It's going fast for the Dutch Gothic band Stream Of Passion. They just released their new record The Flame Within through Napalm Records and they play numerous gigs to promote it. Luckily singer Marcela found some time to answer our questions about the past, the present the future and some other things...

Marcela: We went through a lot of changes, including a few changes on the band line-up. Looking for the right musicians, getting to know each other musically and defining a new direction for our music was a long process. We also looked for a new record label and signed a new deal, that also took a bit of time.

Q: Weren’t you afraid the people would forget about you?

Marcela:
Of course. We knew that the more time it took us to bring a new album out, the harder we would have to work to get ourselves back in the picture. But we don’t regret taking all the time we needed to put the new album together; we worked on the new tracks until we were completely happy and went through all extents to make it as good as possible.

Q: Why did you pick “The Flame Within” as the title for your record?

Marcela: The flame within represents the inner strength, the drive that moves you to keep going forward and achieving your goals. Some of the lyrics of the album are actually inspired on the whole process of putting the album together, so we thought this would be a very suiting title.

Marcela: Not really. My only idea while writing lyrics concerning their message is that hopefully people will be able to relate to the words, imprint their own life experiences on them and make them their own.

Q: How were the reactions on this record so far?

Marcela: They’ve been great so far! We’ve received lots of compliments from fans and press so we’re very pleased. To also receive praise from someone like Arjen, who used to lead the band and who we all deeply respect as a musician and songwriter, it’s just fantastic.

Q: You played already a couple of
shows to promote this new record. How were the reactions?

Marcela: Also very positive. On every show we’ve had so far we’ve been happily surprised to see more people that we expected; and we can see everyone in the audience really getting into the music, cheering, going crazy and singing a long. We’re thrilled!

Q: You also signed a deal with Napalm Records? Why did you pick them and what do you expect from a label like them?

Marcela: We knew just how much experience Napalm has in the metal and gothic scenes. They’ve been around for a while and trully know how to reach their audiences, so we were convinced they’d be able to do a great job promoting our music. And so far we’re really satisfied with all their work and all the effort they’ve been putting on the album.

Q: Any big dreams you want to reach with the band?

Marcela: The dreams that most bands have, I presume! Playing for huge crowds, touring around the world and be able to perform as much as possible. Performing makes us incredibly happy and we really enjoy it, so the more and bigger the better!

Q: I read a review on this record that said you covered Radiohead’s “All I Know”.
I ‘m pretty sure it’s the “Street Spirit” song.
Any special reasons to pick this classic track?

Marcela: The cover is “Street spirit” indeed. We thought it would be fun to record a cover song, but just didn’t know which one; we had been thinking a lot about it until Stephan our guitar player came up with the idea of doing Street spirit and sent everyone a demo with the heavy drums and guitars. We were all immediately very excited with the idea, and the rest of the arrangements just came out really naturally.

Q: What are the plans for the near and distant future?

Marcela: We’ve got a lot of gigs planned in Holland and Belgium, and hopefully we can soon incorporate some other European dates to our schedules. Furthermore we’re going on with writing music and continue working on the band’s sound.

Q: Is it hard to combine the band with your personal lives?

Marcela: Sometimes there’s little time left to hang out with friends and family, but I guess those are the sacrifices we have to make. You’ll never hear us complain, though! And because all of us band members are really good friends and have a great time together it never seems like a burden being busy with the band most of the time.

Q: A last cliché one : The Final Words so feel free to add something we didn't ask for!

Marcela: Nothing super special, just a big thanks to you and a warm hello to all readers! Hopefully we’ll be able to see you all in a venue near you soon and have some fun.

Thanks a lot for your time, and good luck with the band!

Marcela: Thanks!

http://www.napalmrecords.com
http://www.streamofpassion.com
http://www.myspace.com/streamofpassionband