Whenever I listen to Cesair, I also think that collaborating with their violinist Sophie Zaaijer would be a great idea because she’s brilliant.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Definitely Castlefest in the Netherlands. It’s one of the best, if not the best, festivals in the world for this kind of music and atmosphere. We attended once as spectators in 2018 and we’re going again this year. It really has the power to take you to another world for four days, it’s amazing. So hopefully, we can play there in not too long a time.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
I don’t remember receiving a gift. I don’t think we’re famous enough for that, but in Paris, a kind woman gifted us some crafted beers at the merch desk! Just after the show, it was a splendid idea!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
I would start by thanking them, because their support means everything. Also, I hope they continue going to concerts, supporting bands big and small, and keeping music alive because we need it in this bleak world.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Freddie Mercury. His voice was phenomenal and what a performer…
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Creating music is definitely one of the best aspects of it, being able to channel so many emotions into a song is something powerful I think. As a very introverted person, I absolutely need that. Then of course, being on stage is a wonderful feeling. It’s like you can finally be the real you, express yourself as loudly as you want, and communicate deeply with people who connect with you for the duration of the show. It’s something special and precious. What I hate is the few days after a tour, even a very short tour. It’s so depressing to get back to “real” life with day jobs and everything.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
The use of streaming plateforms! It’s a catastrophe for artists. People don’t listen to full albums, they have no idea what making an album costs! This economic system is awful for all of us because if you’re not a famous artist you cannot make money from platforms! Even though we don’t want to get rich, producing music has a cost. We have the feeling that today, the artists are the last ones receiving something in the production chain and it’s sad.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
“Eden” by Faun is probably my most constant one, “Svartir Sandar” by Solstafir means a lot to me too, and I have to mention “Fallen” by Evanescence because I grew up with it and it definitely shaped the person and the singer that I am now. Honestly, this is an extremely tough question and I am forgetting a thousand names right now for sure. I’ll just stick with the first three that occured to me without giving it any thoughts.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
To be honest I’ve only ever listened to CDs, so CDs.
Thomas likes both vinyls and CDs, it depends on the pressing quality of the vinyl but it could be more dynamic and liveful than a CD.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
That’s a tough question because there are several best gigs depending on the contexts. The first one that comes to my mind is one of our latest gigs at Echos et Merveilles Festival last May. We played on a big outdoor stage, we had a big audience and it was a really good show! Then I have a soft spot for a gig we played in 2017, shortly after we started to exist as a band when we opened for Solstafir. It clearly isn’t our best concert ever musically speaking but the feelings were incredible.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Apart from music, I am an English teacher. I’m in love with foreign languages. Manon works in communication and Thomas is a music teacher.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
I’m choosing to answer this question the weird way, so I’m not going to mention my bandmates and my best friends. Provided that I can pick anyone, I would choose Fiona Rüggeberg (ex-Faun) because I would have a lot to learn from her, Eivör for the same reason, Robin Hobb because she wrote my favourite books and I would love to talk to her about them, J.R.R Tolkien to discuss his writings and receive a lesson on languages, and maybe Albert Einstein because even though I don’t undersand much about astrophysics, it’s fascinating.
What’s next for the band?
Since we’ve just released an album, we are planning to bring it to the stage so we are going to play a few gigs in the near future, including our first gig outside the French borders in Barcelona thanks to our friends from Trobar de Morte who invited us.
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
We use Facebook and Instagram for news and Bandcamp for music. You will find all of it here: https://linktr.ee/wegferend
Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit?
A biscuit for sure. How can it be considered a cake?
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thank you for your interest in our music, we hope you will like what we do and we hope to meet you on the road one of these days.
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