EMQ’s With EDENYA
EMQ’s With EDENYA
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview with French Atmospheric Progressive Rock band, Edenya. Huge thanks to Marco and Ingrid 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?
MARCO: Our Name is EDENYA.
We play atmospheric progressive rock with folk and symphonic influences.
Before EDENYA, I was mainly in a rock/metal band called REMEDIA. This band lasted about ten years.
EDENYA was initially only a side project stated in 2010, an instrumental project, very influenced by film music. I didn’t really have any ambition for this project, I was just doing it for fun. After a few years, I decided to work with a singer and the project suddenly became much more serious and ambitious.
We released a self-titled EP in 2017, two albums “Silence” in 2020 and “Another Place” in 2023 that have been very well received by critics all over the world.
We did our first concerts for “Another Place”, only in France, so I hired a drummer, a bassist and a violinist for that.
We will release a new album “The Secret Destination You Are Looking for” on August 17th.
How did you come up with your band name ?
MARCO: We worked a few years without a name. Before we released our first EP, I suggested different names to Ida Iro, the first singer of EDENYA. She chose this one.
EDENYA refers obviously to the Garden of Eden and the story of Adam and Eve.
The goal was to find a name that evokes dreams, reverie.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
MARCO: We are near Paris in France.
There are a lot of rock and metal bands there, but there’s not enough support, especially from the media that mainly promote hip hop. It’s very difficult to break through.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
MARCO: Our latest release is our single “Foreign Ground” from our upcoming album “The Secret Destination You Are Looking for” which will be released on August 17th.
Who have been your greatest influences?
MARCO: I listen to a bit of everything from pop and rock to death metal, classical, or blues. I like The Gathering, Dead Can Dance or Archive, as well as Tool or Opeth. As a movie lover, my inspirations also come from film music. I’m a particular fan of John Williams’ work.
INGRID: Jeff Buckley was a massive influence in my life, and it opened my eyes to what music could be, with many influences from heavy rock to jazz. Later, I discovered Björk, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, and Sinead O’Connor who is a role model for me, as she sang in so many styles and different collaborations. Her open mind, her rebellion against the music industry, and her pure sensibility are still an example for me.
What first got you into music ?
MARCO: When I was a child, I learnt music theory and how to play the piano. At that time, I listened to a lot of Eric Clapton and Dire Straits. In my teens, I loved the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but I stopped playing music completely at that point. It was when I was nineteen that I decided to buy an electric guitar after discovering bands like Stratovarius and The Gathering. These were bands that really impressed me, with incredible musicians !
And soon after I decided to look for musicians to start a rock band.
INGRID: I never learnt music as a child. I wanted to draw cartoons and anime. But I sang while drawing. I shaped my voice with no real conscience, just instinct and some female artist models as a teen. Later, when I discovered rock music, it was a catharsis and it helped me, it’s still a therapy. It made me feel stronger.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
MARCO: I would be Anneke van Giersbergen, I love her.
INGRID: I’d like to collaborate with PAIN OF SALVATION and Daniel Gildenlöw, and SOEN, and the French band KLONE. And LOREENA McKENNITT. Sweet dreams…
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
MARCO: It would be Rock en Seine, it’s a great festival and it’s near my home !
INGRID: I love the mythic French festival INTERCELTIQUE DE LORIENT
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
MARCO: I’ve never received a gift from a fan, just money or kind words !
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
MARCO: Thank you for your support over the years and for your open-mindedness.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
MARCO: That would be Freddie Mercury, that guy was an alien !
INGRID: JEFF BUCKLEY, of course, the most gracious singer and musician. I wish I could have experienced his hypnotic presence on stage.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
MARCO: I love playing concerts, writing music, working on arrangements, and getting feedback from fans about my music.
I hate the rest that has nothing to do with music : social networks, management, administration…
INGRID: I love meeting many different artists and collaborating with them in various ways.
However, I don’t like to expose myself constantly, and have always protected myself from social media. It’s insane that even as a singer, you need to feed the social beast to catch attention.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
MARCO: Oh, I wouldn’t change one thing but everything !
Being a musician is very complicated these days. Finding gigs without a network is very complicated, if not impossible. Making money with your band is also very difficult, because album sales and streaming revenues are very low. People you can trust in the music industry are very rare, and there are often crooks !
I think that the music industry is very closed and doesn’t give much chance to bands that aren’t lucky enough to be promoted. If I could, I would at least change that.
INGRID: Close SPOTIFY and all the music platforms with the same economic rules. It ruins music, creativity and artists. It’s exhausting for everybody.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
MARCO: “How to measure a planet?” by The Gathering.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs or Downloads?
MARCO: CD!
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
MARCO: I think it was the concert at the Péniche Antipode in Paris that we did last September.
INGRID: When I was a “J-Pop” singer, in another musician life, I had a lot of fun on stage in Japan Expo, and some conventions like that. Pure joy.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
MARCO: I will take care of abandoned cats. I’m fond of cats !
INGRID: I’m not only a singer, already. I’m a mother, a worker, trade unionist in Education, a feminist.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
MARCO: Famous people ? I would say : Anneke, Naomi Watts, David Lynch (RIP), John Williams, Ozzy Osbourne.
INGRID: Jack Black, Jim Carrey, Takeshi Kitano, Philipe Katerine, Whoopi Goldberg …
What’s next for the band?
MARCO: The release of our new album.
We will also be playing at our first major festival in August, the Crescendo Festival.
We planned new concerts in France.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Edenyaband
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/edenyaband
Shop : https://edenyashop.bigcartel.com
YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@edenyaofficial
Bandcamp : https://edenya.bandcamp.com
There’s a long-standing food-based debate here in the UK. And we’d like your help. So… A Jaffa cake – is it a cake or a biscuit? Discuss!
MARCO: Oh it’s a very serious debate! It’s a cake!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
MARCO: Thank you ! To your readers, do not hesitate to listen to us if you like the tracks. You will probably like EDENYA if you like atmospheric music with a beautiful female voice.
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