HUNGRY LUCY (CHRISTA BELLE/WAR-N)

HI! HOW ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU? War-N: Doing well thank you. Hungry Lucy is based in Ohio, USA. HELLO GUYS! „TO KILL A KING“ IS OUT AND VERY IMPRESSIVE. ARE YOU CONTENT WITH EVERYTHING? HOW ARE YOUR FEELINGS NOW AFTER WORK IS DONE? War-N: Thank you for the high praise of the album. We are both very happy with this album, both in its expressive qualities as well as the production. It’s typical of us to be pretty sick of hearing the songs by the time we complete the album mixing & mastering. I think I went 6 months before I listened to Glo after it was complete. I actually able to listen to TkaK and hear it on an emotional level already … I think this is a good sign. Christa Belle: Thanks! I feel very attached to this particular album. I, too, can listen and not be too incredibly sick of the songs now. I’m quite proud of all of our albums, but this one seems to have hit home even more than I thought it would when writing it. Now, I hear some things that I didn’t realize before and that’s kinda cool 🙂 COULD YOU PLEASE TELL OUR READERS HOW YOU BOTH GOT TO KNOW EACH OTHER? WHICH VISIONS DO YOU SHARE? War-N: Christa & I met through a mutual friend and instantly found we had an interest in similar music and art. It wasn’t until we recorded “Blue Dress” back in 1998 that we fully appreciated our musical destiny though. WHICH MUSICAL ROOTS DO YOU HAVE, WHAT ARE YOUR INFLUENCES? War-N: As a child I listened to a lot of electronically orchestrated classical music such as Wendy Carlos‘ “Switch on Bach” and Isao Tomita’s many reinterpretations. From there I got into more Pop music artists such as Gary Numan, Depeche Mode and Howard Jones. During my teen years I was listening to harsher artists such as Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly and into more experimental music by way of Severed Heads. These days I listen to artists like Goldfrapp, Zero 7, Lamb & Sarah McLachlan. Combine all that with what I hear on the radio or MTV and you get a rather twisted cocktail! Christa Belle: I have a few musical relatives, a couple of Aunts on my Father’s side, and my sisters both are musical…my older sister sings occasionally and my younger sister plays the Flute. My biggest influence is War-N, but since I was a youngster I have always loved Olivia Newton-John. She was what made me sing, quietely, in the backseat of our family car when I was little. I still look at her as one of my main influences. Presently, I am influenced by Björk, Tori Amos and more singer-songwriter type music. I always listen to lyrics first and music second. AND HOW DID YOUR COLLABORATION WITH ALFA MATRIX START? ARE YOU CONTENT WITH THEIR PROMOTIONAL WORK? IT’S A QUITE UNUSUAL CHOICE I THINK AS IT IS FAMOUS FOR ELECTRO/ EBM BANDS. War-N: Our relationship with Alfa Matrix began before its official birth. We became acquainted with Bernard and Séba through Side Line magazine who then approached us with interest in release our music via a new label they were creating. Apparitions:Revisited was actually the first release from Alfa Matrix I believe. We are indeed happy with AM’s promotional efforts. As you mentioned, we do stick out from the bulk of AM’s artist roster, so I’m sure we are a little more difficult to promote. The people behind Alfa Matrix truly believe in what we are doing and that is priceless to us. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE EVOLUTION BETWEEN “TKAK” AND “GLÖ”? War-N: The writing of these songs was more collaborative than Glo. In the past Christa and I typically wrote our individual parts separately, and then brought them together. Now we are much more comfortable to experiment as a team and edit each other’s ideas at an earlier point. I think the result is a lot stronger that way … two heads are better than one! THE ARTWORK SEEMS TO PORTRAY THE OLD JEKYLL/ HYDE-THEME. HOW DOES THIS REFLECT THE “TALE”? Christa Belle: I never really thought of it as Jekyll/Hyde, but I suppose it could be interpreted in that way. In the writing of the lyrics I just let it flow. Some songs were angry and more violent and some were soft and vulnerable. I was both when the “tale” was being written in my real life. I kept going back and forth on how strong I thought I was and how strong I eventually became. We all have two sides. Some are just more hidden. WHICH LYRICAL CONCEPT STANDS BEHIND “TO KILL A KING”? IT REMINDS ME A LITTLE BIT OF SHAKESPEARE TALES. IS THERE ANY CONNECTION? Christa Belle: There isn’t a true life connection with Shakespeare, but it definitely has that tone to it. The lyrical content was based on a relationship of mine from many years ago and the time period in which it took place. I eventually made it seem more like a “Fairytale” because I didn’t want to remember that it actually happened to me! It’s been a very cathartic album to write. I feel much lighter now. REGARDING THE TRACKS ON “TKAK” YOU HAVE MELANCHOLIC TRACKS, DREAMLIKE BUT EVEN DANCEABLE ONES (AND REMIXES). IS VARIETY A KEY OF YOUR WORK? War-N: Variety is definitely the key for us. If for nothing else than to keep us from getting bored. To us, music is music and we refuse to turn away a good idea because it doesn’t fit our style. From a marketing point of view it can go either way I suppose. One one hand, it’s a nightmare because you can’t fit it squarely into one genre, but on the other hand, each song may fit into a different genre … something for everyone! The side effect is that a listener may be attracted to Hungry Lucy through a particular song, get the album and then hear a style of music they may not have given a chance to before. Christa Belle: As War-N said, we never shy away from a song because it may not “fit” into