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ELAINE SAMUELS & Kindred Spirit: "Phoenix Rising"

ELAINE SAMUELS -  Have you been searching for something you can't quite define? Are you travelling on a quest through space and time to solve the riddle written by mankind? Perhaps you are searching for an island in this vast and empty sea? Then congratulations my friend you have find a kindered spirit in Elaine Samuels. Indeed. It's Glastonbury and Guildford. Folk rock and Progressive ditto. Mystical, medival, songs and stories about children of the stars and come together, live and love, and let the music set you free. It's like the genius once wrote and sang for that matter, what's so funny about peace, love and understanding??? "Phoenix Rising", music and arrangements sort of in the tradition of Renaissance, Curved Air, Fairport Convention, Joni Mitchell, and Jethro Tull. It's jolly good and fun Progressive Rock meet Folk and singer/songwriter. Find out more about the album and the songs. Here's the impressive band founder and singer / song-writer / guitar player, etc:  ELAINE SAMUELS

How has the reaction to your latest CD been?

Everyone who has bought it and commented has been very positive. Many people tell us they play it over and over! Here are some reviews:- http://www.elainesamuels.co.uk/Phoenix%20Rising.htm#CDReviews

How long have you been working on the album?

We began working on the album in the autumn of 2013 and finished it in early 2015. The main limitation to the production of the album has been financial, as I have funded it myself.

"Phoenix Rising", one of the most used titles. However, reading the lyric, your Phoenix seem to take a different approach?

My Phoenix is the incredible energy which fills the human spirit when it reached its lowest ebb and somehow lifts you up and makes you start again. At the end of the song it alludes to the death of the earthly spirit and the rebirth in another plane / dimension / afterlife.

Kindly tell us something about the writing process and what you're trying to capture with your music

I am fascinated by the question of why we are here and life and death and I have read about the tree of life and the Kabbalah, which provides a cosmic map / explanation of birth, life, death and rebirth and I believe that all life is fundamentally connected on another plane. I am fascinated by human relationships and I also enjoy the storytelling aspect of myths, legends, mysteries, historical characters, science fantasy and magic. This is why many of the lyrics in my songs draw on these subjects. I am a lover of rock and prog rock as well as folk music and singer/ song-writer material. I am of Irish descent and love the sound of jigs, reels, violin, flute and pipes, which has probably drawn me to include these instruments in my band and weave jigs and reels into many of the songs. In fact, I have a very eclectic taste in music and fundamentally I like the melody, rhythm and arrangements of a song to be in synergy with the lyrics to give the fullest expression possible in my works with soft and heavier passages in numbers to give the heavier, rockier moments more impact. I often start writing with an idea of what I want to write about and a line or two of lyrics, which can also be very vivid vision in my mind. This is probably because I am also a fine art artist. The play of the words and syllables usually suggests rhythms and melody lines to me and I complete the songs from these jig saw pieces.

Tell us something about the 'Wolves at the Gate' and its meaning.

Wolves at the Gate is one of my 'beast inside' song collections (the others, 'Run Red' and 'The Hunger' being on previous albums). This particular song is about trying to be something you are not and how you never really fit in. You cannot keep up the pretense, eventually manifesting your true nature. In the song there is a wolf living among the people in a community. The community think they are safe because they stick together and keep the wolves at bay ;by closing the gates at night. They don't realise there is one amongst them pretending not to be a wolf. The person in the song who is really a wolf does not do what he says he will do, a sign that he is unable to live in harmony with everyone else and when he is caught in the moonlight (in other words at a stressful moment) the beast inside is revealed and the other wolves gather at the gates to welcome their new brother!

'Children of The Stars', what's it all about?

