[Interview conducted October 2004]

Combining the force of nature with the power of love, songstress Liv Kristine has created a heady concoction indeed with her new band.  After her unceremonious dismissal from Norwegian goth-metal legends Theatre of Tragedy, Liv teamed up with her husband’s band Atrocity to form Leaves’ Eyes and immediately drafted a potent debut called Lovelorn.  Comprised of heavy riffing, sweet melodies, and melancholic keyboards, the album is sparked into life by Liv's ethereal vocals and thoughtful lyrics.  With Lovelorn on the shelves, a follow-up already in the works, and a solo album due out later this year on Roadrunner Records, it seemed like the perfect time to track Liv down for some questioning.

I see you just completed some tour dates with Atrocity and Battlelore – how was that?
We finished the first half of the tour; we toured in Germany and Scandinavia.  It went very well.  We had about twenty concerts, but we played two concerts in a row because Leaves' Eyes played before Atrocity every night (laughs), so we had much to do.  Unfortunately, Slayer and Slipknot are touring at this time as well, so we lost a couple of people in the audience because of that, but that's okay, I respect that, they're great bands.

I’ve always loved your voice and you sound better than ever on the new album.  Do you do anything to stretch your vocal abilities?
Yes, definitely.  This is a part of my profession, trying to get better, trying to... I'm also a perfectionist.  If I start out with something, I want to make it better every time.  What really gives me a lot of new ideas is when I take part on different projects with other bands, for example.  I also spend a lot of money on buying records from other bands and artists, just to...  it might sound strange, but I try to imitate other singing styles.  This is how it all started about twenty-five years ago - I'm 28 now - so at the age of 3, I started imitating other people's singing voices.  I never took any singing lessons and I never did any vocal training, I just imitated other people's voices, trying to sing like other people.  So this is how I developed and of course I get a lot of input from the other bands I work with.  Like I did a couple of months ago, I worked with Cradle of Filth for the first time in my life, and that was something new for me as well, but it meant new influences, new knowledge, and I collect all of this and I try to get better.  On the first Leaves' Eyes album, I was pregnant during the recording, so my breathing technique changed, I guess due to the weight of the baby.  So the singing technique also changed and I was able to sing in a classical manner, which I hadn't done so much before.  So I took it serious and tried it out on Lovelorn and I enjoyed it very much.  I hope it will stay (laughs), but I think so.  I did some operatic voices for the Atrocity album as well.  So the pregnancy definitely had a positive influence on my singing technique.

Were you concerned at all about how the pregnancy would affect your singing beforehand?
I was a bit concerned, yeah, because I knew that you had a lot more to carry so it might get harder to hold the tones.  Your breathing might get blocked easier or earlier than what you are used to, but this didn't happen.  And I had heard from other female singers who had babies themselves, saying the same, that the pregnancy actually helps you when it comes to breathing and singing technique.

Even though you became a mother last year, it seems like you’ve been just as busy as ever.
Well, I thought I would be as busy as ever… (laughs)  I finished my studies last year, so that was finished, and I saved a lot of time through not having to go to the university any more.  Then I was kicked out of my former band, Theatre of Tragedy, which wasn't a positive thing, and it came out of the blue.  It happened all of a sudden, I don't know if you know the story.  I was kicked out by a message on their homepage one night.  Very strange, I wasn't warned or anything.  I just hoped that they would call and tell me that it was a joke, but after a couple of weeks, you know it's not a joke anymore.  I stood there wondering, well, what am I doing now?  Should I stop singing or maybe try and get a new band together?  So that's when it got honest with Leaves' Eyes.  I saved time because I don't have to go to Norway that often and practice with Theatre of Tragedy which I used to do and I don't have any touring with Theatre of Tragedy anymore, so actually I manage very well combining family life and career.  It really functions very well I must say and I have never been as happy as I am now, so I hope it will stay this way.  This is really what I always wanted to achieve, having a family and continuing with my musical career, so this is the time of my life.  (laughs)  So I just hope and pray that it will stay this way.

I read that you signed a deal with Roadrunner for your upcoming solo album.  What made you decide to go with them?
I signed a solo deal with Roadrunner Records a couple weeks ago.  I'm happy that we got so far because, unfortunately, we had to fight in front of court for years and years to get back the rights to do another solo album.  That was not very nice, so I'm happy that I got my rights back and am free to do whatever I want to.  It was just great to finally get everything settled, because I have a couple of songs ready for the next album but I had to wait until I had my rights back.  But now we're ready for a second solo album.

Are those the songs that are up on the web page, the demo versions?
There are a couple of demo versions on the home page, but they will be a bit different than that.  I think those songs are a couple of years old already.  The album will be released in about one year.

Do you have an idea of how it is going to sound or is it still in the process of being written?
Mmmm, well….

How would you like it to sound?
It's going to be more atmospheric, dark, pop.  I think it will be a bit like Madonna's "Frozen," something like that.  But we will include more classical stuff and of course work a lot on the vocals.

Also, I really loved the Deus ex Machina album.  It was very diverse but I think it had some really strong songs and performances on it.  What are your feelings about that album looking back on it?
I'm happy about the album, but I haven't listened to it for a long time, due to the court case.  Maybe it is time to sit down and listen to it because everything is resolved. (laughs)

How did you end up with Roadrunner?
We know some of the people working for Roadrunner Records, we've known them for years, and then I did guest vocals for Cradle of Filth for the track "Nymphetamine," so then everything came together.

You mentioned finishing your studies - is there anything else that you might like to study at the university in the future?
Well, my favorite subject now is language acquisition, working with babies, but this was only a little part of my studies.  But I was happy to write my dissertation on this subject and I would like to learn more about it, to maybe study it as a subject itself, just language acquisition.  Maybe going abroad, but as I said, maybe I need another life. (laughs)

You have gone through several different looks over the years.  Obviously the music comes first, but how much time do you spend working on the image and do you enjoy that aspect of your career?
To be honest, I hardly spend any time working on my image.  It's like how I feel at that point of time when I have to go shopping, buying new stuff for the next tour and photo sessions, so it just depends on how I feel actually.  I feel at the moment that I've reached a point in life where I'm very comfortable with everything, I'm very happy.  So at this point in time I wouldn't like to change anything, I would like it to stay this way.  During the last couple of years, there haven't been any drastic changes.  But of course, everybody looks different after ten years (laughs) in this business.  I mean, Madonna changes her image for every record, so…

What is next for you and do you think you will make it over to the US for a tour?
We will continue the European tour in November/December, we finish that, and then we will do a South American tour in March.  We are planning to play a couple of shows in the US and Canada as well after the South American tour, so as far as I know, we will be able to do this.  I don't know exactly in which states we will play, but I'm 99% sure it will be about 6 or 7 shows  I played at the Milwaukee fest with Atrocity some years ago, that was my only time in the US, and I have played in Mexico about three times.  So it is time to play a tour in the US and Canada.

Do you think you will tour for the solo album as well?
I have to. (laughs)  But it will be of course after the release of the album, so it will be at the end of 2005 or beginning of 2006.

Sounds like you have plenty to look forward to.
Yeah, I am looking forward to performing my solo album and of course to play with Leaves' Eyes in the US and South America and Canada.  We had a great response from the audience here, so we really had a good time on tour.

[For more of this interview, check out issue #28 of Outburn magazine]

http://www.leaveseyes.com
http://www.livkristine.de

LEAVES' EYES is:
Liv Kristine Espenæs - Vocals
Alex Krull - Vocals
Mathias Röderer - Guitar
Thorsten Bauer - Guitar
Chris Lukhaup - Bass
Martin Schmidt - Drums