Octavia Sperati pour l'album "Grace Submerged"

1. Hi! To begin, can you present the band and sum up your story so far for those who don't know you yet?

[Tone] Octavia Sperati took shape in Bergen (Norway) in 2000, basically as a result of new friendships and common musical preferences. The first line-up consisted of Silje Wergeland (vocals, synth), Trine C. Johansen (bass), Bodil Myklebust (guitar) and Gyri Losnegaard (guitar). In 2001 Silje invited me (Tone Midtgaard) to replace her on keys, completing the line-up which (with the exception of a Spinal Tap-ish trail of past drummers) equals the band as we know it today. Our current drummer (witch we really hope we can keep!) is Ivar Alver, who joined us in the beginning of 2006.

In 2002 we released a self-financed, low budget 5-track demo “Guilty”, and in October 2003 we entered studio again starting the recordings of songs included on our first album “Winter Enclosure”. The promotional recordings paid off, as the song “Lifelines of Depths” was included as one of the tracks on Music Export Norway's first ever metal compilation CD. Late 2004 Octavia Sperati signed a record deal with Candlelight Records, home to some of Norway's best metal bands, and in December 2004 we entered Earshot studio with producers Herbrand Larsen and Arve Isdal (Enslaved, Audrey Horne) to finish off the recordings of “Winter Enclosure” witch was released on May 9th, 2005.
The album was rewarded with great reviews, and after years of playing gigs and festivals in Norway, we finally took the step out of our homeland, and went on a “Winter Enclosure tour” in the UK in June 2005. In September we returned to the UK as tour support to metal legends Paradise Lost, and in December we was granted success as support act on Cradle of Filth's UK tour together with legendary Cathedral.

In the beginning of 2006 we found ourselves once again short of a drummer, and we needed to take some time to find the right person for the band. After six months we finally could introduce our fourth drummer, Ivar Alver. The last year has been focused on the recording of our second album “Grace Submerged” witch was released in may. As with “Winter Enclosure” we have used producers Herbrand Larsen and Arve Isdal in Earshot studio, and also Bjørnar Nilsen has assisted during the recording process. All the keys has this time been recorded in MOF studio with producer Morfeus (Limbonic Art, Dimension f3h), in Sandefjord, where I live. In addition, Herbrand Larsen collaborated with producer Geir Luedy on the mixing.

The band hit the road again and supported Amon Amarth and Finntroll in UK and Ireland April 2007. Launch party 16th of May for our new album took place in our home town Bergen at Garage, before we headed for Stavanger, and thereafter UK again for more shows, among others supporting legendary FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM.


2. Could you tell us more about the meaning of the band's name? At the beginning, I read that you just called "Octavia", is that right?

[Trine] Yes, that is correct. The name Octavia is taken from the most beloved sister of the Emperor Augustus of Imperium Romanum. Octavia was wise, beautiful and strong, `a pearl among women', according to her brother. A rival to Cleopatra, she was just as beautiful (or even more) and the story tells that she was just as clever as her famous brother. Octavia was loved and admired by the people of the Roman Empire, meaning whole Europe at that time. We like the idea of using the name of a woman who symbolizes both strength and integrity and the grand era that she was a part of.
When we discovered that there was another band called Octavia, we added the `surname' of another Octavia; Octavia Sperati. She was an actress at the local theatre, and is now haunting the building. We usually just use the short version of the name, but officially it's Octavia Sperati.


3. There's not a lot of band with 5 girls in the metal sphere. When you started "Octavia Sperati", did you want to create a feminine band or was it just a combination of circumstances?

[Trine] We were friends wanting to start a band, and gender has never been an issue to us. In the periods when we have been looking for new drummer, which we have had to do a couple of times…(spinal tap?), we have never applied for anything but a good drummer!


4. You're often classified as a gothic metal band but you might not agree with that. How would you define your style? To your mind, what do you bring more to music that the others?

[Trine] I know many people have problems defining our music, and I understand it can be difficult because we don't play just one type of metal, but I think the Kerrang!/Metal Hammer journalist Dom Lawson had a good description once: ‘Extravagant, dramatic doom with a rock ‘n roll heart.


5. So your second album "Grace Submerged" has been released late May through Candlelight Records. What has changed between these 2 years and what do you think of your first album "Winter Enclosure" today?

[Trine] I would say that Grace Submerged has a darker and heavier expression than Winter Enclosure. So the music can perhaps easier be classified as a more doom-influenced now? (I`m sure a lot of people has a lot of different meanings about that though :) ). In these two years we have developed both as musicians and band, and we have Ivar as a new member, all which have influenced the music.


