Interview conducted by Doc'



Date : 2008-10-20

MySpace Enkounter: myspace.com/enkounter

Radio Metal : First of all, can you present your band, Enkounter, for those who don't know you?

Gina : I'm Gina from Australian Metal band Enkounter. Our music is a blend of different influences. We have a progressive edge to our music which was developed through listening to bands such as Rush and Dream Theater. My personal vocal influences are from Nightwish, Edenbridge, Bruce Dickinson and Dio which might seem like a strange combination but i guess it has molded my unique singing style and contributed to our unusual sound which is still evolving. We like to experiment with dark topics and most would consider our music a new style of gothic metal.

Enkounter is a very young band. You joined Kristjan, Troy and Ben in November 2007. Why did you choose to join the band and what was your goal?

Firstly I really liked Enkounters musical influences as I too enjoyed listening to the same bands. I found the boys to be very organized when it came to writing and rehearsing and when they first presented me with a cd of their preliminary ideas and recordings i found myself almost instantly visualising the theme and the words and vocal melodies seemed to just appear in my head. I also loved the fact that every member was allowed their own creative freedom to add to the groups unique sound.

We're now one year after the beginning of the band, and you released your first EP, "Shadows" in August. Things are going fast for you. How does your writing process works?

Initially Troy had come up with the main guitar riffs and then passed on his ideas to the rest of us to give our feedback and add our influences. I mainly concentrate on the lyrical side of things, however a couple of new songs we've been working on have been created by simply having fun at our usual jam sessions. Someone starts a tune and we all just jump in and next thing you know we have the makings of a potential song.




Gina, do you take part in the writing process? Is there a gap between you and the other members because you joined the band later?

I write the majority of our lyrics as i'm not really great with playing an instrument. I can put a basic melody down with keyboards to help with the writing process but Ben is a much better keyboard player than I am and on some of our future songs we're planning to have him play both bass and keys simultaneously. There's no gap between any of us, we're like one big family and we all have much respect for each other.

The music of Enkounter is a mix of progressive metal, gothic and classical music, because of your voice. What is your musical background?

I did a little private classical training with Perth Opera Singer Pamela Turner, which i really enjoyed. She really helped me progress my vocal range and use my full diaphram when singing. I've done a couple of other projects such as being the frontperson for an all girl classic 70/80's metal cover band, Maidenhead and I'm currently part of another side project called Wrathchild which is an Iron Maiden Tribute band. We have a show coming up in Perth on the 14th of November.

With "Shadows", Enkounter shows a real talent for composition, but the production of the record can be developed. Do you agree?

Yes I do agree, we need a little help in regards to production, there is always room for improvement. We were working on a tight budget with the EP and had a few hiccups with our recording equipment going bust and needing to use an alternative system.




Have you read any articles about your record in Australian metal magazines? What is their opinion?

No we haven't made it into any Australian metal magazines just yet, I don't think there are too many of these around downunder.

Are you looking for a label and a management? Do you think there is a kind of limit without management today? It must be very complicated to develop the musical part and, at the same time, the business and marketing part...

Yes we are looking for Management and preferably either a European management company or someone with European contacts. There isn't many avenues available in Australia for our particular music genere.

You plan on releasing your first double album in early 2009. Are you already working on this record? What can we expect? Any differences with "Shadows"?

We are working on this. We have a list of songs to work through recording wise and the album will include all the songs featured on our EP. We have a few suprises up our sleave but everyone will have to wait and see.

Last question: you're from Perth, Australia. What can you say about the Australian metal scene? Hard Rock scene is very popular there (with AC/DC, Airbourne, Rose Tattoo etc.) but is the gothic style as famous? Can you describe the Australian gothic scene?

The Australian Metal scene is very hard nut to crack. We are so isolated from the rest of the world and our lack of population compared to europe makes it difficult to market anything other than pop/hard rock. There are thousands of really talented metal musicians that have resulted in playing in top 40 cover bands. local venues don't allow you to play for more than 30/40mins in a set which make's it difficult for progressive metal bands with 10min long songs. The Perth metal scene in particular consists of mainly thrash and death metal and fails to recognize any other form as metal. Gothic metal is a very small category in Australia