Artist:  Neverland 

Date:  14 April 2008  

In 2006 two musical entities from two different countries came together to form a brand new force.  Greek female singer Iris Mavraki and Turkish Prog/Power Metal act Dreamtone joined to become one, the result of which was Neverland.  With the recent release of the bands debut album 'Reversing Time' we catch up with vocalists Iris and Oganalp to find out more ...

MM - Firstly congratulations on new album 'Reversing Time'.
Oganalp - Thanks a lot! 

MM - Tell us how did the collaboration between Dreamtone and Iris first come about?
Oganalp - Well, we were promoting our demo album with Dreamtone back in 2004, 'Unforeseen Reflections', and we sent a copy to an e-zine in Greece, Metal Temple. Chief editor of the e-zine at the time, Orpheus Spiliotopoulos, very much liked the ideas on that CD and introduced us to his mother, Iris, who was working on live symphonic projects in Greece and in Turkey. In time, slowly and slowly, we started to discuss about our ideas and visions and decided to form a band. At the time, it was a live project idea but later on, we decided to convert it into a full time band, which is Dreamtone & Iris Mavraki’s Neverland now, as you know.

Iris - I was in Athens visiting my son Orpheus. As I was touring Turkey and Greece with Symphony Orchestras from Turkey in an immense effort to create a cultural bridge between our two countries, knowing that Orpheus gave me a demo album of a group not telling me who they are, just asking me to listen to it.  I was very impressed and asked him who they are and where do they come from.  So that’s how it all started. I wrote to them and then when to Ankara to meet them.

MM - Why did you find it necessary to use a different name instead of calling this a new Dreamtone album? 
Oganalp - Well, simple, Dreamtone and Neverland are two different bands with a different musical approach, even though they share certain elements. It gives us the chance to experiment on different things that we cannot do with Dreamtone or as Iris Mavraki with her own solo works.

Iris - Well exactly, we are two different things, and besides, Neverland has a different magical name. 

MM - Even though the band and Iris are from different musical backgrounds this seems to enhance the album instead of hindering it. Why do you think it works so well? 
Oganalp - To be sincere, I don’t know. Perhaps it is about our musical visions. We don’t limit ourselves by just pursuing the music from a single or a narrow point of view. We perform metal music in general but none of us are completely metal oriented or people who are just listening to metal music. Most of the time, we are far more interested in other types and cultures. This extended vision of ours perhaps helped us to understand each other and perform well in the end. It also affected our vision of producing an album. None of us planned to compose the songs in a pre-formulated way. We didn’t even talk about the songs and decide whether if they fit into the genre or not. We just recorded them in a way that we would love to hear them. And they are named as Reversing Time as an album.

Iris - I guess most people are wondering the same thing, of course we do come from different musical backgrounds, although I always was very close to rock.  I think all our influences were somehow embroidered in a very spontaneous way when we wrote our music and that is what came out of it in the end. An amazing result. 

MM - Will we be hearing more of Neverland or was this a one off project? 
Oganalp - Of course, Dreamtone & Iris Mavraki’s Neverland isn’t just a one shot project. We are already working on the second album’s compositions and hopefully, we will be in the studio next Spring. As long as we have the  chance to work on, we will continue to produce albums and go on stage and so with the band.

Iris - This wasn’t just a project that is done and over, but we have formed a new  group with the vision of staying together and composing and going on stage together. 

MM - Will this be just a studio project or might we see Neverland on tour? 
Oganalp -  Dreamtone & Iris Mavraki’s Neverland is definitely not a studio band and we are already discussing the terms of touring with different agencies and promoters. However, you know that 'Reversing Time' is our first effort and so, it takes some time to reach people and create the demand we need to book a tour. Therefore, we haven’t announced any confirmed dates yet but hopefully, we will be on stage in Europe before the end of the year. So, yes, we are not a studio band and we will tour. But you know how it is, this is life and anything can happen and turn the tides.

Iris - Yes the tides can turn and we might reverse them, hi hi hi. We do hope that we will soon be able to perform live.

MM - How did AFM records first get to hear about the band? 
Oganalp - Our manager took care of the label dialogues when we were sending demos and tapes to labels back in 2007, Summer time. To be sincere, from the very first day, we were hoping to collaborate with AFM as both Orphy, our manager, and I knew some of the guys working at AFM and how good they are with promotions and band dialogue. So, when we heard that AFM was interested in signing a deal, we were very happy and relieved. I believe it was 19th of October when we first heard of AFM’s interest in signing the deal and me and Emrecan were so excited about the news that we had to go to a stupid bloodbath adrenaline movie, just to empty our heads haha.