6. What can we expect from this new album? Do you have a favourite song?

[Tone] We wanted a few frames on the songs on this album, just to put it a bit in perspective. To us the songs feel more mature, and we got a more powerful sound on this one. I think the songs on this record are heavier, and at the same time some have a more “rocky” approach. We still have that doom influence underneath it all.
When it comes to a favourite song I think it is difficult to pick just one, because I am quite happy with them all :) As I listen to the record now, I also realise that some of the songs I liked the least in the recording process now are among my favourites! Some songs just grow on you… It feels like I have different favourites for different occasions. “Going North” is absolutely my live playing favourite just now, and I am also very happy with our re-recordings of “Guilty Am I”, and “Deprivation”. I love the lyrics on “The Final Rest”, and I am also quite happy with our version of “Don't believe a word”. As you can see, I just can't stop – I like them all.


7. What are the themes developed in your lyrics and is there a concept behind "Grace Submerged"? Where does your inspiration come from?

[Tone] We are not a political band, it is very hard to not be influenced by everything you read or see on the news. Mainly all the religious fights from poor countries, both economically and culturally, towards our world are themes that makes Silje, who writes the lyrics, want to speak out. But at the same time the right of speech is threatened. It all comes down to those people being poor and unhappy and often lack knowledge of what they actually are fighting against. As you can see on the front there is the planet about to be “going under”. One of the things we mean by that is to mirror how we as human beings are capable of destroying the beauty surrounding us, both physically and psychologically. It might sound like a cliché, but it is still very real. Also two of the songs are taken from our first EP. Silje went through a bad time experiencing the death of a close friend of hers. This person was also close to three of the other girls of Octavia, and the lyrics on the EP were basically her working herself trough that. So in general the lyrics aren't very happy-happy hehe ;)


8. 2 tracks of this album are taken from your first demo "Guilty" (2002): "Deprivation" and "Guilty Am I". Did you have to change anything to make them fit the atmosphere of the album?

[Tone] “Guilty Am I” we have kept almost unchanged, but the recording this time is of course much better than the one we did on our demo five years ago, and I we play it a lot better now J I also think Silje has done some amazing things with her vocals on that song this time, witch really has made the song much better. The song is not very much changed, but it is improved!
Deprivation is much more rearranged. Some new parts are added, and some are taken out. The changes was not made to make the song fit the atmosphere of the album, it was just a wish we had, to remake an old song witch we felt had more potential than in the original version.


9. Finally, was it hard to lead this album to an end?

[Tone] Yes, and I guess it always is. You always feel that things could have been done better, and there will always be new ideas that you wish there where time to develop. But you have to stop at some time; otherwise you will be in the studio forever. I think it is a good thing to feel the need to always do better, then you have something to strive at. In the end, I am still very pleased with the result, and I hope that others will be to!


10. Is there a tour to promote this new album? Do you envisage to come to France?

[Tone] We have already done some gigs in Norway and England, but we hope to be much more on the road in the fall. We are working on getting a tour in Europe, and hopefully we will come to France as well, we would really love to!


11. I should be shameful for this one: is it hard to live with 4 other girls 24/7 on tour?

[Tone] What a strange question… you should be shameful! No, it is not hard at all. I think the main thing for all bands that go on tour is that everybody has to get along for it to work. The five girls and the boy in Octavia Sperati are all good friends, and we enjoy each others company. We have great fun together, and I am always looking forward to spend time with them!


12. What do you do for a living apart from the band?

[Tone] Some of us work, and some of us are students. It is of course hard to pursuit a working career and a music career at the same time, so we all try to have jobs that allows us to be flexible so we can spend as much time as possible on the music. This means that some of us have university degrees that still have not been put to use very much….


13. What are you listening to these days? Any good metal (or not metal) albums to recommend?

[Tone] We are six people in the band, and our musical influences are therefore many. Bands we all can agree on are Black Sabbath, Metallica, Slayer, Type O'Negative and Faith No More among others. For me some personal favourites in the metal scene are Behemoth and Nile, and I would also recommend the forthcoming albums from Dimension f3h, and Limbonic Art. Besides metal I like to listen to Tori Amos, and Joni Mitchell, and also classical music like Grieg and Beethoven.


14. And to finish, an interesting question for our male readers: who has not a boyfriend yet?

[Tone] On this question you will just have to keep on wondering! We do not use interviews as personal ads! I really hope the readers are more interested in our music than in our personal life…