It seems only fitting that the first interview of 2006 should be with a band that swooped into our top 15 album releases of 2005.  Their new album 'Out Loud' is so breathtakingly beautiful, while at the same time more powerful than you could ever imagine.  Naio Ssaion have totally captivated our hearts and we're sure they'll do the same to you. 

Remember the name because we're tipping them to go all the way!

                         

MM - Please, introduce the band to our readers.  Who are the members of Naio Ssaion, when was the band formed and where do you call home?
Hello to all the readers and creators of this magazine!

There are 6 of us in the band:

Barbara Jedovnicky : Vocals
Rok Kolar : Violin
Tine Cas : Guitar
Luka Verdnik : Guitar
Lenart Jerabek : Bass
Mitja Melanšek - Mic : Drums

We all come from the same city in Slovenia, called Velenje.  We know each other for about 10 years. Some of us were schoolmates, others got in contact in our local music school. So we started playing together as a high school band and in 1999 we established the line up as it is today. Slowly we got into Slovenian music scene and so in 2004 we released our debut album Numedia from which we released four singles.

MM - Where does the name ‘Naio Ssaion’ originate from, and what does it represent? Can you remember any of the other names that were considered at the time?
When we were thinking about the name we knew that we didn’t want a typical Slovenian name.  We wanted it to be “neutral”, so we made it up.  Actually Mic did. It looked good, it sounded good and so we all agreed to become Naio Ssaion.  But unfortunately I can’t really remember which names were considered then.  That was three years ago.

MM - How would you describe your style of music to someone who isn’t familiar with the band and who do you see your target audience as being?
We mix different kinds of elements in our music, which is happening spontaneously. Our influences are various, 6 people with 6 different stories … from metal, new breed, pop, rock, punk and also traces of classical music and folk music.

But in general: Beside harder instrumental - that is building a solid ground and female vocal, we have electric violin, which is giving a special impact to the sound. But maybe most important is the fact that we build our music on live feeling, full of energy.

And I believe there is a little something for everyone in our music.

MM - Have any of the band members performed in any other bands prior to Naio Ssaion?
Before we became Naio Ssaion, we played under different name, but we weren’t involved and are still not involved in any other band but Naio Ssaion.

MM - At what age did you decide you wanted to be a musician/performer?
This is something you don’t just decide but it’s inside you since you can remember.  I fall in love with music when I was very little.  First love was piano, which I played for 13 years.  But singing has always been a big part in my life, I started to sing in kinder garden. 

MM - What bands did you grow up with and how have they helped to inspire the style of music you perform now?
Our influences come from different kinds of music.  Everybody in the band has of course slightly different priorities.  I think that exactly this is the beauty of creating unique music.  Of course rock and metal music are something we appreciate the most, but also all the other kinds of music pop, jazz, classical, drum& bass, … I think that with all the great music in the world it would be a shame to frame yourself strictly into one kind.

                            

MM - Your new album ‘Out Loud’ sounds fabulous, would you like to tell us a little bit about each of the songs on it and any stories behind them?
Static – this songs is one of our favourite when we perform it live.  We go crazy, the crowd goes crazy.

The Mirror - there is a violin part in this song that we spent the most time on it in the studio.

Teen – The idea for this song was presented by our guitarist Tine and therefore we titled it Teen.

Miss You – written in a memory to a dear person.

Bow Link in E Minor – instrumental song with the violin as the main instrument.

n.ss – this song was taken from the numedia and was rearranged.  It was our first single in Slovenia.

Shut Up - this is the craziest song we have ever made.  Kamate-kora words are taken from New Zealand and actually mean “be afraid white man”.

Blah-blah – the screaming in this song was done by our bass player Lenart. We actually didn’t know he could do such things.

Blind Date – there is a middle part in this songs that is the hardest part of the album to play live.

Can’t You Hear – this is the song that took the most time in pre arranging it and it has the best violin solo ever.

At Ease – in this song there is the only guitar solo we have on the album.

Yours Faithfully – the working title of this song was Tragedy … you can imagine how it sounded the first time we played it on rehearsals.

From the Great Book of Fairytales – it is just the most beautiful song on the album.

MM - Do the band have any plans to tour in support of the new album and will we be lucky enough to see you over here in the UK some time?
In September we went on the first part of the tour with In Extremo and the second part was in.

In Extremo is a well known German metal band that we supported on their tour in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.  And I really hope that we can come to UK sometime soon!

MM - What is the most memorable concert you have performed at and what made it different from all the others?
Right now I can remember three of most memorable concerts. First one with P!NK, second one with Apocalyptica and of course touring with In Extremo. 

The P!nk concert was an award for the Newcomer contest and it was our first concert of this kind. Playing with such superstar really is something special. 

With Apocalyptica we played in Graz (Austria). They are so down to earth and easy to talk to and of course amazing musicians. In Extremo are real professionals and the kindest band! Touring with them was something we will never forget.

MM - What song do you enjoy playing more than any other live and why?
As written above - Static. But it is hard to decide just on one song, because after all you are not always in the same mood or this simply changes through the time. For instance, I also like playing At ease and Teen live as well.

                        

MM - How does the song writing process work within Naio Ssaion?  Is it mainly one or two individuals, or more of a team effort?
Most of the times the process begins with Rok bringing an idea into our rehearsal room.  Then we work on different parts of the songs which we afterwards try to combine.  At this stage everybody is taking care of their own arrangements. After the song has the basis that we all like, I start writing the vocal lines and of course the lyrics.  The process doesn’t happen always in the same way.  Sometimes for instance Mic has an idea for guitars, or Rok for the vocals and similar.  But one thing is certain, we wouldn’t put a song on the album that we wouldn’t try out live first.

MM - What response have the band received so far from the music press and all your fans out there?
We were very happy with the reviews until now because they were all positive. Reviewers said that we aren’t afraid to use different elements and still keep the red line.  That 'Out Loud' is something different and new on the scene.  This certainly meant a great deal to us.

MM - Would you like to tell all the readers what your website address is so they can all check it out.
www.naiossaion.com

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