Who is Mariko?

Formerly lead singer/violinist of Unto Ashes, Lead singer/violinist of Odalisque, a group that rose out of Unto Ashes, and guest violinist/background vocalist for Qntal.

If you have to describe your character, how would you do it?

Dark ‘n quirky.

Who are rolemodels for you in singing and why?

Sigrid Hausen/Syrah (Qntal and Estampie) For her poised stage presence and the emotional quality in her voice. I think one of the greatest things about her voice is that when you hear it, your heart just soars.

Gerlinde Sämann (Estampie and Helium Vola) and Sabine Luzenberger (Helium Vola): For the clarity and agility of their voices.  Their voices give me chills, literally and they sing so effortlessly. 

Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation): More for harder stuff.  She has a fantastic range and is one of the great soprano power belters.  I’ve been studying her style a lot recently for when I want to sing more rock influenced material. 

When I was in school, I felt very restrained in emoting through my voice.  We were constantly being told that our musical interpretations were wrong and that we should be focusing more on technique.  Naturally, it stifled my spirit slightly. After graduating, I had to do a little self discovery in order to  find my true voice again. One of the main reasons the ladies mentioned above are role models for me is their capability of putting their emotions into their singing.  I respect that a lot and I’m glad I have been able to get that ability back myself.

Until recently you sang in Unto Ashes but all good things have an end. Why did Unto Ashes stop?

Geography. As Unto Ashes is now based 1750 miles out of New York City, the commute would have been a bit rough. Technically, Unto Ashes is still producing music, though with two-thirds of the lineup (i.e. Natalia and I) gone, the sound should be quite different.

 
How do you feel that one-third continues under the Unto Ashes name?

I’m happy for him that he is continuing to do the kind of music he wants to do.  Natalia and I are wrapped up in Odalisque now and the Unto Ashes period is over for us.

What is your best memory on this period?

Definitely the Silver Swan Tour with Qntal.  We had such an amazing time and made some wonderful friends, leading to further musical endeavours.  Those three weeks on the road were probably the best of my life so far.  There’s nothing like being on tour!  The audiences were excellent and playing with Qntal was certainly a highlight!  Their music is intoxicating to listen to, so you can imagine how it is to play it!

The project actually started sooner than Natalia and I had planned, as one of our members moved quite far away. Close after his move date, we were given the opportunity to open for Within Temptation. Rather than pass this up, Natalia and I took the name Odalisque and filled out the lineup temporarily with fellow musicians from Middle Eastern-inspired group Djinn.  Due to the time constraint, we played some songs out of our old catalogue as well as some Djinn songs, which gave the show a heavy Middle Eastern influence; despite the name Odalisque, it's not really where we're headed musically. The most difficult part of the new project has been starting from scratch musically; we've had to define our new sound, acquire new gear, learn new technology, and obviously, write all new material and record it. Because of our legacy in Unto Ashes and the show at Irving Plaza, fans are flocking to our Myspace, already excited about our new output, and we've had to tell them to bear with us -- fortunately, the wait is coming to an end soon!

 
Awesome to hear all people beared with you and were patience, how was this period for you, what did you do in the meantime? It must have been an exciting period for you as well that is now coming to an end and hear peoples comment on the songs?

We have been writing during this time.  I also did some work on the project Natalia and I are doing with Michael Popp (Estampie, Qntal) during that time.  Recently in October, I played with Qntal during their performances at Faerie Con in Philadelphia and the Knitting Factory in New York City.  So it’s been a busy time. We are very excited to share our new music with everyone.  I’ve already played a raw demo of our first song to some people and so far, the reactions have been extremely positive. 

What can you tell us about Odalisque?

It’s developing into something really unique.  Natalia recently got an interest in psytrance thanks to bands like Infected Mushroom, Nystagmus and Younger Brother.  I’ve always had an interest in the electro medieval styles of Qntal and Helium Vola.  After opening for Within Temptation, a drop of metal found it’s way into our work.  The first song we will be releasing is very influenced by WT, but it’s not going to stay in that vein. What we can promise is that this music will get you moving!  Ultimately, we are doing the music we want to be doing.  We want to explore new territory and challenge ourselves musically.

How will you manage to give Odalisque an own identity, how will you blend in all these styles, seems like a hard thing to do? 