what’s expected of us. We just write as the feelings show them selves to us. What you hear is what we felt at that time. Sometimes, however, we can think a song should sound a certain way and we’ll start writing it that way. Then, as we listen and feel a knot form in our stomach, we realize we approached it all wrong. On occasion these have turned out to be some of our best songs (i.e. “Alfred”, “My Beloved” and “Stars”). Actually, “My Beloved” was originally a throw away track!! I’m so glad we revived it! HOW DID THE COLLABORATION WITH KRISTY VENRICK (THE AZOIC) & ALEXX REED (THOUSHALTNOT) START? DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE PART OF THE SO-CALLED GOTHIC SZENE? ARE YOU MAINSTREAM OR “UNDERGROUND” OR ARE SUCH TERMS TOTALLY MEANINGLESS? War-N: I have known Kristy for years. We met while I was on tour playing drums for Deathline Int’l on a DLI/Battery tour. We have been friends ever since. Hungry Lucy toured with ThouShaltNot in 2003. Naturally, we all became friends spending a month on the road together. We knew that “My Beloved” needed a BIG choral finish and needed more vocals. We wanted to include artists we know and respect and so approached Alexx and Kristy. Thankfully they were both very willing. We could not be more pleased with the result! While stylistically we don’t really sit in any one scene, the gothic “scene” has embraced what Hungry Lucy is doing, and for that, I think we have gratefully become an honorary member. For the sake of community and like-mindedness a scene is a wonderful thing. For the sake of exclusion and elitist behaviour … well, we have no use for that! WHICH OTHER PROJECTS DO/ DID YOU HAVE? WHAT ABOUT FISHTANK NO.9 (INTERESTING BAND NAME), WHICH MUSIC DOES THIS PROJECT CREATE? War-N: Fishtank No.9 (F9) was/is my solo project. I released one album in 1997 as F9. Stylistically it is all over the place from my brand of industrial to my brand of Pop. I intended to produce another album at some point, but for now Hungry Lucy is my main priority. Christa Belle: I have had a few ideas for a vocal-only side/solo project called “Lady’s Grim”, but I only wrote two or three songs. I haven’t given up on it. I just don’t think I was ready for it yet. Perhaps I’ll try again in the future, or maybe not. Who knows? We do collaborate with a group of friends every year or two on a project called “Thorn Apple”. It’s never been released to many people or areas, but it’s very fun and fulfilling to do. We started it as a way to give our family and friends music gifts on the holidays. Some really great songs have come out of this! WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT MP3-PLATFORMS IN THE NET AS YOU USED THEM, TOO. DOES THIS KEEP AWAY THE USERS FROM ILLEGAL SITES? War-N: The initial success of Hungry Lucy was via MP3.com and through the downloading of our music. For this reason we see the music downloading phenomenon as a great means for exposure. There is a fine balance between respect for the artist and not ripping off the consumer. HAVE YOU ALREADY BEEN FEATURED ON AMERICAN MUSIC TV? IS IT EASY TO GET INTENTION THERE OR DO YOU BELIEVE TO BE MORE SUCCESSFUL OVER HERE? War-N: To my knowledge we have not been featured on US television yet. Being based in the US I can only speak for the media here. Commercial… a tough nut for indies to crack! The internet has been the best way for us to get noticed and given that it is a global media outlet … also the farthest reaching. AND WHEN WILL WE SEE YOU LIVE IN GERMANY AND WHAT CAN WE EXPECT? HAVE YOU ALREADY TOURED EUROPE OR MAYBE VISITED WAVE GOTIK TREFFEN? War-N: We would love to come and perform in Europe but we simply cannot afford it at the moment. I’m sure we will come and play before too long though. I did a small German tour while I was drumming for Deathline Int’l … but I wasn’t paying for that! 🙂 WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT BUSH RE-ELECTION AND THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN YOUR HOME COUNTRY? War-N: The people of the US have apparently spoken. Hopefully this administration can learn from past mistakes and turn some things around… speak to us again in 4 years and we’ll let you know! Christa Belle: What he said, but with a bit more pissed-off-ness 😉 WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS BESIDES MUSIC? BOOKS, MOVIES, ANY SPECIAL TIPS? War-N: Professionally I am also a web programmer which I find myself enjoying less and less. Honestly I am a shallow human being who lives and breathes music and can never get enough… ha ha! Christa Belle: Cooking is a major enjoyment of mine. I also do a lot of video work for HL and on my own. I’m currently doing a family documentary. I still do photography a lot, but I want to get back into my darkroom… I’ve gone to the darkside with digital and I feel guilty! Oh, and I read quite a bit in our off-time too. Mostly cookbooks, anything to do with Organic Gardening, and a lot of nature books on trees and such…with a bit of Magic thrown in. YOU LAST KILLING WORDS ARE? War-N: We would mainly like to thank everyone that has supported us and bought our music. It is a precious thing to be able to release your own expressions to the world. We are eternally grateful to those who allow us to do it. I would also like to invite everyone to our website (www.hungrylucy.com) and say hello. We have a fairly active message board where people can leave us a message, ask a question … or just talk about the weather! THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR TIME AND GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR STRONG EFFORT. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to be heard. As long as people keep listening … we will keep making music.