Hegt, Liselotte (Cirrha Niva) (June 2002)

A Liaison With Cirrha Niva's Liselotte Hegt

It's almost evident that nowadays the main characteristic of music prowess is (wrongly) considered image. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that we're talking about art rock, as this genre made a lot of headlines in the early seventies but it slowly disappeared from the radar screen. However in the last few years we have seen a little resurgence of the great movement, thanks also to new talents like Cirrha Niva, a Dutch band out now with a 360° concept album that will probably captivate more than one listener. Friendly bass player Liselotte Hegt, just returned from a small trip in Sweden, is our speaker regarding the latest band news.

Igor Italiani: Hi Liselotte. So, how was your trip to Sweden? Did everything go right?

Liselotte Hegt: Oh, it was great, of course. The weather was good, too, even if it rained at week's end. However me and the band are feeling good, real good, 'cause in a couple of weeks we'll play in Germany, and that's the first time we will perform our entire show in another country. [They played May 17, 2002 at the 11th Wave-Gotik-Treffen festival]

II: OK, so far so good ... well, before starting with the "real" interview can you tell me the meaning of the band's name ... Cirrha Niva?

LH: Ahhh, everybody asks that. I think we mentioned it thousands of times. However I can tell you one more time ... Cirrha Niva derives from Cirra and Nisa, two tops [peaks] located amidst the mountain Parnassus, and both are symbols of divine wisdom and human knowledge. We got these names from a book written by Dante Alighieri: La Divina Commedia [The Divine Comedy]. Our guitarist Peter [Vennema] is the one who actually came up with this name, 'cause he reads a lot of philosophical stuff...

II: Mmh, gotta change [my] argument slightly, as La Divina Commedia vividly recalls memories of long days of study in high school, ha-ha ... so please tell me what was your first thought when Rob Willemse explained the concept of the new album (considering that you embody the deceased wife of the story's main character while also playing bass)?

LH: Well, it's more like this ... Rob wrote the lyrics for "Nightwish," which is the first song of the CD, then we wrote all the music together, as always. But as we were working we found that the first song contained a lot of different things, and so Peter said half joking: "Hey, why don't we make a concept?". You know, it sounded strange at first, but then we thought a lot about it, and in the end we all collaborated to the development of the lyrics and the songs, which finally became a unique concept. Talking about my role -- or should I say my double role, as I am one of the main characters but I also play the bass -- at first I asked myself: "Wow, how I'm gonna do this?". In fact, my bass lines are not that simple, even if I don't consider myself a freak at bass ... but I'm quite good! So returning to the album, in the beginning I found it very hard to sing and play bass at the same time, because you have to focus on two different things ... and you can imagine how I was feeling when the acting aspect came in, too! I said: "Oh shit, now I have three things to do!" It was very hard, and the first two shows it felt very uncomfortable, because I tend to be a perfectionist with my bass. I don't want to screw it up, so I was a bit insecure ... but now, with all the shows we managed, I'm starting to grow more into the character, it's going a lot more smoothly. You should know that we even record all the shows on video to better keep an eye on small imperfections, on things to correct for future representations.

II: Perfectionists indeed ... but while your intention of portraying both acting and musical feelings is a noble effort, don't you think that it makes your live performances harder to organize?

LH: Yes, of course. This time we stuck our necks [out] a lot, and for the media it could have been easy to chop our heads off, because it's not always accepted to do drama and metal together ... we risked a lot. In fact we really thought: "Wow, if we are gonna do this we have to perform it really well." The fact is that Cirrha Niva has always worked with small visual aspects on stage, like little masks hanging around the drums, burning candles, so this time it was only a question of growing some more in that field. It was a risk, but I think we presented it in quite an original way. Well, in the end I think we managed to convince people of the entire show's quality.

II: Liselotte, do you think that Liaison De La Morte is a big step up from the beginnings of the band, or is it just a different thing?

LH: Well, definitely [it] is a big step up, but I think most from the composing aspect. You know, we have always been technical, even if the first album was done with a different singer, another drummer and keyboard player. But we tried to obtain our own sound from the very beginning, so maybe the development of the band, with the new members coming in, was probably made in the arrangements more than in the other fields. That's where we really put a lot of energy in. With Liaison De La Morte we focused on the little details, on the small things that you tend to ignore early on. For example we knew that it would have been too easy to throw out a theme and run around it, telling everyone that we did a concept. Instead, when we thought of a concept, we visualized a total package, with music scenes returning in different variations, adequate promotion, atmospheres matching with the music ... it's a really tough task, but I hope we succeeded in realizing it. However this was the best we could do!

II: So maybe you are pleased with the reactions the CD is having...