Iris - I knew also that AFM is very capable in promotion and a serious company and when I  heard that they are interested I was so thrilled I just sat at the piano and didn’t stop singing!  

MM - Were you given a time frame to come up with material for the new album and band, or were you just given time to complete the project to your own standards? 
Oganalp - No set time frames were there while we were writing as we were not part of a label or something at the time. The only frame that we had to fit in was the schedule for guests and studios, as well as the financial part of things. Those were hard times, I had to admit. I felt 10 years older while we were trying to figure out the solutions for endless problems we were facing. Now, we have a slight framing regarding the second CD and stuff but we are already set to send our demos to the label as we are halfway done with writing the new songs.

Iris - The only time frame was how to send my songs to Turkey to be recorded and how to get to Istanbul or Ankara from  Rhodes, Greece, in order to start recording the vocal parts there. 

MM - As for Dreamtone will we have a new album from you guys soon? 
Oganalp - We don’t know yet. We were planning to record a new CD this year but later on, we decided to shift our resources towards the second Neverland instalment. Perhaps, we will record some new stuff after we are done with the next album of Neverland. We are now constructing a new studio and it basically consumes most of our energy and resources, so, to be sincere, it would be a financial suicide to enter the studio for two album recordings and plus, constructing a studio as well. Hopefully, we will record our next CD with Dreamtone in 2009, at our own studio. Who knows, time will tell… 

MM - And Iris, will you be looking for more similar projects in the future or will you continue on your own musical path?
Iris - Well new similar projects in  the near future will be with Neverland of course, but besides that I will carry on with my concerts also with Symphony Orchestras both in Greece and Turkey. We are preparing as Oganalp already mentioned a new album soon 

MM - How do you feel this album compares to the Dreamtone albums? 
Oganalp - This album is more power and symphonic metal, when compared to Dreamtone’s progressive and heavier musical vision. Basically, we use symphonic elements in Dreamtone’s music as well but those are, in nature, parts that support the main idea behind the songs. In Neverland, however, the songs were basically carried by the orchestral arrangements, sometimes openly and sometimes behind the curtains. This changes a lot of things. It gives you the similar feeling of hearing a song of Dreamtone, but things are completely different in a way. Also, Iris’ voice and compositions are also a distinctive difference in between what you can hear on a Dreamtone disc. This album was refreshing, as it had a wider frequency to work. 

MM - There are some quite special tracks on the album like ‘Everlasting Tranquillity’ and ‘Reversing Time’, do the band have any personal favourites and why these particular songs? 
Oganalp - Well, I cannot tell what others like or not because everyone has his/her own pick. I cannot tell one exact song because I have two favourites on the disc for different reasons. One is “To Lose the Sun”. It is performed by Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian and I had the chance to add some backing vocals to the track. As he is my deity, both as an artist and as a voice, it was a miracle for me to be on the same song with him. “Reversing Time” is the other song that I would state as my favourite. From the very first day that I started writing it, it was my favourite and when I heard the final version with Mike Baker’s outstanding performance, as well as Onur and Philarmonia Istanbul’s musical touch on it, I was stunned. I never get bored of listening to that one.

Iris - Oganalp is right, everybody has his preference and you cannot explain why some like a song more than another. All the songs for me are lovely, each one for a different reason, Tom Englunds interpretation in ‘’world beyond these walls’’, Hansi Kursch in  ‘’to lose the sun’’ Mike Baker in ‘’reversing time’’ Oganalp in ‘’mountain of joy’’ ‘’trancending miracle’’ the lyrics in some songs and the music in others, the Philarmonia Istanbul Orchestra … it's difficult for me to choose. Orpheus lyrics. Onur and Buraks way of composing and playing, Garry Wehrkamp s solo or Emrecan s way of playing. Each song is different. 

MM - Finally do you have any words of introduction to those of our readers who haven’t yet discovered Neverland? 
Oganalp - Thank you for reading this interview up to now. I hope you like what you hear on Reversing Time and please don’t forget that you can check us at www.in-neverland.com and at www.myspace.com/neverlandofficial . Thank you for your interest, see you somewhere on tour!!!

Iris - I am very thrilled to have entered this magnificent world of metal music and travelling  to the magical place of Neverland. I do believe we all can ‘’reverse time’’ in our life, if there is a will there is a way. Thank you for your interest and  bon voyage to  all, who will listen to our musical journey too.

 

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