The funny thing is that the music is almost doing it itself.  The styles are coming together in this oddly unique way and I think that will be one of Odalisque’s identifying factors. 

You know, I would say the Middle Ages, but then I realized that those times were pretty much like the times now in America except the music was better back then.  And I would have probably ended up a nun which wouldn’t be much fun at all.  Maybe the 1920s in Europe so I could make Les Six a Les Sept and also hang around  with Stravinsky.  I was really drawn to that time period in Music History because so many great artists were alive and creating then.
 

You named Stravinsky, what other composers had an influence on you? 

I grew up with Mozart and Beethoven, but I really love a lot of the French composers like Poulenc, Ravel, and Debussy.  There are others such as De Prez and Palestrina all the way up to Copland and Reich, but really there are too many to list.

If you could ask a fortuneteller 1 question, what would it be?

I wouldn’t. You heard what happened to Macbeth…

You play many instruments, is there any instrument you really want to learn how to play left?

I’d love to learn to play Fidel or Nyckelharpa.  Hurdy-Gurdy would be fun too.  I had thought of learning the Koto as well (just to explore the music of my roots), but there you have four already and I’m still trying to improve my violin playing!

So will you ever start to learn to play these instruments (or do we have to ask the fortuneteller?)

I hope to when I have more time and money.  Although if I randomly come into contact with them at some point in time, it will be hard to keep me away from them!  So if Madame Fortuneteller has a Nyckelharpa lying around, I hope she doesn’t mind me partaking!

What is the difference between singing in a concert setting and a musical (musical theatre) setting and what do you prefer?

In Musical Theatre, you play a character in the context of a show.  You’re also singing the music of one composer or group of composers in a specific style. There are specific things you need to say and specific blocking (sometimes dancing) that you have to do . In a concert setting, you can be more yourself.  There is the freedom to go where you want and say what you want.  You also can directly interact with the audience as opposed to maintaining the “fourth wall” which you do in Musical Theatre.  I do like both and while I prefer a concert setting, I find that my Musical Theatre experience helps my concert performance.  I like to get into the character of each song that I sing, and I think it also makes it more interesting for the audience.

What is gothic music for you and in what way do you feel connected to the gothic scene?

To me, gothic music is music with that deliciously dark side to it.  I think it’s fascinating and makes the music so much more interesting.  On a normal day, I’m probably the least “gothic” person you would ever meet, but I feel the music allows me to explore the darker side of myself.

What are these darker sides of yourself?

If I shed some light on them…they wouldn’t be dark any more, would they?

Whenever I’m upset, playing the violin usually makes me feel better, although I have to really convince myself sometimes.  Writing music also is an outlet, although it usually comes out in these generic pop songs.  No idea why.  Music is the common denominator though. 

In Odalisque you work with Natalia again what is the secret of the chemistry between both of you?

She’s my sister!  Just kidding, but she’s pretty close.  We really bonded during the Qntal tour last year and get along really well both personally and musically

When can people finally hear some music of Odalisque?

Soon I promise!  We’re almost done with our first and the rest will follow soon after.  We are planning on recording our first EP in collaboration with Philadelphia electronic group Brainclaw.  Hopefully we will be releasing it sometime in mid 2008.

Brainclaw is a band which music deviates alot from yours, how is this collabaoration being realized?

We met Brainclaw through a friend during a visit to Philadelphia where Natalia was giving a reading of her  novel The Mirror.  We went over there to visit and started talking about recording the album together.  Their production is so good and they have such great electronic ideas.  We are planning on taking our music to a more electronic place, so a collaboration with them seemed an obvious choice.  They’re great people and we’re really looking forward to working with them!

You already performed with Odalisque, in what way does it deviate from the Unto Ashes concert?

Our first concert with Odalisque had a completely different lineup -- six onstage instead of three. At least a third of us were playing percussion at all times, which raised the energy level quite a bit. As we were opening for Within Temptation, we were bursting with excitement, unrestrained by the sombre gloom that characterised Unto Ashes, jumping around, whipping up the crowd (which is the opening band's job, after all) -- we also had belly dancers onstage so that really livened up the show.

Any last words for the readers?

Thank you so much for your patience and continued support.  It’s been an interesting year with many changes and believe me, some really great and exciting things are yet to come!

www.myspace.com/sarahmnewman
www.myspace.com/odalisquemusic

pictures taken by Daniela Vorndran
www.black-cat-net.de