LH: Yes, especially the reactions from foreign countries have been amazing. In Holland we got good critics, too, but the fact is that you're still a band from Holland, so they don't give you much media support [well, the thing doesn't surprise me, as the same happens to Italian bands here in Italy - II]. You know, it's always like that for every Dutch band! That's one of the main reasons why we'll skip the big festivals that will be played around Holland this summer. We don't have a big major label behind us, so much of the festivals turn away from our show.

II: Sad to listen such bad news ... OK, talking about the album ... I hear some references to the great Pain Of Salvation, and in fact the members of the Swedish band took part in the choir displayed throughout the songs. How started this collaboration between the bands?

LH: Well, we all are very fond of POS. We like their music very much, and they have great vocal arrangements. The thing is that we listened to some choruses we already recorded and we thought about a counterpart to them ... hence the call to POS! We came up with the idea just before entering the studio, and when I asked them to sing they said: "Sure, right! No problem!" So we recorded the album and then in the summer I went with the tape to Sweden and then POS listened to the material and Daniel wrote the layers of vocal arrangements to be added. But you don't see a connection why I'm often in Sweden, eh?

II: Well, in fact I'm thinking about that ... maybe your boyfriend is someone from POS?

LH: Well, yes, I'm engaged to the bass player ... [chuckles] [That'd be Kristoffer Gildenlöw - ed.]

II: Uh-huh, some gossip here ... now Liselotte, what can we learn from the story recounted in the concept album?

LH: There's not a real message, I think it's more that people can recognize themselves in the story, because it's the old life drama story, that's what is all about. All the elements, like deception and pain, sadness, joy ... for me it's just that people should take life as it is, and try to get the best out of it. But we don't have a real message behind the concept, it's only entertainment.

II: Now, considering that you are the only female in the band ... how did you enter Cirrha Niva and how does it feel to be surrounded only by men on stage?

LH: For me the whole thing doesn't matter that much, 'cause I also play female role now, so we have more options as a band. I have been playing with our singer, Arnold [Kloek], in another band before, so we've known each other for more than ten years, I think. We have always been very good friends, so for me there's absolutely no problem. The other guys have no problems either ... in fact I don't see myself as a female figure, I'm only a musician, who has been playing for almost twenty years now. I have always played with guys in the band, so for me there's no problem at all. I do my thing and they respect it ... to be honest the only thing I don't dig too much is that, while I sing a few lines in the songs, someone mentions me and tells that I'm a good singer ... but no one writes something like: "Cool bass playing..."! [laughs] Instead I consider myself first of all a bass player, so...

II: Returning to the album ... are you planning a big tour to promote the CD, or it will be hard to see a lot of your shows in Europe?

LH: We started last September with the premiere of the album, and we thought: "Well, if we can make ten shows we will be happy." But we got way over that number, and now we have a booker who is doing a really good job, so ... we are happier than ever! Next gig we will play in Germany, but it's obvious that we would be happy to do more concerts in other countries as well. We are planning to get more gigs in France for example. However it is a difficult thing to organize, because our squad consists of more than twenty people, so it requires a lot of organization and money to make more dates. We have a huge truck which stuffs only the artwork for the gig, so to speak! [from August through December, 2002, the band have some scattered Netherlands dates - ed.]

II: Can you also tell me something about the people that float around the band, for example Inge?

LH: Yes, Inge [Steenhorst] is our manager, always has been actually. However she is also an artist, and in fact she is responsible for designing t-shirts, small things, but more important than ever, the new show we carry on with the music. She made the clothes for me and Arnold, and she is very creative. Inge is a huge input for Cirrha Niva as a whole. It's one huge family. We are close friends and the band feels very fortunate to have such creative and hard-working people around them.

II: Thanks Liselotte ... well, the time is up. There's something else you still want to add before goodbye?

LH: Mmh, the only thing I would like to add is that I hope the prog lovers will find our new album a good one ... and try to come to our shows, too, as it's hard these days to view a spectacle so profoundly intertwined with the music. We give it all! Bye and thank you for your time. Cirrha Niva loves you!!!

[The summary of the story, according to the band's website: "An old man longs for the [peace] and reunion that death will bring him. On October 31st (at midnight, the hour of ghosts), when the borderline between the two worlds is at its thinnest, he yields to his desires with hoping to embrace His deceased wife. While dying, he sees a parade of dying people walking towards the underworld. The man finds himself in a limbo, between earthly life and death. Here he meets his deceased wife, who in spite of her seductions has malevolent ulterior motives for her former lover...

?The only one who triumphs is The Lord of the Underworld, a cynic and sarcastic person who rules the ignorant living and dying people. The Gate to Death is his property and no one is to escape!"]

[Update: In 2003, Hegt left the group - ed.]

Discography:
The Mirror World Dimension (1997)
No More Psychosis (1998)
Enter The Future Exit (1999)
Liaison De La Morte (2001)