Life in the physical sense begins (incredibly) from nothingness. Out of the darkness and emptiness comes light, life, flesh, purpose and meaningful expression. We are born and during our lifespans we connect with others and the universe around us. This song is about the wonder of being alive, doing something amazing with your life, not being afraid to show the world who you really are and not letting set backs get you down. Every meaningful connection leaves an invisible trail in time and space and these threads (if you could see them) could be imagined as trails of colour, which weave together forming a tapestry over time and becoming a purer, stronger white light, as the colours combine. Even after a person passes from an earthly plane, this trail is left behind adding to the illumination in the universe from the being that was there.

So let's be clear. Are you the children of the children of the revolution?

We are well educated / intelligent people who are not driven primarily by money (though we have to have enough income to live from and to enable us to be creative) but are rather driven by seeking to be the fullest expression of our inner nature, which in our cases means making music. This may be the reason why I haven't given up singing and keeping the band going, even though I began the band around the dawn of the new millennium.

What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

I was born in the 60s and I applaud the ideals of freedom of expression, the caring of the environment and one another and the view that love is a fundamental goal, though I wasn't directly influenced by them during the 60s as I was too young. I try to keep an open mind with all ideas I come across but I am drawn to the ideals of peace, love and understanding.

What kind of sound, production wise, did you have in the back of your mind prior to recording? And are you pleased with the result?

I wanted the sound of the album to be largely what we can play live but I have embellished a bit more on the album to further enhance the colour and meaning and create a lovely, deep and expressive sound. I'm very pleased with the final outcome of the sound. I worked with the sound engineer, we bounced production ideas off each other and he had the experience to put the ideas into practice.

Are you hooked on the renaissance era?

No - I know what I like though. I began performing solo in folk clubs; just myself and the guitar (banjo and cittern) in the late 80s. I love the violin as it sounds so beautiful and expressive, when played well, and I wanted to play with a violin player, which came to be. Then I met a bass player. The band gradually crystallised around me and generally, the lead players (violin and wind) have come from a classical background. I myself have had very little instruction musically, teaching myself to play the guitar, sing and write songs. I do not restrict myself to conforming to a particular style but I know what I like and I often write the parts for the flute / violin to make sure I get what I want. With the violin played through guitar effects pedals, we can get a very exciting rock effect and I encourage the lead players to improvise, be expressive and duel with each other in some places in numbers.

What's your thought(s) about Blackmore's Night? The real deal or merely just the posh version of renaissance rock? :)

I am aware of them but not very familiar with their material. I have been influenced heavily by groups like Yes, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, The Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, Curved Air, The Strawbs, Show of Hands and Steeleye Span.

What's the U.K. scene like for your type of music at the moment?

I don't know our type of music is recognised at all! I have struggled for a very long time, as band founder, musical director and promoter, with our music not being considered as one thing or another. We are often accused of being 'too rocky for the folk world and too folky for the rock world' and been rejected. It was only recently that I discovered that the prog rock world might actually embrace us and we are very excited about finally being able to reach a group of people who might like our style of music!

If there's anything you'd like to add, say, please do

We have an email list and contact our fans every month to update them with our latest news. If anyone wants to join this, they can email me at:- elaine@elainesamuels.co.uk

We have produced a number of albums over the years and have a very comprehensive web site about the band, our gigs and latest news and the albums, which is:- http://www.kindredspiritband.co.uk and the associated http://www.elainesamuels.co.uk Though I have only played in the UK, I have a long term Swedish fan, who I originally met when I was a solo performer in the early 90s, when I was playing at the Bar Club, in London, and who tries to get to see us whenever he is in the UK. We just gained another Swedish fan recently, who was hoping to get his drumming idol, Les Binks (ex Judas Priest) to sign his album collection. I suggested he came to the Richmond May Fair (on the green in Richmond Surrey) for our 45min spot, which (incredibly - as he only came for that) he did! He chatted to Les for sometime and liked our band, buying the Phoenix Rising album and getting us all to sign it! (We have some live footage of this gig on our News page).
Elaine Samuels

Interview by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
Photos from the band's websites  

kindredspiritband.co.uk 
elainesamuels.co.uk 

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